Customer Reviews

Mozart: The Symphonies (Nos 1-41, plus 27 other symphonic works) /AAM * Schroder * Hogwood

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In the 1970s, the Hungarian conductor Antal Dorati recorded all of the 104 symphonies of Franz Joseph Haydn (Amazon asin # B0000042DP). The era of "epic" integral collections was ignited. Many thought the vast majority of Haydn's symphonies would be boring, cookie-cutter works rolled out in almost assembly-line fashion. But Dorati, with excellent help from the Haydn scholar H. C. Robbins Landon, would disprove all of that, and show that there is not a dud in the whole collection. And Dorati's readings have stood the test of time.

Dorati's achievement marked the beginning of an ea that in the next 2 decades would see complete integral sets of the works of every major composer, culminating ultimately in the 1980s with Phiips complete Mozart Edition.

Shortly after Dorati finished his massive project, the Academy of Ancient Music embarked on a complete traversal of all of the "symphonies" of Mozart on period instruments, the currently reviewed item. Not just the traditional 41, but also many lesser know works. More fascinating music was unearthed. But, the milestone of this set is not the discovery of forgotten masterpieces. That had become a common daily occurence. It was the period instrument movement instead that was set free by Hogwood's achievement. With this project, Hogwood did for period instruments what Dorati did for integral cycles of lesser known works. The period instrument movement had been around for a long time. But it never quite could hit "mainstream" until Hogwood made these recordings. And ever since, period instruments have flourished.

There are better recordings of many of the works in this set, both on period instruments and conventional instruments. But the consistency that runs through the set brings an appreciation for Mozart's Symphonies that is unparallelled.

The set is competitively priced, the sound is very good throughout, there is decent documentation.

Typical for this ensemble, it doesn't get any better than this. these players clearly show their love for this music. They exhibit their hearts, souls and minds by making music that is crisp and exiting. They have a wonderful precision, yet they manage to bring out the real fire present in all of Mozart's symphonies, (even the earliest). And they manage to maintain this high quality consistently through ALL of those 40+ symphonies, (as they indeed do with all the composers I've heard them tackle, including Haydn and Beethoven). And, as if that weren't enough, they make a wondrous thing even better by taking ALL of Mozart's REPEATS!

Also--this single-box packaging and pricing is unbelievable....

One additional note: If you are generally turned off by "original instruments" groups, please know that they come in all qualities, good and bad--and that this is one of the very best, so give it a try!

Yes, I'm empassioned. I've been listeing to this set for 16 years, and, while I own and greatly enjoy other performances of these works, I always have to come back to these.

This set is indispensable for anyone who seriously wants to have a complete Mozart collection. It contains every symphonic work written by Mozart, including second versions of certain late symphonies.

The playing is "alive" and fresh, the sound is full, warm and clear. What you get is not Hogwood's "interpretation"...but music and just the music, this guy understands Mozart and just lets these musicians play with joy, spontaneity, meaning and feeling. I didn't think they would be so good! There are times when you don't even notice that they're playing on period instruments.

This set is completely satisfying and I'm glad I own it. It's a pricy box set, but totally worth it...try to find it used and bask in the glory of Mozart.

This box set is an extraordinary addition to a person's collection. The AAM and Hogwood make every effort to recreate these works as Mozart would have heard them. The period instruments create a balance which is frequently lost in performances by larger "modern" symphony orchestras. The sound is superb (no scratchy, harsh sound which is sometimes heard on other "period" recordings). The AAM closely follow the original scores, and what surfaces is a true 18th century interpretation of the symphony. Yes, Mozart's final symphonies were more "serious" in nature and musical complexity. But as the excellent liner notes remind us, symphonies during Mozart's lifetime had not yet reached the epic proportions (both in orchestra size and weight of material) they would shortly attain during the Romantic period. Many of the symphonies here are shorter pieces designed to open and close concerts, not the weighty compositions many listeners associate with symphonies. The AAM's approach to this music is near perfect. I give this set the highest of recommendations!

4 stars for a fine performance on authentic instruments by Hogwood/AAM, but for me 5 stars goes to Pinnock/English Concert for its superior sound. Hogwood's analog recordings were made in the 80's when not quite all the sound bugs from authentic instruments had been worked out. Pinnock's digital recordings from the 90's offer a warmer, brighter sound. However, less is offerred...48 symphonies on 11 CD's, all the essential Mozart symphonies one could hope for (and at a lower cost of $80 as opposed to $150). So unless all 72 selections offerred here on 19 CD's are important to you, I would recommend going with Pinnock.

This massive 19 CD collection contains 71 symphonies!

Yes, all 41 of the usual symphonies are here, but another 27 symphonic works are presented, as well as alternative versions of symphonies Nos. 31, 35 & 40. The works are all recorded on period instruments (or modern copies of 18th century instruments) and the orchestra is accompanied throughout by harpsichord continuo. The sounds of the various sections of the orchestra are full of colour and character - the wind and brass players, in particular, make this set such a delightful one.

I also have the Pinnock recording, which contains only the standard 41 symphonies and it is every bit as good. I can really make up my mind which I prefer, although Pinnock's reading of symphony No. 40 is sublime - particularly in the beautiful slow movement. However, Hogwood and his Academy of Ancient Music play almost all these symphonies with great gusto and style. As another reviewer said, Hogwood allows his musicians to simply play the music and let Mozart's music live in a natural and "organic" way, with minimal interference from the conductor.

Each work tells a story and the recordings of these works remind us of the fact that Mozart wasn't some sort of proto-Beethoven, rather, his music was more like the culmination of many 18th century currents, trends and ideas - "Baroque music on steroids", even! ;-))

This is a set which is very close to my heart and I consider it one of the treasures in my home. I return to it often - at any time of the day or night.

most of the other reviews here hit the high points ... this set is historically important, superbly played, radiantly recorded, flawlessly produced. but i'll add a few points more to the background.

the performance billing is divided between christopher hogwood, "continuo" and jaap schröder, "concertmaster", which implies a shared responsibility for the music making that probably diffused into the orchestra as a whole. there is an elastic, organic ensemble in these performances that i associate with "conductorless" groups such as the orpheus chamber orchestra or the chamber orchestra of europe. players seem to be genuinely keying off each other, which adds zest to mozart's characteristic spontaneity.

the instrumental sounds here are delicious. set aside any pedantic anxiety about "original instruments" and just listen to the rich tones of the woodwinds, the ethereal clarity and power of the strings. these are not just original, but beautiful instruments. the recording is excellent quality, and is never strident or biting (as some "original instrument" recordings can be) because this is a digital remastering of a digital encoding of analog studio tapes (ADD/DDD).

as another reviewer noted, the performances include *all* the repeats in each piece -- especially welcome in the g minor (40th) symphony, which is typically truncated to conserve disc space. if you are familiar with these pieces in other recordings, be prepared for some pleasant surprises.

the scores were the musicological state of the art at the time the recording was made. three late symphonies -- no. 31 ("paris"), 35 ("haffner") and 40 (the g minor), are recorded here in both the original and revised versions; also included is the "haffner" serenade. and there are over a dozen minor and early works, outside the traditional 41. (the recording booklet includes a concordance that sorts out the provenance, date and catalog identifications of every piece.)

the booklet commentary provides an overview of the symphonies as stylistic or chronological groups, rather than individual works, but this is quite enough to set the stage for an appreciation of these gems.

What has been entirely omitted from all the review here (and what should be acknowledged before everything) is the contribution of two figures who are not mentioned here, but who were absolutely instrumental (no pun intended) in the creation of this seminal set. First is the late lamented Decca producer, Peter Wadland, who was as significant in his own way as Wolf Erichson was in Germany for Telefunken and, later, SEON and Sony Classical. The second figure is the great Dutch pioneering Baroque and Classical violinist, Jaap Schroeder, whose contribution was absolutely pivotal to the success of this great series of recordings. I recall first talking to Chris Hogwood in Sydney, back in the late 1970s, just after the Academy had released its first recordings and he told me how fortunate the Academy was to have secured the services of such a major figure as Jaap Schroeder to not only lead and rehearse the orchestra in its Mozart project, but also to edit and research the performing editions (in close cooperation with American scholar, Neal Zaslaw). Just this summer past, as we were both in Iceland to record a series of Schubert string quartets (and the string Quintet), I talked at length with Jaap Schroeder, now a vigorous 86, and playing as well as ever, regarding this series, and he confirmed just how exciting a time it was in his career. So, when people are listening to this excellent and groundbreaking series of recordings, they should add the names of Wadland, Schroeder and Zaslaw to Chris Hogwood's own central role in this project. Much of the sound you are hearing here is because of Jaap's skill, experience and knowledge and it's right that it should be acknowledged (as it certainly was on the original LP release, and hardly has been since then).

Peter Watchorn
Producer,
Musica Omnia

Christopher Hogwood inscribed his name with golden letters at the moment to have decided to record the complete set of Symphonic works of the beloved son of Salzburg.

These performances are hovered by a flaming vitality and radiant eloquence. Keeping into account the enormous historical registers of so many distinguished conductors before him, Hogwood bet and risked, achieving an inspired approach around every Kv.

And although there definitive registers of the classic giants symphonies such as Jupiter, (Walter-New York, 1952) Praga and Haffner,(Walter- New York) the 40th (Vegh and Salzburg Camerata), the 25th (Szell-Cleveland), the 29th (Kleiber- Concertgebouw) this set must be included in your invaluable collection.

Don't miss it.

A few months ago I bought the Trevor Pinnock Mozart Complete Symphonies (11 cds) and the 250th Anniversary Edition Mozart Symphonies (8 cds) that is not quite a complete symphony cycle. The Anniversary Edition features Harnoncourt on about 5 of the 8 discs. I also have his two CD twofers that cover the early symphonies. So, I more or less ended up with two complete renditions of Mozart's symphonies. I first bought the Harnoncourt early symphony 2fer and enjoyed it enough to buy volume two. This led me to buy the 250 Anniversay 8 cd set. I have not in the least regretted these purchases!

Harnoncourt is the most radical of these three original instrument takes on Mozart, especially in the late symphonies. For example, listen to symphony 29 by each of these three sets and compare them to the Karl Bohm benchmark 29th. Harnoncourt is Ricky Racer and Bohm is Mr. Serene and Majestic.

Obviously, price is only one of the factors in buying. The AAM costs more but has almost twice the music. The AAM set is probably the more collectable since they got there first. This set was issued in multiple lp boxes way back when and I recently watched just one of these boxes, unopened, go for over 80 bucks at EBAY.

There really is quite a sound difference between modern and original instruments. Rhapsody has the Mozart Horn Concertos posted by the AAM using an apparently valveless horn. Listen to this very squeaky rendition and compare it to Brain's to get a feel for the difference. They also have the Philips Complete Mozart Piano Concerto box that features a pianoforte on disc one of concertos 1 to 4. This instrument sounds more like a harpsichord than a piano and took some adjusting to get used to. The Smithsonian put out on vinyl (circa 1980) The Six Brandenburg Concerti by Bach on original instruments. The booklet gives quite a bit of info on the differences in instruments between modern and original. Here are a few snippets: "The brass instruments were, until the 19th century, valveless." This reduced the number of notes available. "The wind instruments of Bach's time had few keys--the transverse flute had one, the oboe two or three, and the bassoon three--calling for contrived fingerings to cover the full chromatic scale." "The music produced by a Baroque bow is characteristically tapered in shape, with great potential for a lively distinction between notes."

The bottom line for me is that Mozart, when well played, conducted, and recorded, sounds great--be it original instruments or modern. Having both modern and original choices is great. Life is wonderful with changes in flavor. I have only listened once to the AAM Mozart symphonies and have not done a compare and contrast between these and Pinnock's, etc. I was impressed by the consistency in performance and that being very good. It is really quite a feat to put out 19 cds and have them sound great from stem to stern. As an ADD recording, these give the DDDs a run for the money. The AAM Mozart Symphony cycle is posted at Rhapsody so you can look before you leap if you are in the market.