Essential Mozart: 32 Of His Greatest Masterpieces

Fritz Dolezal (Performer), Franklin Cohen (Performer), Peter Schmidl (Performer), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Composer), Christoph von Dohnányi (Conductor), Christopher Hogwood (Conductor), David Hill (Conductor), Georg Solti (Conductor), George Guest (Conductor), Gyorgy Fischer (Conductor), Herbert von Karajan (Conductor), Jack Brymer (Conductor), Myung-Whun Chung (Conductor), Neville Marriner (Conductor), Peter Maag (Conductor), Stephen Cleobury (Conductor), Uri Segal (Conductor), Willi Boskovsky (Conductor), Academy of Ancient Music (Performer), Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields (Performer)

Product Details

• Performer: Fritz Dolezal, Franklin Cohen, Peter Schmidl, Academy of Ancient Music, Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields
• Conductor: Christoph von Dohnányi, Christopher Hogwood, David Hill, Georg Solti, George Guest, et al.
• Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Audio CD (March 13, 2001)
• SPARS Code: ADD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Decca
• ASIN: B00005A8JZ
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,935 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #1 in	Music > Classical > Featured Performers, A-Z > ( A ) > Academy of Ancient Music
  #2 in	Music > Classical > Featured Performers, A-Z > ( C ) > Cleveland Orchestra
  #4 in	Music > Classical > Sacred & Religious > Requiems

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

156 of 163 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not for purists, but a great introduction nevertheless, April 29, 2001

By	"pspa" (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews

I don't think Mozart purists would want a collection that consists in large part of excerpts or single movements from various works, but I bought this for my kids and it really is an entertaining, first-rate, diverse introduction to the endless repertoire of Mozart. Perfect for someone who is only a casual fan of classical music, or kids who need memorable tunes to sustain their interest in classical music, or I suppose for someone who just wants beautiful music in the background.

83 of 85 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a Mozart sampler for any reason you want, November 11, 2002

By	R. Hutchinson "autonomeus" (a world ruled by fossil fuels and fossil minds) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This is a great sampler of the world's greatest composer (well, Bach and Beethoven are contenders)! Rather than deciding where to begin -- operas? symphonies? concertos? sonatas? -- you can begin everywhere at once. The performances are not second-rate, they are excerpts from world-class recordings. You can use this set as the basis for further listening adventures, or you can use it as an end in itself. As such, it is surely a contender for Best CD In The World. If you bought complete recordings of every composition excerpted on this disc, you might have to file for bankruptcy, so don't let purism stand in the way of enjoying Mozart.

I used this set as my introduction (it was previously packaged as THE GREATEST MOZART SHOW ON EARTH) when I first ventured into classical music a couple of years ago, and so far I've expanded into operas, piano concertos, violin concertos, and string quintets. The genius revealed over the range of forms led to love at first listening!

54 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Purists Be Damned!, June 22, 2005

By	Suzanne (Oklahoma City, OK United States) - See all my reviews

This is an excellent collection and the perfect starting point for anyone interested in getting into classical music or, more specifically, Mozart. It was because of my love for this set that I ended up buying the 180 cd "Complete Mozart Edition" from Phillips. Now, spending $1000+ on everything Mozart ever wrote is a bit extreme and those who aren't kooks and completests like myself most likely won't be inclined to do so. But my love for Mozart and classical really began with this set. I found myself playing this album several times a day because I couldn't believed I had lived 16+ years without ever hearing such wonderful, awe-inspiring music.

Not to mention this set is filled with big-named conductors and orchestras who turn in wonderful performances of many of Mozart's best loved pieces. I swear everytime I hear the Adagio to Mozart's 23rd Piano Concerto I still get chills. This collection also contains a wide range of styles; from opera to symphonies and serenades, from concertos to sonatas. Which is really great at helping newbies (like myself when I first got this) decide which styles they like and will help them make future purchases.

This album really opened up a whole new world for me, and I'm beyond grateful for that. For anyone out there's who's ever considered checking out classical or Mozart, if you're looking at this album, don't hesitate to buy it. At the very worst you'll end up with an album that you won't like and $14 less in your wallet. At the most it will open up a whole new world of musical wonder that you've never known before.