Search - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Herbert von Karajan, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra :: Mozart: Symphonies 29, 35 "Haffner" & 36 "Linz"

An intriguing combination of high voltage and elegance

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 02/17/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Karajan's way with Mozart never changed. Here we have a 1960 recording of Sym. 29 along with 1970 versios of the Haffner and Linz (#35 and #36), three works that are all cheerful and buoyant. Karajan views them as large-scale pieces a la Bernstein, Bohm, and Klemperer. The Berlin Phil. is recorded in a roomy church acoustic, and the strings sound like the full company. Karajan provides temendous power, even as he keeps the textures light and elegant--for a big orchestra, that is.



Some critics hate this approach, but on its own terms I found it very ocnvincing. Tempos are generally quick, the minuets never heavy or plodding, and there is overall a sense of virtuosic elan. Why should only Beethoven and later composers be given the luxury treatment? Mozart is thrilling on this scale, and in his lifetime he yearned for big orchestras, only rarely getting them.



A couple of decades later the Berlin Phil. recorded all these works with reduced forces under Abbado, and tthose are exciting performances, too, but without the special polish and thrust Karajan favored. If you want to test whether you like his aproach, this CD, one of his best Mozart outings, is a good place to start. Excellent, warm remastered sound, too."