Search - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Jan Vaclav Vorisek, Karel Ancerl :: Mozart: Violin Concerto, K216; Bassoon Concerto; Vorísek: Symphony

Ancerl - The Gold Standard

Michael B. Richman | Portland, Maine USA | 09/19/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Supraphon label has been doing an excellent job of reissuing large parts of their back catalog over the last few years. Not only are they releasing numerous performances with the Czech Philharmonic and visiting conductors like Kletzki and Matacic (see my reviews), but they have also remastered (in 24/96) many of the recordings of conductor Karel Ancerl in a new series called the "Gold Edition." Volume 18 of this series features Ancerl and the Czech PO in two Concertos by Mozart and a Symphony by Vorisek. At first you might think this is an odd coupling, and you may also be saying who is Vorisek? A Czech composer, Vorisek was born in the year of Mozart's death (1791) and actually lived a shorter life than him as well -- 34 years as opposed to Mozart's 35. Vorisek's Symphony in D Major, his only work in this format, dates from 1823 and is thoroughly enjoyable despite its obvious Beethoven influence. It fits nicely with two of Mozart's earlier Concertos -- Violin Concerto No. 3 (with the great David Oistrakh as soloist!) and the Bassoon Concerto K191 (with soloist Karel Bildo). Despite the fact that all of these recordings are mono performances from the early 1950s, the sound is wonderful. I look forward to purchasing (and reviewing) more titles from the "Gold Edition.""