Search - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Peter Maag, Orchestra di Padove e del Veneto :: Mozart: Symphpny No. 40; Symphony No. 41 "Jupiter"

Magisterial

David Saemann | 02/10/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Peter Maag established his reputation as a Mozartean with recordings for Decca in the 1950's and early '60's. He returned to this repertoire with the Padua and Venice Orchestra in the 1990's. The current CD, recorded in 1996, places the orchestra in a fine auditorium that gives a sheen to the strings, with fine balances, that one cannot take for granted on recordings of this orchestra. The performances are mighty in their intentions. Tempos are slow, almost too slow in the second movements of both symphonies. I have to admit that the slow movement of the 40th was something of a struggle for me. But time after time Maag revels in the details he uncovers. The horns are given particular prominence, in a wholly satisfying way. When Maag hits the fugue in the last movement of the Jupiter, you are almost convinced that the orchestra is going to explode from the intensity and majesty of the phrasing. Yet the intricacies of the string phrasing in both works also reveal nuance after nuance. This is highly individual Mozart, but ultimately very rewarding.

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