Search - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, George Szell, Cleveland Orchestra :: Mozart: Symphonies Nos. 35, 40, 41

Repackaged in bright ugly orange, but still the best.

R.D. Monsoon | 01/18/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When it comes to Mozart, I'm one of those people who prefer his works on period instruments. To my ears, the sound and size of a period orchestra suits his music much better. When it comes to George Szell conducting Mozart though, there simply is nothing better. Interestingly, his approach to Mozart (as well as Haydn) is a precursor to the Historical Informed Performance movement that would emerge in the 70s and gain popularity in the 80s. Unlike Szell's peers in the 60s, he performed Mozart without heavy-handed romanticism and a bloated orchestra. He takes full advantage of Cleveland's chamberesque sound, transparency and razor sharp precision. Szell brilliantly allows every note of each symphony to be heard, revealing the inner-workings of these Mozart symphonies. Over 40 years later these recordings are still tough to beat. The finale of the Haffner is worth the price of admission alone - no one else takes it quite as fast Szell and Cleveland. New comers to these recording will probably be taken back by the lack of repeats. Szell omits them for two reason. First, Szell thought that when taken, they hurt the overall balance between movements in each symphony. The other reason which he never admitted to, was that he (and Columbia Records) wanted to keep each symphony on one side of an LP. In concert he was known to observe some repeats, such as in symphony no.41.For those who already own these symphonies on CD, Sony has merely repackaged them. *The sound has not been remastered in any way*. I'm not sure what's the deal with this. Based on the recordings Sony has released on Essential Classics, MasterWorks Heritage, and now SACD, it would appear that they realize Szell's recordings are the best in their catalogue. However, by simply repackaging these symphonies, they've passed over an excellent opportunity to use the latest technology to remaster these recordings (the last time any remastering was done was over 12 years ago) and to bring back in print more Szell conducting Mozart, such as Symphony no.39 (which as been released on SACD)."

Szell's Mozart Is A Tour-De-Force!

dv_forever | Michigan, USA | 11/07/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've been listening to the late Mozart symphonies for years and these Szell recordings continually stand out as some of the finest. Szell beats Marriner, Bernstein, Gardiner and even Karajan most of the time. Szell's Haffner is radiant, one of the finest ever played. His account of the 40th symphony, the famous G Minor is still unsurpassed, the richness and dark emotions of the opening movement are brought out as never before or since. Szell gives off no sentimentality whatsoever and this music sings and flies under his baton. Bernstein and Karajan are easily superseded in the Haffner and G Minor symphonies. The final symphony, number 41, the magnificent Jupiter, one of Mozart's greatest creations and one of the most perfect symphonies ever composed gets a stunning performance. Here the competition is stiffer and you should definitely hear Karajan in the Jupiter, check out his DG 2CD set of the late Mozart symphonies. Other than Karajan, Szell reigns supreme on modern instruments, utilizing the full orchestra.



Szell skips many of the repeats which have become customary these days, the repeats sure can get annoying, it's nice to hear Szell letting the music speak for itself instead of being merely academic. Szell takes the repeat in the opening movement of the Haffner symphony, this is something that recent day conductors don't do since Mozart did not put a repeat sign for this movement. The 40th symphony also gets the all important exposition repeat in it's opening movement, the finale moves along sans repeats. The Jupiter is repeat free in the opening movement and the finale. The finale especially can get very tedious if both halves of it's structure are repeated like in the Bernstein recording.



Basically if you love Mozart played by modern instruments on a full-sized orchestra, I can't recommend Szell's CD enough, it's a classic in every sense, fast, elegant, dramatic and full of charm. You must buy it if you love Mozart.

"

The good old days

Ryan Richards | Midland, MI United States | 01/03/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've heard people say Szell's recordings are lame and uninteresting. I don't see how anyone could believe that, but if you need someone to say it ain't so, here I am. Although these interpretations of these symphonies don't blast out of your speakers the way von Karajan or Bernstein Mozart would, that doesn't mean they're not full-blooded, irresistible recordings nonetheless. What Szell and Cleveland bring to the foray that many of their counterparts lack is their trademark pinpoint precision. You truly can "hear every note"--and in music as transparently structured as Mozart's, where every note is necessary and important, that precision makes the difference between a nice recording and a compelling one. However, there's a surprising amount of passion in these interpretations as well. Given that Szell himself defended his allegedly unemotional Mozart recordings with the sardonic comment "I cannot pour chocolate sauce on asparagus," I find these recordings to be some of the most ardent I've heard; in fact, for as much of a Dohnanyi fan as I am, I daresay this recording of the 40th trumps even that maestro's recording with this same orchestra. The "Haffner" symphony in particular is a real potboiler on this album; I don't think I've ever heard it performed with more gusto--but check out the stentorian minuet of the 40th, or the exhilarating trumpet work throughout the 41st. The bottom line is, you get three of Mozart's finest symphonies packed into one CD at a budget price, which is a bargain on its own--but when the quality of the interpretation is as good as it is here, that bargain becomes an unbelievable value. Even if you already own other recordings of all of these symphonies, this CD should be a necessary addition to your collection. It sure was for me."