With these two volumes, Adam Fischer completes his cycle of Mozart’s symphonies; the complete set is also now available cheaply (‘45 Symphonies’, Dacapo 8 201201). I reviewed some of the earlier volumes, since when the series has passed around my colleagues, each of whom found aspects to enjoy and others at which to cavil. From the gunshot opening of the Linz Symphony, we are on familiar Fischer ground in performances that occasionally feel rather too driven, and not only in faster movements: the Linz’s Poco adagio, for example, could have benefited from a greater sense of repose, while the chattering finale of K543 falls over itself somewhat. Conversely, to the minuets he imparts a seemingly authentic sense of Viennese style, dispatching them with more care for characterisation than is often the case.

Fischer’s interventions will please or appal depending on whether or not you take to his idiosyncrasies. There are successive instances of inauthentic sul ponticello and col legno in the finale of the Linz, for instance, and a ‘rasping’ sound in many places (K543’s first-movement development; the first and third movements of K550) as the fiddlers are encouraged to dig deep into the string – not a pleasant effect for repeated listening. Tempi, too, are needlessly pulled about – in the approach to the development in K550’s finale and, more distressingly, in the opening figures of the Jupiter – while the accellerando at the end of K543’s first movement is possibly better experienced in concert than on disc. On the other hand, thoughtful wind phrasing abounds, as does a keen awareness of the importance of the inner voices, especially violas and horns.

All these matters are, of course, Fischer’s prerogative and individual listeners will know how they respond to them. If the drive and wilful individuality of Fischer’s performances are your tasse de thé, buy without hesitation. For a more naturalistic option on a similar scale in these later symphonies, though, Sir Charles Mackerras’s recordings with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra are recent front-runners.

For those, like me, who have followed Fischer through all 45 of Mozart’s 41 [sic] symphonies, there is one final frustration: having dutifully obeyed the second-half repeat in the finale of K543, so important to the work’s balance as well as to its cheeky humour, he omits the equivalent repeat that is so crucial in the Jupiter’s finale, fatally undermining its structure and drama – and this on a disc with 15 minutes to spare. The cycle thus closes on a vexing note.