Mozart
Symphonies Nos 29, 40; Oboe Concerto*
*Ivan Podyomov (oboe); Il Pomo d’Oro/Maxim Emelyanychev
Aparté AP328 80:00 mins
This release is part of an ongoing complete series of Mozart’s symphonies, programmed alongside assorted other works of his. While the music is presented here in chronological order, what seems to have happened is that Maxim Emelyanychev and the superb period-instrument players of Il Pomo d’Oro have taken their cue from the autumnal, minor-key sensibility of the G minor Symphony, and have reflected this approach back onto the two earlier works as well. The result is both convincing and unusual. The A major Symphony, K201 can often come across as a trite creation, at least by Mozart’s standards. Yet from the very first moments of this recording, a thoughtful musical interplay is set in motion, conveying a natural sense of depth without any loss of bright major-key energy.
In the Oboe Concerto, the supple and beautiful tone conjured by Ivan Podyomov (from a modern copy of a period instrument) is as appealing as his poised musicianship. And Emelyanychev’s swift choice of tempo in the G minor Symphony’s opening movement remarkably brings out the music’s shadowy quality, rather than any supposed (and spurious) pre-Beethovenian turbulence; paradoxically, the finale’s broader-than-usual pace has the same effect. An eyebrow can be raised at Emelyanychev’s over-insistent liking for including repeated sections. These were a convention at the time, not an absolute artistic necessity either now or then; and while this release is generously filled, there’s no escaping the feeling that the A major Symphony’s finale, for instance, goes on just too long. Malcolm Hayes