MOZART: Symphonies Vol. 2 = No. 6 in F; No. 7 in D; No. 8 in D; No. 7a in G, KV 45a; No. 55 in B-flat, KV 45b – Danish Nat. Ch. Orch./ Adam Fischer – DaCapo

by | Jul 9, 2013 | SACD & Other Hi-Res Reviews

MOZART: Symphonies, Volume 2 = No. 6 in F; No. 7 in D; No. 8 in D; No. 7a in G, KV 45a; No. 55 in B-flat, KV 45b – Danish Nat. Ch. Orch./ Adam Fischer – DaCapo multichannel SACD 6.220537, 60:26 [Distr. by Naxos] ****:

These are the earliest of the symphonies to have been released by Fischer so far, and also one of the sprightliest and most exciting albums. The readings are full of vigor and panache, with excellent technical facility and a buzzing swarm of vibrant and fulsome emotion. Mozart’s early pieces (these were composed from 1767-68) often get the short straw by those who really don’t know them, and they are not anything like the later symphonies in complexity or profundity. But they are full of great tunes, superb craftsmanship, and a youthful zest that is the hallmark of so many of the composer’s works at this time, composed as they were for entertainments and specific occasions.

I should mention something about the two KV 45s here. The first was numbered “7a” in the old cataloging scheme and is also known as the “Old Lambach” because it was probably written at Lambach Abbey in upper Austria when the Mozarts were making a journey between Salzburg and Vienna. There is a record at the Abbey of their stopover though no mention in the Mozart correspondence. The other, formerly “No. 55” for cataloging considerations only, was most likely created in Salzburg in 1768, and though of questionable authorship most scholars do believe that it is by Mozart, and a set of parts was discovered in the Berlin State Library with a title indicating town and author of the composition, Mozart. Both pieces are as scampering and delightful as the other three canonical works here, and all are given excellent readings in spacious and all-enveloping surround sound.

It’s still too early to tell how this series will turn out—the later pieces have a lot of competition that has to be dealt with. But these first five or six volumes give us reason to hope that Fischer’s Mozart will end up being as important and ingratiating as his Nimbus Haydn recordings are.

—Steven Ritter

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