I was rummaging through my older cds last night and came across a Mozart
cd of symphonies (32, 35, 36) conducted by Jukka-Pekka Saraste leading the
Scottish Chamber Orchestra on Virgin Classics. This recording was made in
1988, and I had fond memories of it although I hadn't played it for a few
years.
Saraste, in recent years, has recorded other composers, and we've had
discussions of his Nielsen and Sibelius recordings with opinions ranging
from merely competent to very good. In the Mozart recording, Saraste is
outstanding, and there are four features of the recording that lead me to
this conclusion.
First, Mozart's symphonies need to be performed with sufficient "weight".
Without it, the music can sound merely pretty and even trivialized. Those
are common criticisms of Mozart's compositions, but Saraste gives the three
symphonies full weight.
Second, there's an exuberant playfulness to Mozart's music that Saraste
fully explores and delivers on. Also, Saraste successfully negotiates the
combining of weight with playfulness.
Third, I don't know of a composer whose music flows as naturally as
Mozart's. The conductor has to have an instinctive understanding of this
flow, and Saraste seems to have it in his bloodstream.
Fourth, the recorded sound is superb. I felt as if every instrument was
perfectly positioned, with the winds being particularly outstanding.
The Saraste recording, which I bought many years ago at full price, is
now available as a 2-cd set including Saraste's performance of Mozart's
39th and 41st symphonies (#61451). The price is just a little over $10
- a steal. I have not heard Saraste's performances of symphonies nos.
39 & 41, but I can't imagine them not being of high quality.
Don's Conclusion: I would consider the 1988 recording an essential
purchase even it was still at full price; I think Saraste performs each of
the three symphonies as well as any other conductor. Given the new/low
price and the additional two symphonies, the set is an urgent must-buy.
Don Satz
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