The brevity of the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)was clearly a tragedy. And yet, in the few years he was allotted,his music moved from that of precocious prodigy to sublime genius,leaving behind a body of work without equal for inspired quality andvitality.
The bicentennial of Mozart's death will be observed all of 1991by every musical organization in the world. The largest reflectionof the composer's compositional riches and the continuing popularityof his music will be found at New York's Lincoln Center, where eachof the 11 constituent organizations will perform every note of musicMozart composed that has survived.
Probably no other composer could sustain such performing,critical and public scrutiny.
There no longer is a shortage of recordings of Mozart's music inevery form. Recent compact disc issues include a pleasant surpriseor two and some modest disappointments.
The happiest surprise for this fanatical admirer was adelightful Telarc recording of five of what might be called Mozart's"middle period" symphonies, those numbered 19 through 23.
These works may lack the depth of the late works more generallyheard, but in performances of romping virtuosity and elan by thePrague Chamber Orchestra under Sir Charles Mackerras, they leap fromthe speakers with boundless joy. Great fun.
Something of a disappointment was a new Chandos releasefeaturing the complete Church Sonatas for Organ and Orchestra withYuli Turovsky leading the excellent I Musici de Montreal.
Anyone who remembers the exhilarating performances RCA recordedwith the late E. Power Biggs and Arthur Fiedler in a rare and winningfling at the classical repertoire knows how delicious these 17miniatures can be.
If one dislikes the pipe organ, these beautiful stringperformances have a certain charm. The record jacket hides thesoloist's name in fine print - she is Genevieve Soly - just as theconductor covers her musically. Only in the big Sonata in C Major,K. 336, can the keyboard be heard properly.
The musicians clearly had it in them to do justice to thesonatas, but performance or recording ideas defeated them.
No one surpasses Robert Shaw in the great choral literature, andhis former Atlanta Symphony and Chorus may be heard in another Telarcdisc in a good-old-fashioned, big-hearted performance of the MozartRequiem, in the Franz Beyer cleanup of the traditional versioncompleted by the composer's pupil Franz Xaver Sussmayr.
Having sung the Sussmayr version with Bruno Walter (whoseromantic conception is echoed in Shaw's) and not feeling that all thefuss by scholars diminished the impact of one of the glories ofsacred choral literature, I'm happy with Shaw's choice.
Shaw's great massed forces are strongly assisted by a splendidquartet including Arlene Auger, Delores Ziegler, Jerry Hadley and TomKrause. Ziegler is the first mezzo I can recall to really hold herown in a generally unrewarding assignment.
The recording is nearly three years old, but only now came to myattention and surely is the best performance using contemporaryinstruments and their welcome warmth.
Virgin Classics has recorded two of Mozart's greatest pianoconcerti: the 23rd in A Major and the 21st in C Major.
Jean-Bernard Pommier is the pianist and conductor of SinfoniaVarsovia. The solid and stylish performances do justice to themusic, and the Polish recording was made just a year ago inBydgoszcz.
Recording in the less exotic setting of the State University ofNew York at Purchase, Deutsche Grammophon presents the conductorlessOrpheus Chamber Orchestra with Susan Palma as flute soloist in theFirst Concerto, K. 313, and the K. 315 Andante for Flute andOrchestra. Nancy Allen joins for the delightful Concerto for Flute,Harp and Orchestra.
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