Mozart Symphony No. 19

Admirers of Karajan will probably own most or all of these symphony cycles from what was probably the pinnacle of the conductor's prolific career. However, if you are unfamiliar with Karajan's work, or well enough acquainted with it to desire further exploration, then this amazingly inexpensive anthology can be enthusiastically recommended. I purchased all of these sets when they came out in DG's previous mid-priced "Karajan Symphony Edition," and I can testify to their consistently oustanding quality, both as performances and as interpretations. As recordings, however, it must be admitted that the sound is of variable quality; sometimes admirably vivid and well balanced, but frequently tending toward harshness, even garishness–particularly in those which come from the early digital era (cf. Bruckner's symphonies 1-3). Too bad Universal didn't see fit to give this magnificent legacy a sonic facelift. Still, the performances are sufficiently worthy of your attention to warrant purchase regardless of these sonic limitations.

For today’s musicologists, performers and concert-going audiences, Mozart’s final symphonies are still a veritable miracle. Why they were written remains a mystery, and no-one knows whether Mozart ever heard them performed during his lifetime. One thing is certain: Mozart created three individual, distinctive and unique works here, which complement each other despite their extreme diversity.

Born on 15 April 1924 in Lincoln, Sir Neville Marriner studied at the Royal College of Music and the Paris Conservatoire. He began his career as a violinist, playing first in a string quartet and trio, then in the London Symphony Orchestra. It was during this period that he founded the Academy, with the aim of forming a top-class chamber ensemble from London’s finest players. Beginning as a group of friends who gathered to rehearse in Sir Neville’s front room, the Academy gave its first performance in its namesake church in 1959. The Academy now enjoys one of the largest discographies of any chamber orchestra worldwide, and its partnership with Sir Neville Marriner is the most recorded of any orchestra and conductor.

Here is a collection of the biggest musical institution in Germany performing works from the core of its repertoire: Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven & Schubert.

Born in Graz, Austria, Böhm studied law and earned a doctorate on this subject. He later studied music at the Graz Conservatory. On the recommendation of Karl Muck, Bruno Walter engaged him at Munich's Bavarian State Opera in 1921. Darmstadt (1927) and Hamburg (1931) were the next places he resided as a young conductor, before succeeding Fritz Busch as head of Dresden's Semper Opera in 1934. He secured a top post at the Vienna State Opera in 1943, eventually becoming music director.

The best digital release of 76 tracks/6 hours and 17 minutes from Mozart's masterpieces!

Although Mozart composed them in his early twenties, the three symphonies presented here can in no way be regarded as early works. Written around the time of his departure from Salzburg for Vienna, these symphonies show that Mozart could deliver attractive, varied, orchestrally colourful and characterful music to suit a variety of public tastes. They also show a young and ambitious composer seeking to forge an impregnable reputation in Europe’s musical capital city. These symphonies truly opened a new chapter in Mozart’s symphonic output, as he demonstrated his absolute mastery of orchestral writing. In addition to the three symphonies as we know them, this recording also includes a Minuet that may have been intended to form part of Symphony no.34.

The 7th installment of the live concert series "Belle ame'', a project of the Spectrum Sound label and using sound sources provided by the French National Audiovisual Institute, is a 1959 concert performed by the Orchester National Radio de France, conducted by Constantin Silvestri. From the live performance in February, Dvořák's Symphony No. 9 "From the New World", Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 19 with Clara Haskil as soloist, Debussy's "Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun", and Ravel This is "Bolero''.

An exclusive Teldec recording artist for nearly 40 years, Nikolaus Harnoncourt has enjoyed one of the longest relationships with a single recording company. His outstanding achievements have been recognized with numerous awards: the Ernst Von Siemens Music Prize (1974), the Erasmus Prize (1980), the Hans Georg Nageli Medal (1982), and the Joseph Marx Music Prize (1982). In addition to his work with the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, Ton Koopman is also chief conductor of the Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra.