Customer Reviews

Complete Mozart Symphonies

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have to disagree with the Michael B Richman review regarding the comparison of this excellent set to the Hogwood/AAM box. Being a certifiable period-instrument geek, I feel that, although this set is less inclusive, it contains all the most important works and there's really no comparison between them in terms of quality. I am a big fan of both of these ensembles and in fact I own both of these box sets, so I've been able to compare them. The AAM have some trouble with their intonation (this is one of their earliest efforts - they've since fixed the problem in later recordings) and in fact sound downright sour on occassion. I still enjoy it, but this newer set by Pinnock retains all the period-instrument clarity, but with a far more refined and richer sound, especially in the string tone. And the digital recording is excellent while the Hogwood set is mostly analog (although the transfers are first-rate). Bottom line - I like both sets, but if you're looking for one set of Mozart symphonies on period instruments, Pinnock's is the better choice. It may even please some of those whose preference is for modern instruments.

I own both this set and the Hogwood set. This set is miked very closely and sounds much brighter (and louder) than the Hogwood. In fact, the technical aspects of this recording make this set sound much heavier (and modern) than the Hogwood although both use period instruments. If you're looking for a light and airy approach to Mozart, you should probably look to the Hogwood although the sound is a bit thin in some passages. Although this set is certainly excellent, the recording makes it sound very much like a modern orchestra. That is not necessarily bad, but many people who enjoy authentic instruments prefer the lighter approach. I would strongly suggest you listen to samples of both sets prior to purchase.

My wife and I were married at Mirabel Palace in Salzburg "The City of Mozart", so of course Mozart's music holds a special place in my heart. I must agree with the reviewer below: Pinnock/English Concert have the superior sound over Hogwood/Academy of Ancient Music. Although not as extensive (48 symphonies on 11 CD's as opposed to Hogwood's 72 tracks on 19 CD's) this contains all the essential Mozart symphonies that one could hope for, and the price is accordingly less (around $80 as opposed to $150). The Hogwood cycle are analog recordings (digitally mastered) from the 80's when all the sound bugs from authentic instruments had not been completely worked out yet. The Pinnock cycle are superb digital recordings from 1993-95, presenting a vivid "sound stage" where you feel as if this sublime orchestra is playing right there in your room. Check it out, you won't be disappointed!

i've had the recent opportunity to listen to both the pinnock and hogwood mozart recordings (alongside the tate, mackerras and bohm) during work on a very large painting project, and want to context the comments made by other reviewers.

chronologically, hogwood (with the academy of ancient music, recording around 1980-85) precedes pinnock (with the english concert, recording around 1993-95) by a decade or so, and the two sets are contrasted for that reason in technique and approach to classical music performance.

i frown skeptically at the comments of sonic superiority of one set over the other; certainly you can recognize a different audio engineering esthetic between the two, and the acoustics and sound stage are different, but my main impression was that i had to turn down the volume to optimally hear the pinnock performances, not that either set was lacking. in fact, the remastered (ADD) hogwood set sounds fuller and mellower to my ear; many of pinnock's early recordings (e.g., his brandenberg concertos) are so brightly mastered that the strings and recorders become strident.

there is also the difference that the pinnock set was selective, while the hogwood traversal included every known (at the time) mozart symphony, a serenade using the themes of a symphony (the haffner), a few suspected spurious symphonies, and alternative versions of a few late symphonies. hogwood and the AAC record every single one with consistently high musicianship and alertness, and i found absolutely nothing to fault in the performances, admired the players' ensemble and instrumental tone, and found the interpretations beautifully shaped and paced. (i listened to every disc of both pinnock and hogwood at least twice.)

the pinnock performances, to my mind, have the specific virtue of presenting mozart as an evolving musical mind, and in particular illuminating how he bridges the eclectic and experimental mid 18th century musical culture of c.p.e. bach and (especially) j.c. bach, the sturm und drang period of the late 18th century, and the preromantic period at the turn of the 19th century. the youthful symphonies are brightly articulated, dramatically contrasted but too nimble to be weighty; the later symphonies are played in the same passionate style that one might find in a robust performance of beethoven's first or second.

indeed, there are several points in pinnock's version of the late symphonies where i raised my head from work and thought "ah, so that's where beethoven found it" -- both compositionally, in the sense of a specific musical idea, instrumental texture or orchestration, but also instrumentally, in the performance requirements mozart's compositions imposed on ensemble players. (to caricature, mozart made the musicians, and haydn the compositional practices, that beethoven took to a new style.) to this end pinnock has added percussion parts to a few of the symphonies (contributed by h.c. robbins landon and other musicologists), and there is across many of the symphonies a clear difference from hogwood in the instrumental balance between violins and bass, and the sheer presence of the wind instruments. there is also nothing to regret in pinnock's smaller selection of symphonies: nothing is missing that you'll ever recognize as mozart worth hearing.

my main quibble with the pinnock set is that pinnock leans toward virtuosity for its own sake -- tempos are brisker, sound is brighter, accents are sharper, contrasts are more colorful and emphatic. (this is, i suspect, what some listeners may attribute to "better recording".) this is because pinnock made his recordings over a decade after early music advocates had finally established the early music performance esthetic: from that point, the early music tradition has evolved toward a more virtuosic, gobsmacking audience experience -- "kick out the jams!" -- a tendency that persists to this day. this is something absent from the earlier generations (compare, for example, bach's brandenbergs recorded by leonhardt, hogwood and pinnock) and, in my view, is not necessarily something to be preferred.

aside from the fact that it may be too much of a good thing, i don't think it is "authentic" early music. i don't believe that 18th century musicians, living basically the life of servants and often trained father to son on second best instruments, had the sheer chops and deep musical culture to pull it the performances offered by modern and musically competitive ensembles of juilliard and royal academy postgrads. i also suspect that performances which sound brisk and bright to our ears, already accustomed to rock howl and jazz squeal, would have sounded unbearably frantic to ears used to market square country dances and amateur chamber salons.

personally, i would not do without either set (or the others named parenthetically above): note my five star rating. but hogwood and pinnock are different, and reflect different musical temperaments and objectives. one is certainly not superior to the other.

Trevor Pinnock and the English Concert turn in the best period instrument Mozart Symphony cycle around. With 20-30 players, the English Concert sounds full and rich, and are so well recorded, one could mistake them for a modern instrument chamber orchestra augmented with more players for a bigger sound. The early symphonies employ fewer players, the symphonies from about No. 20 and following call for more players, in some cases trumpets, horns and timpani in addition to the usual strings, harpsichord, flutes, oboes, and bassoon.

Pinnock chooses perfect tempos for the English Concert: allegros are spritely, but not driven and there's never a sense that the musicians are having trouble keeping up at Pinnock's tempos. Andante movements sing with the cantabile quality Mozart is famous for, and are always musical and flowing: very beautiful.

I am not a big fan of period instrument Mozart. I have heard Hogwood and the Academy of Ancient Music (L'Oiseau Lyre) in Mozart Symphonies 34, 38, 39, and 41 and that's enough to give me a sense that Pinnock is superior - more confident, and better recorded - to Hogwood in this music. Haydn's symphonies seem to work better with period instruments than do Mozart's, but Pinnock and the English Concert have a special musical quality which MAKE Mozart work with a period orchestra. Incidentally, both Pinnock and Hogwood have recorded very fine Haydn Symphonies with their respective orchestras.

I have also read, in AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE (July/August 2005 issue) in a review of the Mozart Symphonies with Linden/Mozart Academy of Amsterdam, a period orchestra (Brilliant Classics set) that Pinnock's Mozart cycle is to be preferred. I have not heard Linden myself, but ARG's review states that with the exception of Symphonies 20, 39, 40, and 41, Pinnock "wins across the board." The reviewer cites sour tuning, below standard pitch, sloppy playing, not enough contrasts of dynamic range and pokey allegros, as liabilites which are especially annoying in Linden's cycle, and advises the reader to go with Pinnock if looking for a period cycle of Mozart symphonies.

Other options? Bohm/Berlin Philharmonic (DG); Krips/Concertgebouw (for Symphonies 21-41, Philips); Hans Graf/Mozarteum Orchestra, Salzburg (Capriccio); and Nicholas Ward/Northern Chamber Orchestra, modern instrument chamber orchestra (for early symphonies, Naxos). But unless you really hate period instruments, you will like Pinnock, as I do, and as I stated earlier: I am not a fan of period instrument Mozart.

...if you are going to be spending this hefty chunk of change on an authentic instruments performance of Mozart's Symphonies, you might as well spend a little more and get the Hogwood/AAM set. It has loads more "newly discovered" pieces, in fact the Hogwood boasts 19 discs worth of music versus 11 discs on this Pinnock/English Concert set. Those looking for a non-authentic instruments performance should check out the Marriner/Krips set on Philips, or scour the used bins for the great Leinsdorf cycle with the Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra of London on Westminster/MCA.

In comparing this recording, with its use of original instruments, and my favorite recordings with modern instruments, I find I prefer this. It doesn't lose any power, but it gains by the imaginative process of listening to the music as Mozart would have heard it. The collection is also a wonderful way to listen to the progression of Mozart's music throughout his life. As you listen to the first two of the eleven discs, you'll be amazed at the symphonies he wrote when he was only nine years old!

I must echo most of the reviews below. As an owner of the Tate symphonies set, I also wanted to try an authentic period instrument set of these symphonies. I'm very happy with the Pinnock set- not harsh sounding at all to my ear as some period orchestras are. The clarity of sound is superb and pacing is intriguing at times, as in the quite quick pace of Symphony 39- very effective. All in all, a terrific choice- I find myself enjoying this set as much as the Tate set, in a slightly different way. These 2 sets offer Mozart's incomparable music at it's very best. Buy them!

These [Mozart] symphonies are part of my soul. They have brought hours of complete joy. When I first purchased these, with a leap of faith, I had not owned one symphonic disc played on period instruments. Pinnock and The English Concert did not disappoint.These symphonies capture Genius at his grandest. The Early symphonies express a grand, festive yet noble air that 'we have something special here'..............and, indeed we have. As the symphonies progress, Pinnock captures a master at his craft. The Salzburg Symphonies embody a teenager developing his orchestrations. The Late Symphonies (nos 31-41)show a more mature hand. Pinnock conducts the symphonies with

a fresh forward approach...........each symphony breathes Mozart. I am glad to have to have this set......and so will you.

If you are looking for the complete cycle of Mozart's symphonies, I wholeheartedly recommend this item. In contrast to some other reviews I believe the audio quality to be be top notch....in fact I was surprised at the clarity, detail, and total soundstage presentation. Maybe for 40 and 41 I prefer my recording by Gardiner and for 38 and 39 Mackerras particularly for the Menuetto in 39, but in total these recordings are magnificent. Highest possible recommendation.