CD 1
Symphony No.1 in E Major K.16 (1765)
Symphony No. 4 in D Major K.19 (1765)
Symphony in F Major K.19a (1765)
Symphony No. 5 in B Flat Major K.22
(1765)
Symphony No. 6 in F Major K.43 (1767)
Symphony No. 43 in F major K.76 (1767)
Symphony No. 7 in D Major K.45 (1768)
Symphony G Major K.45a "Old Lambach"(1768)
CD 2
Symphony in B Flat major K.45b (1768)
Symphony No. 8 in D Major K.48 (1768)
Symphony No. 9 in C major K.73 (1770)
Symphony No. 10 in G major K.74 (1770)
Symphony No. 44 in D major K.81 (1770)
Symphony No. 11 in D Major K.84 (1770)
Symphony No. 45 in D major K.95 (1770)
CD 3
Symphony No. 47 in D major K.97 (1779)
Symphony No. 46 in C major K.96 (1771)
Symphony No. 42 in F major K.75 (1770)
Symphony No. 12 in G Major K.110 (1771)
Symphony No. 13 in F Major K.112
(1771)
Symphony No. 14 in A major K.114 (1771)
Symphony No. 15 in G major K.124 (1772)
CD 4
Symphony No. 16 in C major K.128 (1772)
Symphony No. 17 in G major K.129 (1772)
Symphony No. 18 in F Major K.130 (1772)
Symphony No. 19 in E flat Major (1772)
Symphony No. 20 in D Major K.133 (1772)
CD 5
Symphony No. 21 in A Major K.134 (1772)
Symphony No. 22 in C Major K.162 (1773)
Symphony No. 23 in D Major K.181 (1773)
Symphony No. 24 in B flat Major K.182
(1773)
Symphony No. 25 in G Minor K.183 (1773)
CD 6
Symphony No. 26 in E Flat Major K.184
(1773)
Symphony No. 27 in G Major K.199 (1773)
Symphony No. 28 in C Major K.200 (1774)
Symphony No. 29 in A Major K.201 (1774)
CD 7
Symphony No. 30 in D Major K.202 (1775)
Symphony No. 31 in D Major K.297 "Paris"
(1778)
Symphony No. 33 in B flat Major K.319
(1779)
CD 8
Symphony No. 34 in C Major K.338 (1780)
Symphony No. 35 in D Major K.385
"Haffner" (1782)
Symphony No. 36 in C Major K.425
"Linz" (1783)
CD 9
Symphony No. 38 in D Major K.504
"Prague" (1786)
Symphony No. 39 in E Flat Major K.543
(1788)
CD 10
Symphony No. 40 in G Minor K.550 (1788)
Symphony No. 41 in C Major K.551 "Jupiter"(1788)
What is it we all want
to know when an apparently wonderful
bargain like this is dropped into our
laps? Is it really any good –
can anything this cheap be worth
it? Well, rest assured from the outset
– this substantial set of Mozart Symphonies
is certainly worth the economic ‘10
CDs for the price of 2’ outlay, but
as you might imagine there are one or
two caveats.
The title of the box
quite correctly omits the word ‘complete’,
and we are indeed missing a work or
two. For some reason the Symphony No.
32 in G major K.318 has been omitted,
and where other sets have a Symphony
No. 37 in G major K.444 this one does
not. Apart from this, all of the earliest
symphonies are given, all of the other
greats and everything else in between.
There are no booklet
notes. Each CD is nicely presented in
its own cardboard sleeve, but with no
further information in the box and very
little on the internet on either the
Orchestra Filarmonica Italiana or Allesandro
Arigoni this is certainly no forum for
arguing philosophical standpoints or
attitudes to performance practice. The
orchestra plays modern instruments,
and there seem to be few indicators
that much effort has been put into giving
these interpretations much of the ‘authentic’
feel – the somewhat soft-sticked and
tubby sounding timpani are a case in
point. This is not to say that most
of the playing is clean and dynamic,
just that if you are looking for ‘classical’
orchestral colour in the manner of Trevor
Pinnock, then you should expect more
in the nature of Karl Böhm. These
recordings are smaller in scale than
Böhm’s early DG set, and end up
being somewhere betwixt and between
- having something of the sonority of
Sir Charles Mackerras’s excellent Telarc
box with the Prague Chamber Orchestra,
which would still be one of my top recommendations
for a complete set at any price range.
The recordings are
good, if not perhaps the summit of clarity
for modern digital techniques. The orchestra
is set in a pleasantly resonant acoustic
– nothing too overly awash with echo,
but you don’t want too dry an acoustic
with this music. The winds are fine,
with respectfully restrained vibrato
in the flutes and oboes. The bouncy
energy and simpler textures of the earlier
symphonies are well represented by the
orchestra, and the faster movements
fair best throughout this set. One might
miss the last ounce of refinement: the
string sound is perhaps not as glossy
and as disciplined as we’ve become used
to in more expensive productions, and
while the phrasing is usually sensitive
it is not always equally successful
in execution.
With the early and
middle symphonies safely in the can,
it’s when we get to the later symphonies
that some weaknesses and flaws become
more apparent. The violins get into
a little trouble when exposed, and some
crucial passages are less than effective
as a result. The ‘Prague’ Symphony,
No.38 has a slow introduction in two
sections, with the ff chords
in the second held together by rising
string phrases, which I have to say
sound a little ragged and sad at times.
Alessandro Arigoni favours quite slow
tempi in some of these later works,
and the development at 3:36 in this
movement is less brisk than many versions.
His sustained opening of the Symphony
No.39 is also initially put at risk
by the upper strings, and while things
settle down later on one’s ear is constantly
waiting for the next bit of wobbly intonation
or ensemble. The famous opening of the
Symphony No.40 is also slower
than most these days, but there is a
logic and consistency to Arigoni’s approach
that makes these tempi convincing in
their own terms. One might have to struggle
with preconceptions for a few minutes,
but let the music run for a while and
you might find yourself accepting this
conductors view of the work. My nagging
worry about this particular interpretation
is that the operatic nature of the music
seems to succumb to a more Brucknerian
approach, meaning that phrases which
might conceivably have been supported
by a vocal line become something of
a stretch. Whatever it is, it ain’t
Molto Allegro, and I suspect
the maestro is trying a bit too hard
to be just that little bit different
in the works we all know best.
I do not want to give
you an unfair impression of this set
just by pointing out flaws or perceived
oddities. Most of it is in fact very
pleasing, and if you care to start at
Symphony No.21, which is where
Joseph Krips started with his Concertgebouw
cycle, then you will find yourself making
friends with all concerned very quickly
indeed. I’ve played through the whole
set and made some comparisons here and
there, and the overall impression is
of a collection which holds little by
way of surprises or highlights, but
especially in the bread-and-butter fare,
one that grows on you insidiously. In
this way it does pretty much what it
says on the tin. This may not be a set
to knock others from the shelves, but
at the price it will do very well as
an introduction to Mozart’s symphonies
for someone who is not too sure, as
a nice chunky gift for any music lover,
or perhaps as a set to keep somewhere
where deep intellectual involvement
and critical listening is less of a
priority – in the car or for late sessions
in the office. Most of us have ‘the
great’ Mozart Symphonies on one or other
of the evergreen recordings, so hang
on to those and buy this box to fill
in the gap where the hidden delights
of all those early and middle Symphonies
should stand. Whatever you do with it,
you won’t be sorry you splashed out.
Dominy Clements
for details
Orchestra Filarmonica Italiana, Torino
