MOZART Symphonies Nos 39 - 41 (Herzog)

Record and Artist Details

Composer or Director: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Genre:

Orchestral

Label: Naïve

Media Format: CD or Download

Media Runtime: 87

Mastering:

DDD

Catalogue Number: V5457

V5457. MOZART Symphonies Nos 39 - 41 (Herzog)

Tracks:

Composition Artist Credit
Symphony No. 39 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
Ensemble Appassionato
Mathieu Herzog, Conductor
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
Symphony No. 40 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
Ensemble Appassionato
Mathieu Herzog, Conductor
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
Symphony No. 41, "Jupiter" Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
Ensemble Appassionato
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
Ensemble Appassionato was convened by Mathieu Herzog, a founder member of the Ébène Quartet, and draws its members from a number of other French chamber ensembles. This is the group’s first recording in its own right and the repertoire itself stands out as a statement of intent: Mozart’s last three symphonies.

Herzog seeks to ‘reconcile the different approaches that have marked their performing history’ – bridging the gap, so he says, between Bruno Walter’s approach and Nikolaus Harnoncourt’s. He also sees these works of 1788 through a Beethovenian lens, performing them ‘with a certain form of strength, with, for example, powerful and massive orchestral tuttis’. So, at root, these are modern-instrument performances that digest the historical discoveries of our time and offer a full-bodied chamber presentation. That’s not too different from the tacks taken by a number of other groups in this and later music. Nevertheless, these three performances are, in their own ways, individual, minutely considered and thus, perhaps inevitably, not to every taste.

Primarily there are the speeds – and not only in the minuets, which here are all faster than one could feasibly minuet. That’s the fashion these days, and those of us who wish for a little moderation are cast as modern Cassandras. But try the outer movements of the Jupiter, which sprint away from the starting line. Can the musicians keep up? They assuredly can; and the finale is as exciting as any you’re likely to hear on record. Odd, though, that the first movement opens like the crack of a whip before settling into a general tempo a few notches less manic.

On the other hand, No 40 opens with something a touch more suave than its nervy Sturm und Drang might suggest, closer to debonair Abbado with his Orchestra Mozart (DG, 1/12) than to Mackerras and his go-ahead Scots (Linn, 4/08). The slow movement, too, hangs back more than many recent recordings, going more by the quaver than the dotted crotchet.

The ensemble sound, however, is one of the glories of this set. As chamber players and therefore soloists in their own rights, the contribution of each player is palpable. The strings display corporate agility without sinking into routine and the woodwind are as perky as can be, especially the clarinets in Nos 39 and 40 (the revised version). The bass lines are kept elastic and full of personality, providing fertile soil in which to cultivate the performances.

Black marks? We are notably short on second-half repeats, which is especially damaging in the finales of Nos 39 and 41. On my iPod, the three symphonies clock in at 85'29" – and there are single discs that run that long – so it is miserly to deprive us of those telling returns. There are also one or two moments where ensemble comes apart: the bassoon commentary as No 40’s opening movement recapitulates (from around 5'18") rather drags its heels.

All the same, this set arrived rather as an eccentric new flatmate, whose quirks initially irritate but whom one soon comes to love for all their oddities. From the description above, you will know whether this is your sort of thing. Even though I wish Mackerras hadn’t moved out, I ended up very much enjoying cohabiting with Herzog’s Mozart.

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