Search - Harnoncourt & Wien Concentus Musicus :: Mozart: Early Symphonies 1764-1775 [Japan]

Fine playing of relatively minor Mozart

F. Behrens | Keene, NH USA | 07/09/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It might be something of a shock to see the new Telarc release of Mozart's (38984-25914-2), considering that Mozart's last symphony was No. 41! So we look to the "K" numbers of those last four items and see they are K. 75, 81, 45, and 96 respectively and realize we are dealing with some of the earlier efforts of the master and not posthumous discoveries. Although some critic once wrote that possibly Mozart himself would not want some of his earlier works recorded for posterity (and the annotator of the enclosed notes claims these works are authentic and not by Papa Leopold), one can still delight in seeing the emergence of what will become a legendary genius in these well constructed derivative works. Under conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt, the Concentus musicus Wien makes a convincing case for these little heard compositions that constitute part of the 48 symphonies by Mozart that have survived from the 60 or so he composed. None of these are earth shaking, all of them are played with a sense of tradition firmly in the hearts and instruments of the players. A very nice offering of some relatively minor Mozart."