Search - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Colin Davis, Dresden Staatskapelle :: Mozart: Late Symphonies Nos. 35, 38, 39, 40, 41

Davis caught in one of his dullest periods

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 09/18/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Grmany wasn't good for Colin Davis. The years he spent in Munich and Dresden marked a decline into walk-through performances without life or sparkle. Maybe he thought he was fitting into some kind of grand tradition. These Mozaret performances could serve as evidence before the jury: they are slowish and slack, lacking any insight. Davis began as a Mozart specialist and gained his early reputation for some EMI recordings of the same symphonies that appear here. What a difference a few decades has made. I happen to like traditionalist Mozart, but not when it feels like sleepwalking."

Great, great performances!!!

Music Pen | Cypress, CA USA | 02/22/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Not even Beecham is better than these performances. Every detail - phrasing, balance, timbres, dynamics - is thought out to the limits of interpretive excellence - but most of all, the soul of the music is conveyed through these means and whatever else makes a truly great rendition of Mozart. Immaculate, gorgeous, moving."