Frans BrUggen; Orchestra of the 18th Century - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart on CD

Description

Product Description More than three decades have elapsed since Frans Brüggen set down his earlier visions of Mozart's symphonies with his Orchestra of the 18th Century. Now, he has chosen to release his new views of these contrasting yet complementary works as part of his Grand Tour on Glossa. The Dutch maestro and his band have regularly engaged with the music of the Salzburg genius and the symphonies have frequently appeared in their concert schedules. If the precise, original performing locations for these symphonies remain elusive, the three works: 'Jupiter', K551, the E flat major, K543, and that evergreen study in the key of G minor , K550, known by people all around the world as 'Mozart 40', all clamour for constant and fresh interpretations and these are precisely what Frans Brüggen delivers. Recordings on Glossa from Brüggen in recent times always whilst on tour have included Mozart s concertos for horn, clarinet and violin, as well as the Requiem. With Stefano Russomanno providing a well considered booklet essay, this new release of the three final Mozart symphonies, available on two CDs, recorded live in Rotterdam, provides eloquent testimony to Frans Brüggen s ability to summon up the expressiveness and spontaneity demanded by Mozart s masterpieces from 1788. Review ALBUM OF THE WEEK 'The veteran Dutch flautist/conductor recorded the mature Mozart symphonies 20 years ago for the now defunct Philips label, but he returned to the famous last three in E flat major, G minor and C major, the Jupiter at live concerts in Rotterdam in 2010, now issued ahead of his 80th birthday. Brüggen s Mozart always seemed an attempt to straddle period practice and the weighty tradition of Austro-German interpretations. His 1990s recordings seemed closer in spirit to, say, Otto Klemperer than to John Eliot Gardiner or Christopher Hogwood. These performances seem even more so, although Brüggen in his seventies sounds sprightlier in allegros than Klemperer at a similar age. Here, there is the same ideal balance between strings and winds, a bracing sense of momentum in the first movements of the E flat and C major symphonies, an almost frenetic restlessness in the opening molto allegro of the G minor. For Brüggen, these works, miraculously completed within two months, are dramatic precursors of late Haydn, Beethoven and Schubert: Mozart s crowning achievement in orchestral music, and thrilling here in Jupiter s great fugal finale, with braying trumpets and kettledrums that make you sit up in your seat.' --Hugh Canning, The Sunday Times 11 May 2014 'Until now, I ve thought of the Dutch conductor as a master of detail, but, as an interpreter of Mozart and Beethoven, rather uninteresting. Not here. These live recordings, from Rotterdam in 2010, are tinglingly alive and directed with superb conviction. Brüggen sets tempos that aren t trying to prove a theory, but are simply natural. His first bassoon is a little weak, and, at times, I would like more of Mozart s beloved violas. But the orchestra as a whole plays magnificently. A feast.' --David Cairns, The Sunday Times 29 June 2014 'Anyone who admires Bruggen s approach [...] is going to be delighted with these performances. Very impressive achievement. Wonderful sound ... these performances have such imagination and stature. The live recorded sound is excellent.' --Nigel Simeone, International Record Review, September 2014