Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791)
Symphony No. 29 in A major (1774) [28:51]
Kassation in G major, K63 (1769) [19:00]
Divertimento in D major, K251 (1776) [25:03]
European Union Chamber Orchestra/Hans-Peter Hofmann
rec. St Nicholas Chapel, King’s Lynn, 26-27 September 2012
BARN COTTAGE RECORDS BCR011 [79:04]
Mozart is an extraordinary phenomenon but there is always a debate surrounding
the relationship between talent and genius as far as his youthful compositions
are concerned.
This particularly well-played collection of performances by the European Union
Chamber Orchestra, recorded in clear and truthful sound, finds the young composer
developing his powers in compelling fashion.
A feature of Mozart’s musical personality in his Salzburg years – the 1760s
and 1770s – remains the wonderful collection of dance music that has stood
the test of time and still delights and charms us today. Even as early a piece
as the G major Kassation, composed when he was just thirteen years of age,
has sufficient taste and imagination to make the music most appealing. These
characteristics are communicated by the well-judged performance captured here,
Hans-Peter Hofmann moulding the phrasing to perfection.
The same can also be said of the Divertimento in D major, except that this
is a finer work still, from several years later. By 1776, when is was composed,
Mozart had turned the corner from talent to genius, from his unique capacity
for creative emulation towards an even more extraordinary originality. For
this Divertimento is one of the great examples of the evident strengths of
entertainment music from this period. The performance seems just right, with
tempi and phrasing absolutely appropriate and the scale and balancing of the
forces, both strings and winds, eloquently serving the music.
It is in the performance of the well-known Symphony in A major that doubts
creep in. Celia Pond’s thoughtful programme note suggests this piece might
be the composer’s ‘first really great work’. What then of the G minor Symphony,
K183? Even so, it is certainly right to enthuse about the A major Symphony,
which is a masterpiece in every way.
There is more poetry in this score than is experienced here, and from the
opening theme onwards. The notes are all present and correct, with tempi that
are on the fast side, but the shadings of expression don’t communicate the
tenderness that lies at the heart of the first two movements in particular.
The approach suits the last two movements rather better, with a strongly rhythmic
minuet and a lively finale replete with virtuoso horns as the work moves to
its conclusion.
Terry Barfoot
The European Union Chamber Orchestra offers splendid performances of the dance
music but that of the Symphony No. 29 is somewhat under-characterised.
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