Peter Goldstein writes:

>If you like old-fashioned romantic-style Mozart, I'd go for the
>Perlman/Zuckerman/Mehta recording on DGG--it's a live performance, very
>exciting, lots of virtuoso spirit.

"Old-fashioned" and mentioning Zuckerman who treats the HIP-movement as if
it's the plague immediately made me think of hard-core HIP performances of
Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante.

The best period instrument performance I've heard on record comes from the
Portland Baroque Orchestra conducted by Monica Huggett on a Virgin Veritas
disc # 45290.  The interaction between violin and viola is stunning and
revelatory.  I should caution that this is a very sharp performance not for
those who might have just a tiny problem with period instrument readings.
Also, excitement in the climaxes is not strong and the sound is congested
in those passages.  BUT, the conversations between violin & viola are
fantastic.  One other thing is that I would only recommend this disc to
those who have a trusty equalizer or some other super audio adjustment
device so that the congestion is minimized.  Yes, I've just written some
negative things about the Huggett recording, but I treasure it for the
interaction of the two solo instruments.

Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante needs no defense; the proof is in the music.

Don Satz
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