Search - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Leonard Bernstein, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra :: Mozart: Symphonies 40 & 41 / Bernstein

Brilliantly done

Ryan Richards | Midland, MI United States | 03/10/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Yep, this is Bernstein: not unpolished, but not willing to let polish get in the way of emotional drama. However, as other reviewers pointed out, this isn't the melodramatic, overromantic Bernstein of the later years either; these performances manage to almost perfectly combine emotion and technique. Bernstein's sense of tempi and phrasing is top-notch, and the emotional sensitivity he gets out of the always-adept VPO is admirable, particularly in the slow movements. What really makes this CD a winner, though, is that both of these brilliant symphonies have been recorded almost to death over the years, and yet Bernstein still manages to make them sound fresh and new. He clearly knows what the music is trying to *say* to its listeners, and he and the orchestra work in such a manner that the music does not just exist, it *communicates* with listeners. To put that another way: some recordings of these symphonies sound like they're being played by an orchestra, and others sound like the music is creating itself. This CD definitely falls into the latter category. In particular, the finales of both symphonies are stellar, and I've never heard a better slow movement of the "Jupiter." You can't go wrong with this one."

Best Overall

T. Lum | Oakland, CA United States | 10/02/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I concur with all the other reviewers: although the sound is not quite up to par, it is more than adequate; but the performances are absolutely top-notch. Bernstein's tempos are perfect, all the repeats are taken, everything is infused with dramatic tension. The G minor is appropriately dark and elegant, its unbearable grief kept in check by an Apollonian temper. The Jupiter is positively...Jovian. This is, overall, my favorite recording of these two magnificent works (followed closely by Britten's and Klemperer's). A must for your classical collection."

Lovely middle-of-the-road readings, with a bit of extra expr

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 03/11/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I think Bernstein's fans have gone overboard here. These two Mozart performances, recorded live in 1984-85, find the conductor in a good mood. Bernstein's Mozart was never extreme, and he took special care to find expression in scores that have very few expression markings by the composer. Compared to similar accounts over the years, these readings are less smoothed-over than Karajan's, less militant than Bohm's, but also less buoyant than Beecham's and less lovig than Walter's. Anyone who admires the Vienna Phil. will certainly find them to be stylish and warm (much more so than when they recorded all the Mozart symphonies under Levine during this same peirod); this is very congenial Mozart where eveyr phrase is kissed.



Overall, I'd place Bernstein's G minor in a league with Britten and Walter, the Jupiter in a league with KLemperer, although in the long run Klemperer's Mozart is more imposinb and memorable. For anyone who hasn't been totally won over by period practice, this CD is very satisfying without being any kind of apotheosis."