Search - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Georg Tintner, Nova Scotia Symphony :: Mozart: Les Petits Riens; German Dances; Marches; Minuets

Delightful Performances of Rare Mozart

Patrick A Daley | Fredericton, New Brunswick | 08/10/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the first of Tintner Memorial Editions I heard and it turned out to be a sheer delight all 74:14 of it. Indeed, it is hard to imagine how these little pieces by Mozart could be performed any better. Well, mostly by Mozart because apparently not all of "Les petits riens" are actually by Mozart, though apparently no one really knows for sure which ones Mozart did not compose.The late Georg Tintner is best known for his internationally renowned recordings of the Bruckner Symphonies for Naxos with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. The present series, the Tintner Memorial Edition, consists so far of recordings of a small regional Canadian orchestra, the Nova Scotia Symphony Orchestra, based in Halifax and the National Youth Orchestra of Canada.Some reviewers on this site have expressed disappointment with some of the CDs in this series because, they say, the orchestra isn't really very good. I have a couple of others in the series, and so far I disagree, as the Nova Scotia Symphony Orchestra seems to me to be very good. I will say here that they play superbly in these performances, with verve and style. They observe the proper accents, so often smoothed over by modern orchestras. Most of these pieces are German Dances, Marches, and Minuets, and they play them with great spirit.The recording quality is superb, among the best I have ever heard with a nice stereo spread and layered depth. Very pleasant. If the record notes had not said the orchestra numbers 37 members, I would never have guessed it was not considerably larger.This one is a real winner!"