Search - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Barry Wordsworth, Capella Istropolitana :: Mozart: 15 Famous Symphonies (Box Set)

Staple performances at a bargain price

ingrid888 | An Island | 03/01/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"These are solid and stylish recordings of Mozart's great last symphonies plus the nine others that don't reach the realm of the last six but that are obviously worth owning (and may be difficult to collect individually in such good performances without spending a whole lot more money). The Penguin Guide to classical music recordings has given these recordings their highest rating (for what that's worth, and it's usually worth alot because that guide is, with few exceptions, notoriously on-the-mark). The orchestra sounds full, yet the style also has the feeling of the best of period performance. I wouldn't be put off one bit by the bargain price of these discs (those familiar with the Naxos label wouldn't be anyway). The performances and the recorded sound don't disappoint in any way. They're not Klemperer, or Bernstein and the Vienna Philharmonic, nor are they Bruno Walter, but they are great Mozart recordings, sort of like a very good translation of a work of literature that gives you the feeling you are getting the true essence of the original."