Search - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Nicholas Ward, Northern Chamber Orchestra :: Mozart: Symphonies Nos. 19, 20 & 37

Warm committed playing

bujoldfan | USA | 05/01/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mozart's Symphony 19 and Symphony 20 date from the time he was living in Salzburg, 1772. This is the 16 year old Mozart composing here. They are typical works for the period, beautiful and flowing with charming melodies, but not what anyone would call substantial or significant. Symphony 19 is scored for strings, 2 oboes, and 4 horns. Symphony 20 is scored for strings, flute, oboes, horns, and trumpets.



Mozart's Symphony 37 is rarely recorded, and you will almost never find it in complete recordings of Mozart's works, because the whole symphony except the introduction to the first movement is written by Michael Haydn. Because Mozart wrote the slow introduction, early catalogers considered the whole thing a work of Mozart's. I always say, that if something is so good that people thought it was by Mozart, then it's so good that we should listen to it no matter who wrote it. After Mozart's introduction, we have a jolly allegro that could have been written by Michael's older brother Joseph. This is followed by a beautiful andante and another lively allegro. The symphony was written in Linz in 1783 and is scored for strings, flute, oboes and horns.



The Northern Chamber Orchestra is based in Manchester and uses modern instruments. They play beautifully in a resonant hall. I have never heard a bad record from this group."