MusicWeb International One of the most grown-up review sites around 2024
60,000 reviews
... and still writing ...

Search MusicWeb Here Acte Prealable Polish CDs
 

Presto Music CD retailer
 
Founder: Len Mullenger                                    Editor in Chief:John Quinn             

Some items
to consider

new MWI
Current reviews

old MWI
pre-2023 reviews

paid for
advertisements

Acte Prealable Polish recordings

Forgotten Recordings
Forgotten Recordings
All Forgotten Records Reviews

TROUBADISC
Troubadisc Weinberg- TROCD01450

All Troubadisc reviews


FOGHORN Classics

Alexandra-Quartet
Brahms String Quartets

All Foghorn Reviews


All HDTT reviews


Songs to Harp from
the Old and New World


all Nimbus reviews



all tudor reviews


Follow us on Twitter


Editorial Board
MusicWeb International
Founding Editor
   
Rob Barnett
Editor in Chief
John Quinn
Contributing Editor
Ralph Moore
Webmaster
   David Barker
Postmaster
Jonathan Woolf
MusicWeb Founder
   Len Mullenger

REVIEW Plain text for smartphones & printers

Support us financially by purchasing this from

Leopold MOZART (1719-1787)
Serenade in D major, LMV VIII:9 [42:49]
Concerto for two horns in E flat major, LMV IX:9 (1752) [11:44]
Sinfonia in G major Neue Lambacher, LMV VII:G16 (1769) [20:50]
Carsten Carey Duffin, Philipp Römer (horns)
Bayerische Kammerphilharmonie/Reinhard Goebel
rec. May 2015, Studio 1, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Munich
OEHMS CLASSICS OC1844 [75:57]

This is not a release I would normally request to review, but I thought that the presence of Reinhard Goebel would guarantee lively performances of fairly obscure music, even if the composer is anything but obscure. How wrong I was.

The Serenade is an odd beast, comprising as it does two different two-movement concertinos as well as other movements for the whole orchestra. The fifth and sixth movements are better known as a standalone trumpet concerto in D, which I recognised from a far superior recording by Maurice André, immediately followed by two movements with a solo part for alto trombone. The work was intended for performance outdoors, and is the model for his son’s 1779 Posthorn Serenade. Perhaps one had to be there in Salzburg to get full enjoyment from this. I found it bland and limp.

The Concerto wasn’t an improvement. The two horns burbled away without ever threatening to break into any sort of memorable tune, and again the performance had no life to it at all. I was finding it hard to believe that it was being directed by the same person who made those brilliant recordings of Heinichen (and others) with Musica Antiqua Köln for the Archiv label.

The symphony is certainly the best work, both musically and performance-wise. It has a verve and energy that the first two lack. It has been recorded before, on Naxos with a modern instrument New Zealand ensemble (review), and on CPO with the very authentic-instrument L’Orfeo Baroque Orchestra (review). I’ve heard the latter, and it has greater character, though the horns are rather raucous.

As you will have gathered, I was very disappointed by this. The Chandos recording of six of Leopold’s symphonies by the London Mozart Players with Mathias Bamert is far superior. While there is no overlap between the two, you would have to be a very serious Leopold Mozart aficionado to want this. Production values are perfectly fine, though I’m not a fan of the presentation method where the booklet is glued into the front cardboard cover.

David Barker

 

 



Advertising on
Musicweb


Donate and keep us afloat

 

New Releases

Naxos Classical
All Naxos reviews

Chandos recordings
All Chandos reviews

Hyperion recordings
All Hyperion reviews

Foghorn recordings
All Foghorn reviews

Troubadisc recordings
All Troubadisc reviews



all Bridge reviews


all cpo reviews

Divine Art recordings
Click to see New Releases
Get 10% off using code musicweb10
All Divine Art reviews


All Eloquence reviews

Lyrita recordings
All Lyrita Reviews

 

Wyastone New Releases
Obtain 10% discount

Subscribe to our free weekly review listing