Well-played and polished...maybe a little *too* polished
John Grabowski | USA | 07/18/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This is an excellent all-around set, even if these aren't quite the definitive performances I'd hoped for. There's no doubt that Britten is a stylish conductor who gets the ECO to produce a gorgeous tone in some of Mozart's most pleasing symphonies--but sometimes it's all just a little too polished and prettified. Particularly in the "Great" G minor, I miss the tragedy, the drama. If you want to hear what I mean, listen to Furtwangler in this same work (if you can find it; a quick check seems to indicate it's out of print--pity). Plus there's something the Viennese sound--less "bright and smooth" and more introspective--that seems right for much of his music. In the slow movements of both G minor works, for example, there's just not the infusion of tragedy I look for. Vienna under Furtwangler is far less pretty, yet that os just what this music cries out for. Too much perfume and Mozart can be in danger of being a MUZAKy composer.Not that these recordings aren't worth a listen, especially at the price. And it's nice to have some of Mozart's best symphonic works on one "double-decker" CD. But you definitely should supplement this set with many other conductors' interpretations: Furtwangler, Horenstein, Bernstein, Marriner, Szell (with the Concertgebouw more than Cleveland if you can find these rare recordings) and Blomstedt. And surely others I'm forgetting off the top of my head.One sonic complaint: Symphony No. 40 is recorded so loud that the master tape appears to be satured, resulting in some static and distortion in the work's loudest passages. It's relatively minor, however."
Great music interpreted well
fasmaie | OH, USA | 03/18/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Britten has to be one of the most underrated interpreters of Mozart ever. Listen to this CD and enjoy the greatest music by one of the greatest composers interpreted by someone who really 'saw' the point in these works."