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Mood discs always strike an appealing chord with record companies. Naxos has recently embarked on a series of them, using its large back catalogue of recordings to present the music of the greatest composers; music which can change your mood from one of despair to one of satisfaction and optimism.

Since Mozart wrote a great amount of music which can help us chill-out, the folks at Naxos must have had a hard time deciding which pieces to program. By and large, they have made an admirable set of decisions, although I would have liked a sampling of Mozart’s solo piano music.

Of course, sampling isn’t the disc’s intent. What counts is whether we have been ‘chilled’. Given the programming and the generally fine quality of performances, I can confidently report that listening to the disc has the potential to lift the blues unless the emotional distress requires professional intervention.

All the performances are worthy. The beautifully sung and paced Ave Verum Corpus is quite uplifting and the gem on the disc. Of course, the sound quality varies but is never less than acceptable. I recommend "Chill with Mozart" for new Mozart listeners who need some mood enhancement. Others will likely prefer Mozart recordings offering a wider range of his musical personality.

Don Satz

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