Customer Reviews

Mozart: Overtures; Divertimento, K. 131; Symphony No. 28

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

 

 

The CD as a whole is a bit of a mixed bag. Nothing is bad, but the performances by Brico, Entremont, and even Bruno Walter don't strike me as revelatory. But Thomas Schippers' "Marriage of Figaro" overture is wonderful: taut, powerful, and expressive. And the Szell performances are just miraculous: I'm a great admirer of Szell, but not all of his Mozart strikes me as essential. But these two off-the-beaten-path works by Mozart called forth something special in Szell and his remarkable orchestra. Szell's recording of the overture to "The Impresario" is my nominee for the single greatest performance of a Mozart overture, period. If I were a Penguin Guide reviewer, I'd be giving it a double rosette (with the caution that this is a personal mark of esteem, and, alas, it may not seem as miraculous to you--but then again, maybe it will). For me, as I told a friend, Szell's "Impresario" is "the perfect fusion of precision and poetry." I first discovered this performance as a 14-year-old on the old Columbia "Spectacular Cleveland Orchestra" LP set, and it riveted me then. The Divertimento is also an extraordinary performance: this performance smiles more than any Szell Mozart recording that I know, and when you combine Szell's affection, finesse, and sheer style with the Cleveland Orchestra at its unapproachable height, you've got something well worth double the asking price, even if the other recordings don't match Szell and Schippers.

I don't understand why anyone looking for a recording of the overtures to Mozart's major operas would look anywhere else! These performances are fresh and lively, and worthy of any collection.

While I agree that all performances here are at least acceptable, I agree with some other reviewers that the Szell and Schippers performances are superlative. There are other wonderful performances of many of these works. For me it is the Divertimento, K. 131 that is the real "find" here. First of all, this is a very rarely-performed work, and is even more rarely recorded. I wore out at least two copies of the vinyl version of this performance, over probably 30 years of listening. This is both Mozart and Szell at their best--and the Cleveland soloists, including Myron Bloom at his prime, are simply spectacular. EVERY nuance is explored with cogent coherence and exquisite musicianship. This is a MUST HAVE for everyone who loves Mozart! I have rated it only a "4" because some of the performances just miss being "the best." Otherwise, if only for the K. 131, it would be a 5+.

The other reviewers here haven't really caught on to the value of this CD, which appears to be a rag-bag on the surface. If you look deeper, you find that this is a memento of a great Mozartean era--Germany and Austria in the 30s. Szell, Walter, and Antonia Brico all conducted then and all fled the Nazis to come to America. Brico was subsequently forgotten until one of her piano students in Denver, who happened to be Judy Collins, brought her to notice with a documentary film. Brico, it turns out, was the first woman to conduct the Berlin Phil. (have there been any others?), which she did to great acclaim in the Furtwangler era.

Brico was allowed to conduct the Mostly Mozart Festival for a brief time (she had long been the head of the amateur Brico Sym. in Denver), and the two overtures here, from Don Giovanni and Die zauberflote, hark back to the Thirties style Brico grew up with--lyrical, measured, and with free phrasing. The same holds true for Walter's lovely Cosi fan tutte overture, but Szell came from the Toscanini side of the equation, and that style of Mozart is quick, alert, and precise. Szell shows it off beautifully in an impeccable Impressario Over. as well as the minor but charming Sym. #28.

Two items are out of place stylistically. Schippers' Marriage of Figaro Over. and the relatively obscure Divertimento K. 131, which is performed blandly but accurately under Entremont. But Schippers' contribution is nicely done, and thankfully not taken at a breathless Presto of the kind we hear all the time. In sum, the pieces from Szell, Brico, and Walter are treasurable, fully worthy of five stars.

I had hoped for more of the Bruno Walter-Columbia Symph. Orch. recordings. I had an old, beat up Masterworks "Odyssey" series LP of all of Walter's recordings of the overtures, Masonic Funeral music, and Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. I gladly took what little of those I could get on this CD and appreciate any Szell that comes my way. The Mostly Mozart items I found a bit disappointing, as I had remembered them sounding better in concerts over the years.

Now the Walter/CSO "Odyssey" LP has finally been re-issued on CD. It is the better buy, for sure - practically indispensible.

Sony has assembled a very strange Mozart CD here with overtures, one symphony and a rarely played divertomento with 4 horns. The divertomento is one of the most underrated works in the entire Mozart catalog. It is absolutely delightful, especially the two movements featuring the four horns. Szell and his great Cleveland Orchestra play this work to absolute perfection. Of course, there is no such thing as absolute perfection in musical performance, but this performance comes extremely close. On the other hand, Szell's performance of the Impressario Overture is plodding and dull, a rare, bad Mozart performance by the great conductor. The rest of the performances are all very fine, making this CD a must for any Mozart lover.