Mozart Symphonies: No. 39 in E flat; No. 40 in G minor; No. 41 in C, ‘Jupiter’ Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra/Herbert Blomstedt BR Klassik 900196 102:31 mins (2 discs)
Herbert Blomstedt, now in his mid-90s, must be the oldest conductor still at work with some of the world’s major orchestras, but there’s nothing old-fashioned about these warm and heartfelt performances of Mozart’s last three symphonies – indeed, what’s immediately striking about them is the degree to which Blomstedt has clearly taken note of historically informed performance practice. He observes every single repeat, even in the da capos of the minuet movements, and avoids the temptation to linger unduly in the slow movements – notably so in Symphony No. 40, where the second movement is almost more like an Allegretto than an Andante.
Blomstedt gives an altogether glowing account of the slow movement in the remaining two symphonies, and Mozart’s unusual use of muted violins in the Andante of the ‘Jupiter’ makes the piece sound even more poignant. The ‘Jupiter’s opening movement is appropriately resplendent, and Blomstedt makes the most out of the curious chromatic passage which erupts so forcefully at the start of the recapitulation in the famous finale. His inclusion of the long second-half repeat in the latter piece serves to add extra weight to the coda, where the music reaches a climax of contrapuntal complexity, when it eventually comes. The ‘live’ performances of the last two symphonies have been issued on CD before, but it’s good to have the more recent account of No. 39 to complete the triptych. The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, with whom Blomstedt has had a particularly close association over the years, plays splendidly throughout.
Misha Donat
