Mozart + Bohm + Brandis = Exquisite Musical Beauty
Classicalfan | Reston, VA USA | 01/15/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This 2-CD set offers four of Mozart's most beautiful compositions performed by one of the 20th century's greatest conductors of Mozart, with the Vienna Philharmonic and Berlin Philharmonic, with outstanding sound quality on a remastered analog recording from the 1970's. If that were all it offered, it would already be more than enough to satisfy the listener.
But it also offers the heavenly beauty of Thomas Brandis' violin performance in the "Haffner Serenade" on Disc 2. The quality of his performance is as good as that of any violinist that I have ever heard; it is filled with sweetness, lyrical poetry, elegance, depth, and tenderness. There are passages of rapid scintillating solos that sparkle with joy, lightness, and wit. Thomas Brandis prepared his own cadenzas in movements 2 (andante) and 4 (Rondeau: Allegro). His performance in the Rondeau is like entrancing magical poetry.
The balance between the violin and the orchestra in the "Haffner" Serenade could not be more perfect. As they go back and forth, giving a seamlessly coordinated performance, they respond to each other like true partners and with ebullient rhythmic energy brimming with joy and love for the music they're performing; it's as if the violin and orchestra were dancing with each other, whirling up and down the length of a long ballroom. The sound of the orchestra is rich and full of majestic grandeur, but never weighty, ponderous.
Karl Bohm was in his late seventies and early eighties when he rcorded these four works. He brought an entire lifetime of intimate knowledge of and love for Mozart to these performances that radiate with elegance, warmth, and vitality.
As a point of comparison, among the many excellent recordings of Eine kleine Nachtmusik and the Posthorn Serenade, there is also the 1983 digital recording by James Levine and the Vienna Philharmonic, also on DG. The Levine CD offers a much longer Andantino section (9:34) in the Posthorn Serenade, compared with Bohm's (5:14); with its much greater length and slower tempo, it has a wistful and melancholy quality that is reminiscent of the adagio in Mozart's Clarinet Concerto in A Major.
The orchestra in the Levine recording also has a slightly less majestic, more intimate quality in its sound, with the sound of the different orchestral sections and individual instruments a bit more clearly delineated in some passages. But these differences between Bohm and Levine are differences to be appreciated, not judged with a view to finding one approach "right" and the other "wrong".
Both CDs, the Bohm and the Levine, come with well-written, detailed, interesting, and informative essays in their inserts. My recommendation is to buy both CDs and enjoy the nuances of the different performances. However, if you must buy only one, then, although the Levine single CD is excellent and in digital, the Bohm 2-CD set is the one to get. For only a few dollars more it offers something exquisitely beautiful that is not on the Levine single CD: the "Haffner" Serenade with the brilliant performance of the violinist, Thomas Brandis. Very highly and enthusiastically recommended."
The slow tempo somehow failed to capture all the beauty
Ryan Kouroukis | 12/04/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Mozart's K.525 is probably the most popular Mozart piece. But in this CD, the slow tempo somehow failed to capture the full range of beauty, especially the fourth chapter(rondo,allegro).
In my opinion, the slow tempo deviates a little bit too far from Mozart's intention; because, I think, some notes in the fourth chapter is meant to be played a little bit faster than this CD did. Since I can't post a score here, I can't explain exactly which notes I'm talking about. My recommendation is that if you buy this CD, don't buy it for the K.525. Of course, the rest of this 2 cd set is just wonderful. This CD still worth 5 stars."
UNSURPASSABLE Haffner & Posthorn!
Ryan Kouroukis | Toronto, Ontario Canada | 01/11/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I have to say that after listening to this Berlin/Bohm set, the Haffner and Posthorn Serenades are my FAVORITE Mozart pieces out of ALL Mozart's output! All thanks to Bohm!
I swear by these discs...these pieces...these interpretations. They're highly addictive. I've compared the Haffner and Posthorn to all other versions. None come close in majesty, brilliance and sonics.
The Serenata Notturno is also quite fine actually, but I do have to say that the Eine Kleine Nachtmusik is the worst I ever heard, it's extrememly thick and stodgy, with bland and unnthusiastic playing. I never thought that would be possible coming from the Bohm & the Vienna Philharmonic! Must have had a bad day or something.
(A small sacrifice to pay for the unending joy of the Haffner and Posthorn.)
Nevertheless, you'll NEVER be able to stop thanking Mozart for writing these pieces and for Bohm, the Berlin and DG for recording them!"
Track Listings (14) - Disc #1