Search - Mozart, Kertesz, Vienna Phil Orch :: Mozart: Sym No 33/39 & 40

The Best Kertesz Mozart

Michael B. Richman | Portland, Maine USA | 02/24/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In the past decade, Australian Eloquence has done a terrific job of reissuing the Decca catalog of conductor Ernest Ansermet (see my numerous reviews), but they have also rescued other gems from their vast vaults. Conductor Istvan Kertesz made some remarkable recordings for Decca from the mid 1960s until the early 70s, before his tragic death by drowning. His Dvorak and Schubert Symphony Cycles are both outstanding (see my review of the latter -- Symphonies (Complete)), and his recordings of Mozart are excellent if not essential. This CD collects Symphonies Nos. 33, 39 & 40, with the first two from October 1963 and the last from November 1972, one the conductor's final recordings. As on the other two Mozart discs in this series, the Vienna Philharmonic plays magically and sounds beautiful, but I award a fifth star here because the conductor seems the most comfortable performing these bread and butter symphonies. Kertesz isn't my first choice in this repertoire, but in my opinion one can never have too many accounts of the great Mozart Symphonies, so I am happy to have this CD in my collection."