Walter Conducts Beethoven

Bohm: The Mozart Symphonies - BOXSET 3 DVD - Symphonies Nos. 33, 39 & 28 - DVD 3/3 [DVD9]
Classical | DVD | with complete scans (covers and booklet) | 7,00 Gb (DVD9) | DVD´s FULL No compression
Audio: PCM Stereo - DTS 5.1 | Relesase: September 12, 2006 | Publisher: Deutsche Grammophon

Almost any recording of a Mozart symphony by Austrian conductor Karl Bohm (1894-1981) is a sure thing: excellent sound, and sensible, solid, non-sentimental interpretation.
The films in this DVD were made in the 1970s: both picture and sound are excellent. Bohm is an easy conductor to watch, and his conducting style does not distract or call attention to him over the musicians or the music. Indeed, Bohm SERVES Mozart, and watching him conduct the great Vienna Philharmonic is a joy from beginning to end.

Franz Krommer was Czech by birth but spent the major part of his career in Vienna; he was the last official court composer in the Habsburg court. A violinist, Krommer wrote mostly orchestral and chamber music, including at least six dozen string quartets. Born less than four years after Mozart, he outlived Beethoven, but his style is firmly based in the 18th century. The Clarinet Concerto, op. 36, was composed almost exactly midway between those of Mozart and Weber; a fairly ambitious work, it features a large orchestra including trumpets and timpani. It is certainly a virtuoso showpiece, but well written for the instrument; everything fits well under the fingers.

Ronald Brautigam, with the congenial support of Die Kölner Akademie, under Michael Alexander Willens, here performs Mozart’s Piano Concertos Nos. 24 and 25, both composed in 1786. The C major concerto is in fact one of the most expansive of all classical piano concertos, rivalling Beethoven’s fifth concerto. Their grandeur immediately made them popular fare in the concert hall – Mendelssohn, for instance, had No.24 in his repertoire through the 1820s and 1830s.