Though
issued to mark the silver jubilee of the CoE this set also
marks another happy anniversary. As we read in the booklet,
it was twenty years ago, in 1986, that Nikolaus Harnoncourt
first conducted the orchestra. That collaboration, which
continues to this day, is one of the two most important
musical relationships in the orchestra’s distinguished
history, the other being with their founder conductor,
Claudio Abbado.
These
recordings of the last four symphonies of Mozart show the
relationship between Harnoncourt and the CoE at its brilliant
best. There are times when I’ve heard performances – and
recordings – of music by Mozart and have felt that players
and conductor are familiar – perhaps too familiar – with
the notes and are just skating over the surface. That’s
far from being the case here. One gets the feeling that
every phrase, every note has been carefully reconsidered.
That’s not to say, however, that these are studied readings
for a spirit of spontaneity is present throughout, which
I greatly welcome. As far as I’m aware the CoE play on
modern instruments but there’s a keen appreciation of the
practices of period instrumentalists so, for example, vibrato
is kept to a minimum. I suspect that natural trumpets are
used, as was the case in the same artists’ revelatory Beethoven
symphony cycle, recorded in 1990 and 1991. It also sounds
as if the timpanist is not using modern drums and he most
certainly uses hard sticks, producing some very satisfying
and dynamic ‘thwacks’.
Perhaps
the most successful performance of all is that of the “Jupiter”.
Harnoncourt and his players give a spirited account of
the first movement, with plenty of drama and excitement.
In the second movement I relish the way that Harnoncourt
brings out the lower instruments in the orchestra to give
a dark brown richness to the sonority. As we shall see,
there are reservations about the speeds that Harnoncourt
adopts for the minuets in Symphonies 39 and 40 but, oddly,
that’s not the case here and I wonder why that should be
so. Here, the music seems to me to be taken at a pretty
ideal speed. The contrapuntal miracle that is the finale
of the “Jupiter” is superb. The orchestral playing fairly
fizzes, Harnoncourt brings out all the strands of the argument
and the movement is exuberantly joyful.
Symphony
38 is also very well done. The introduction to the first
movement is darkly powerful and dramatic. Harnoncourt seems
to be reminding us that the composition of this work was
contemporaneous with performances of Don Giovanni in
the city from which the symphony takes its name. Here the
contribution of the timpani and brass is thrilling. The
main allegro feels just right; there’s great drive in the
performance but the music never sounds driven and Harnoncourt
can relax and smile when appropriate. He ensures that his
players observe all accents and that they use them constructively,
as Mozart intended, as a crucial part of the musical argument.
The Andante is taken at a flowing speed, which I
can imagine some listeners might find a trifle hasty. I
think it works well, not least because the sense of grace
is never sacrificed. The concluding Presto of this
three-movement symphony bubbles like sparkling wine. Though
the speed is very fast I don’t feel the accelerator is
pressed too far to the floor. In fact, to me it sounds
exhilarating.
The
introduction to Symphony 39 is as powerful and thrusting
as the comparable pages in the previous work. The Allegro itself
is beautifully paced, as is the Andante con moto that
follows. However, I don’t find the third movement at all
satisfactory. The marking is Menuetto Allegretto but
the chosen tempo seems to bear little relation to this
instruction. The speed is simply too fast for a minuet – this
is not a scherzo – and, worse still, Harnoncourt
indulges in slight but very noticeable modifications within
the basic tempo, slowing to make expressive points. I stand
to be corrected, for Harnoncourt is a fastidiously accurate
musician, but I don’t believe such nudges to the basic
pulse are authentic. The trio is taken at a speed that’s
markedly slower and while I actually like the tempo at
which the trio is taken, which has just the right amount
of ländler lilt, the speed feels wrong relative
to that adopted for the music that surrounds the trio.
The finale is splendid. It’s paced to perfection in my
view and the music sounds really festive and exciting.
The
first movement of the G minor symphony sounds suitably
lithe in Harnoncourt’s hands. The Andante is quite
brisk. I rather like the easy flow of this reading though
I can imagine some people feeling that the music doesn’t
relax sufficiently. Once again the Menuetto is controversially
fast. After several hearings of both this symphony and
No. 39 I can’t come to terms with this, I’m afraid. As
I commented above, I can’t quite understand why Harnoncourt
is more conventional in his pacing of the comparable movement
of the “Jupiter”. The finale of No. 40 is surprisingly
steady, especially after the whirlwind Menuetto. I
compared this account with that by John Eliot Gardiner
in his 1989 Philips recording (426 315-2) and found that
Gardiner takes approximately ninety seconds less than Harnoncourt
in this movement. I like very much the quicksilver urgency
that Gardiner brings to this movement but Harnoncourt brings
extra weight without ever sounding weighty and I enjoyed
his performance very much.
With
a couple of reservations, then, these are excellent performances.
The playing of the CoE is absolutely superb throughout
and for the most part Harnoncourt’s direction is sure-footed.
Even where I find myself unable to agree with his interpretative
decisions it’s clear that those decisions have been arrived
at after very careful thought. These stimulating and brilliantly
executed performances will give much pleasure. Warner Classics
also include a sampler disc of fifteen short tracks taken
from the CoE’s discography. Most of these are conducted
by Harnoncourt though Douglas Boyd takes the baton for
two short pieces by Walton. The repertoire ranges from
Vivaldi through Beethoven, Mozart and Schumann to Dvořák
but this sampler is scarcely a reason for buying the set.
John Quinn
Chamber
Orchestra of Europe/Nikolaus Harnoncourt 
