Search - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Neville Marriner, Willi Boskovsky :: Mozart on the Menu: A Delightful Little Dinner Music

Sirry D. (SirryD)
Reviewed on 9/6/2011...

Don't let the title fool you! I love this cd - it was a huge surprise. Most of the pieces are by Academy of St. Martin in the Fields which is incomparable! The other artists are all also top notch. The best of Mozart. Something for everyone. Perfect for in the car!

1 of 2 member(s) found this review helpful.

Enjoyable, bright, sunny-morning-at-the-cafe selections

Keith Sanftner (sanftner@flash.net) | El Paso, Texas | 11/20/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I like this CD so much, I'm buying it again so I can have a second copy for home. I'm a high school science teacher and I wanted an unobtrusive, but not bland, collection of Mozart to play in the background as my students worked. I found that this CD more than satisfied my meager demands by being invigorating without being overpowering, and varied enough so as to not get stale, even when on continuous play. My students have enjoyed it as well, quickly becoming comfortable with what, for most of them, was a new type of music, even asking me to play it if I forget to cue it up before class. I can't comment on the technical virtuosity of the performances, but they are certainly adequate, and the quality of the recording is very good. The music is presented in a menu style, with 'appetizers', 'main course', and 'dessert'. All in all, just the music for times when you need a pleasant, easily palatable, uplift for your day."

A superb collection of Mozart's elegant music

Alan Lekan | Boulder, CO | 01/26/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Philips' "Set your Life to Music" series was designed for the average person who knows little about classical music but is interested to explore and enjoy it. For the average listener, the more soothing and elegant sounds of Mozart or Bach that this series features will be more appealing than the harsher tones and loudness of a Beethoven or modern symphony. This CD is a most lush collection of some of Mozart's finest music he composed for special festivities during the era of Dukes and Princes and Royal Courts (called "divertimenti"). So, the title "A Delightful Little Dinner Music" really is not far from the intent of the music Mozart wrote here - it was designed to be light, elegant and most of all to set a warm mood for the event. All pieces here are of a similar, non-invasive tone and temperament with no dramatic or loud sections that can disrupt special moments. The selections featuring the silky-smooth sounds of the oboe or clarinet are most delightful as Mozart had a special talent for writing for those highly-expressive instruments. Not a harsh note is heard on the entire CD.



But, don't misread the cute, contemporary art cover to mean substandard classical music. The quality of the performances, compilations and recordings are all surprizingly quite good. Even the "serious" classical listener should enjoy the variety of such compilations once in a while as hearing the fifteenth violin sonata in a row can start to become monotonous. Sometimes a little diversity is what is needed and the wonderful selections on this high-quality CD offers this. I have many CD's in this series and find this one my favorite. It is Mozart at his most elegant and wonderfully lyrical. It is music that never demands to be heard but only seeks to delight. Highly recommended.



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