These are, for a few of the works, the third go-around for Charles Mackerras. Of course, his complete traversal of the Mozartian corpus on Telarc caused supercharged headlines of all kinds when it first came out, replete with repeats (as here), but also making the fatal error of using the accursed harpsichord, the one thing that discards the entire set for me, [Boy, do we ever disagree on that point!…Ed.] along with some rather matter-of-fact interpretation that moved the project into the “bland” category. Now he comes again to the final four, using the same Scottish Chamber Orchestra (who play like angels, absolutely superb), and in wonderfully appropriate and professionally managed surround sound. The 37 members of the orchestra may be chamber, but they sound big band, and the sound lends the music a stunning resonance and presence.
But what of the performances? They are not uniformly acceptable in my mind, but are still far from unacceptable. The bad news first: the G-minor is way too taut and fast, an especially disappointing moment coming when the almost scherzo tempo of the minuet begins, completely destroying, at least for me, the extraordinary architecture of the movement, with its soaring and overlapping melodies, now flying by like a Formula-1 race car. Bruno Walter, the best-ever in this symphony, would be appalled. And Mackerras has never been able to properly negotiate No. 39, the most lyrical and sensitive of Mozart’s symphonies, exacerbating the problems with an introduction far too rushed and perfunctory, though he does get the stuttering finale just right. Stick with Szell in this one, strangely excelling in this tricky work with a lyrical geniality despite his reputation.
The brilliance on this album begins when we hear the beautifully-shaped and properly dramatic “Prague”, the most complex of Mozart’s symphonies outside of the last movement of the “Jupiter”. Mackerras is in his element here, and although the tempos are on the quick side, the music seems designed to handle it, and the orchestra plays what is close to a definitive performance. The “Jupiter” receives a reading perhaps destined to equal the great DGG Bernstein – big-boned, colossal, and a joy to hear, with sound far superior to anything Lenny got at the Musikverein.
So overall, even with the two “questionable” symphonies, Mackerras has outdone his earlier efforts by a long shot, and given us some spectacular readings in first class sonics. And please don’t think that because there are some questionable things going on in the G-minor and E-flat pieces that they are not worth hearing—they are. This is a wonderful set worth the price for Nos. 38 and 41 alone, and I hope Sir Charles will not hesitate to start working his way backwards, making up for the sins of his previous efforts.
— Steven Ritter
