Richard Pennycuick wrote:

>I particularly remember an old Walter version on LP of the Linz symphony
>that came with lengthy excerpts from the rehearsals.  I haven't heard
>it for many years, but I do remember how alive and exhilarating the
>performance was.

I remember that LP set.  It was Walter rehearsing - I believe - the 2nd
movemont of the Linz.

>I've been surprised at the negative comments about his
>Mozart and wondered how much it has to do with the fact that so much
>Mozart these days is in HIP performances, and perhaps our ears have thus
>become more attuned to a different sound.

I think many people are too rigid in how they approach 18th Century and
before music.  My personal feeling is that, even if the music is performed
according to the practices of the day and using instruments known to the
composers, just as valid a viewpoint of the music can be gained from
modern performances of those same works.

An example of this, for me, is the Mozart Adagio and Fugue in c minor.
One of the first LP's I had was Karajan performing the Adagio and Fugue,
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, and the Symphony #33.  To this day I still wish
I could get a recording of that Adagio and Fugue for *large* string
orchestra - the way Karajan performed it.  That Adagio came as close as
Mozart ever came to being an out and out romantic, and performances of
that piece with small group of strings and played too fast just don't
convey that.

Dave Harman
El Paso, TX