Search - Mozart, Marriner :: Symphonies 40 & 41

Want to try some Mozart? This is it!

04/09/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Believe it or not, this little budget CD contains what I feel are the most all-around enjoyable performances of Mozart's two most famous symphonies. Sir Neville Marriner is the supreme Mozartean--he brings a fresh energy to each performance that makes anything the composer wrote sparkle with vitality. The string section of the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields must be one of the greatest of all time. There are more intense and detailed versions of these two works, such Bohm's or Barenboim's or Bernstein's (the fact they all begin with "B" is unintentional!), but these digital recordings are the best place to start. Marriner also recorded these symphonies in the early '70s on the Philips label, but those versions (issued in the Complete Mozart Edition) are quite inferior to these. It's amazing that such excellent music could be offered at such a great price."