Search - Mozart, Walter, Columbia Symphony :: Symphonies 36 & 38

Great Mozart from Bruno Walter's late years

Alan Majeska | Bad Axe, MI, USA | 06/02/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Recorded in stereo when conductor Bruno Walter was past 80 years of ago, these Mozart Symphonies are beautiful in their feeling of Romantic longing and yet balanced with Classical architecture and poise: they are not "Mozart played like Brahms" as one might expect. Bruno Walter (1876-1962) was born in Berlin and trained first as a pianist, then as a disciple of great composer Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) became a conductor, making his first recording in 1900 of Bizet's CARMEN (excerpts) at just the age of 24!



Walter recorded these Mozart Symphonies in stereo in 1959, with the Los Angeles based "Columbia Symphony Orchestra" for the then Columbia records, later CBS, and since 1991, Sony. The Columbia Symphony consisted of members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic + some studio and freelance musicians from the Los Angeles area.



See my review of Mozart: Symphonies 35 and 39, by Bruno Walter/Columbia Symphony Orchestra (Odyssey CD) for further thoughts, which also apply to this disc. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this."