Mozart Orchestral & Vocal Works
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Label: Références
Magazine Review Date: 2/1992
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 192
Mastering:
Mono
ADD
Catalogue Number: 763912-2
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| Requiem |
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
Alexander Kipnis, Bass Anton Dermota, Tenor Bruno Walter, Conductor Elisabeth Schumann, Soprano Kerstin Thorborg, Mezzo soprano Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Vienna State Opera Chorus Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer |
| Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 20 |
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
Bruno Walter, Piano Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer |
| Symphony No. 38, "Prague" |
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
Bruno Walter, Conductor Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer |
| Symphony No. 39 |
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
BBC Symphony Orchestra Bruno Walter, Conductor Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer |
| Symphony No. 41, "Jupiter" |
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
Bruno Walter, Conductor Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer |
| Serenade No. 13, "Eine kleine Nachtmusik" |
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
Bruno Walter, Conductor Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer |
| (Le) nozze di Figaro, '(The) Marriage of Figaro', Movement: Overture |
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
British Symphony Orchestra Bruno Walter, Conductor Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer |
| (La) Clemenza di Tito, Movement: Overture |
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
Bruno Walter, Conductor Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer |
| (La) finta giardiniera, Movement: Overture |
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
Bruno Walter, Conductor Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer |
| (3) German Dances |
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
Bruno Walter, Conductor Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer |
Author: Lionel Salter
This set, rather varied both in content and in standard, can be sorted out into four stages: performances with the BBC SO in 1933-34, recordings in Vienna in 1936-37, a public performance at the Paris Exhibition in 1937, and Walter's last recordings in Vienna, just before (and in the case of the concerto, even after) the Anschluss that forced him to leave Austria (to which he had already fled from Germany five years previously).
At his best, these performances clearly show his intense musicality, sense of phrase and affectionate feeling for Mozart—a feeling that often, however, led him to linger over, and draw out, lyrical passages to the detriment of the overall shape of a movement: in particular, Mozart's second subjects were a target for this slowing down, producing an effect of sentimental indulgence. On the other hand, he didn't always hold tempos under control, allowing the music to run away. TheFigaro Overture exemplifies both these tendencies but the deftness of the playing (how good the orchestra was at that time!) and the sparkle from the carefully shaped and nuanced phrases are most attractive. The E flat Symphony, too, is notable for its vitality (with brilliant string work in the Allegro finale, played presto) and, in the first movement, warmth. (The Minuet is recorded at fractionally sharper pitch than the preceding Andante.)
Eine kleine Nachtmusik is marred by exaggerated dynamic contrasts—pianos emerging as pianissimos, unnaturally—and curious tonal bulges (especially in the finale) that may have been unevennesses in the recording. Yet the very next day the Prague Symphony showed none of this extremism: this is one of the best items in the present set, with acceptable sound and a fast but exhilarating first movement that eases up only slightly for the second subject. The K605 Dances (in which do I detect slight artificial reverberation?) are enjoyably light-stepping, the third (The Sleighride) complete with jingles and posthorn.
The Paris performance of the Requiem, however, is a dispiriting affair. EMI half apologize for ''variations in sound quality'', but except for a patently unsatisfactory chorus/orchestra balance at ''Confutatis'' and ''Ne absorbeat'' this is far less of a worry than Walter's exceptionally plodding reading. After the opening orchestral introduction he immediately takes the chorus entry slower, and then gets progressively slower still, dragging the section badly (Schumann tries to move him on, but to little effect); there is a lumbering ''Kyrie eleison''; impetus increasingly drains away in the ''Tuba mirum'' (in which Kipnis makes a mess of his first line and is unstylishly histrionic, and the trombone is none too secure); Walter's instability of pace unsettles the soloists in the ''Recordare''; and the ''Hostias'' is lugubriously pedestrian. The chorus is adequate, though its first cry of ''Rex!'' lacks attack. Almost the only bright spot is Dermota's mellifluously legato ''Mors stupebit''.
The sound reproduction in the 1938 Jupiter Symphony is thin and acid, with too light a bass. Walter avoids inflating the work to un-Mozartian proportions or 'majestic' interpretation; phrases are artistically moulded, and the second subject is treated delicately. The trio of the minuet is altogether delightful; the Andante is taken very slowly, with careful tonal shadings, but it does flow, if rather sentimentally: the finale isn't quite steady. The Overture to Tito is alert and pointed, that to La finta giardiniera much edgier in sound (though made on the same day!) and taken just too fast for complete security. Lastly, to remind us that Walter had originally started out as a concert pianist, here he is conducting the D minor Concerto from the keyboard. External events at the time lent Mozart's tense movement an extra urgency, but the abruptness of Walter's slowing down for the second subject and his hurrying in semiquaver passages show up as weaknesses: in the Romance there is an unconvincing change of pace at 1'40'' in, and the coda is dragged out, but as if to compensate, the finale is rushed through. It was, after all, a most upsetting time for balanced judgements.'
At his best, these performances clearly show his intense musicality, sense of phrase and affectionate feeling for Mozart—a feeling that often, however, led him to linger over, and draw out, lyrical passages to the detriment of the overall shape of a movement: in particular, Mozart's second subjects were a target for this slowing down, producing an effect of sentimental indulgence. On the other hand, he didn't always hold tempos under control, allowing the music to run away. The
The Paris performance of the Requiem, however, is a dispiriting affair. EMI half apologize for ''variations in sound quality'', but except for a patently unsatisfactory chorus/orchestra balance at ''Confutatis'' and ''Ne absorbeat'' this is far less of a worry than Walter's exceptionally plodding reading. After the opening orchestral introduction he immediately takes the chorus entry slower, and then gets progressively slower still, dragging the section badly (Schumann tries to move him on, but to little effect); there is a lumbering ''Kyrie eleison''; impetus increasingly drains away in the ''Tuba mirum'' (in which Kipnis makes a mess of his first line and is unstylishly histrionic, and the trombone is none too secure); Walter's instability of pace unsettles the soloists in the ''Recordare''; and the ''Hostias'' is lugubriously pedestrian. The chorus is adequate, though its first cry of ''Rex!'' lacks attack. Almost the only bright spot is Dermota's mellifluously legato ''Mors stupebit''.
The sound reproduction in the 1938 Jupiter Symphony is thin and acid, with too light a bass. Walter avoids inflating the work to un-Mozartian proportions or 'majestic' interpretation; phrases are artistically moulded, and the second subject is treated delicately. The trio of the minuet is altogether delightful; the Andante is taken very slowly, with careful tonal shadings, but it does flow, if rather sentimentally: the finale isn't quite steady. The Overture to Tito is alert and pointed, that to La finta giardiniera much edgier in sound (though made on the same day!) and taken just too fast for complete security. Lastly, to remind us that Walter had originally started out as a concert pianist, here he is conducting the D minor Concerto from the keyboard. External events at the time lent Mozart's tense movement an extra urgency, but the abruptness of Walter's slowing down for the second subject and his hurrying in semiquaver passages show up as weaknesses: in the Romance there is an unconvincing change of pace at 1'40'' in, and the coda is dragged out, but as if to compensate, the finale is rushed through. It was, after all, a most upsetting time for balanced judgements.'
Mozart Orchestral & Vocal Works
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