It was only last October that I reviewed the last of Muti’s Vienna recordings of Mozart symphonies, coupling the Paris and No. 39. I warmly recommended the disc for anyone who wanted that rare coupling in large-scale, traditional performances, but this time with the Haffner and Prague the results are more questionable. The playing is again immaculate, with the resonant recording bringing out the opulence of the Vienna Philharmonic strings, but in both symphonies Muti takes a fierce view in outer movements, generally adopting fast speeds that sound a little breathless.
Hearing Muti’s view of the Haffner reminded me that this was one of Toscanini’s favourite Mozart symphonies, since this performance is pressured in the way that one finds in many of his NBC recordings. One might well feel that the martial element in this music justifies that, but with what sounds like a slightly smaller body of Vienna Philharmonic strings, James Levine on his DG recording at a similar speed is less aggressive, springing rhythms rather more.
As before, Levine has provided a yardstick of comparison in both works, but this time it is Muti who misses Mozartian charm. In the Prague there is a strong case for a monumental approach, particularly when Muti (like Levine) observes second- as well as first-half repeats in the first two movements, but Levine is the one who more clearly gives the music room to breathe. '