Much as we love these works, it
is hard sometimes to gather a great
deal of excitement when seeing yet
another release of Mozart symphonies.
After all, these pieces have been
recorded time and time again. In
this, our Mozart year, it was all
too predictable — a flurry of Mozart
recordings was forecast and it appears
the skies have opened. For some
time, I’ve been quite happy with
my Christopher Hogwood series recorded
in the 1980s for L’Oiseau Lyre with
the Academy of Ancient Music. Other
recordings came my way, but it was
the Hogwood that I returned to most
consistently.
Along comes Nikolaus Harnoncourt
with a newly-released continuation
of his Mozart symphony series, with
this volume covering works written
starting in 1770. Harnoncourt recently
made a rather angry speech at the
opening ceremonies for the Mozart
Year in the Salzburg Festspielhaus
expressing his dislike of the commercial
aspects of the Mozart year and that
Mozart needs no further words praising
him. The focus, he said, should
instead be on the music. One raises
an eyebrow perhaps regarding his
commentary on commercialism and
the timing of this release, but
as he makes clear, the focus should
be on the music. And so it is: here
we have a quite different approach
to Mozart, which, despite my admittedly
rather jaded initial state of mind
made me soon take notice after I
had pushed “Play” and settled into
my chair. The performance here has
an immediacy and at times an urgency
that is missing from most recordings
of these symphonies.
K97, the symphony “41” of the Breitkopf
and Härtel edition, serves as our
opening example, with Beethovenian
shifts to minor, mirroring the 7th
symphony of that later master. The
final Presto is a gem of
a movement. Beethovenian would be
a great descriptor of Harnoncourt’s
approach. The performances here
have a consistent sense of immediacy
and power, strong rhythm, and drive.
Hogwood has a more stately approach
in comparison, with less contrast.
More often than not, Harnoncourt
has slightly faster tempi, but the
real difference is Harnoncourt’s
great success in bringing out the
joyfulness of the music, especially
in the final movements of each work,
especially so in the Symphony No.
50, K141a and the also-brief Presto
of The Symphony 22 in C, K162. Hogwood
is more reserved, with his harpsichord
continuo in front just beneath the
strings. Harnoncourt does not include
the continuo and focuses more intently
on dynamics as well as orchestral
colour; in the Andante grazioso
of the K162 he brings out the oboes
more, which provides a greater contrast
to the statement of the strings.
The Symphony No. 26, K184/166a further
shows excellent use of orchestral
colour. In the opening movement
is the surprise of the brass, then
the flute. In Hogwood, a more restrained
tutti and a more homogenous
sound tends to be more two-dimensional
to the ear. I’ve loved the touching
section in the Andante with
the repeated note in the violins
while the orchestra moves through
its poignant chord changes behind.
Harnoncourt restrains the violins
here to focus on the chord changes
before launching into the final
Allegro, which comes off
as far more celebratory. Here is
Mozart as precursor to Beethoven.
On the second disc we have the “Little”
symphony in G minor K183. Harnoncourt
mentions in the liner notes the
“deathly” quality to this key and
how this music must have unsettled
its first listeners. In his opening
speech mentioned above, he commented
on this aspect of the symphony,
drawing a connecting line to this
symphony’s larger younger brother,
the Symphony in G-minor K550. Harnoncourt
notes that the ability of Mozart’s
music to unsettle in these two symphonies
has been muted in past recordings
and performances. In the performance
here of the K183, he certainly shows
us what he meant. The opening Allegro
con brio churns, then fades
to regret before taking up the tension
yet again. The performance here
is not of a museum piece, but of
a work that is immediate. A wonderful
listening experience.
Overall the recording aesthetic
of these works fits the performance
aesthetic: immediate and close,
with superior definition. Hogwood’s
recordings are more subdued, more
distantly miked, and not as bright
in sound. The dynamics are more
narrow as well — not all of this
should be attributed to the interpretation
— Hogwood uses period instruments,
not to mention twenty years have
elapsed since that recording. Harnoncourt
opts for modern instruments*, which
means that he has more power at
his disposal. Overall, to these
ears, this release is a riveting
performance of these early pieces.
It appears I may have a new favourite.
David Blomenberg
* as a result of much discussion
on the MusicWeb Bulletin Board I
think we have established that Harnocourt
is also using original instruments
as is his normal practive.
BUY
NOW
Concentus
Musicus Wien/Nikolaus Harnoncourt 
