Mozart: Symphonies Nos. 38 & 39
NDR Radiophilharmonie, Andrew Manze
His background as a violinist and proponent of historically informed performance comes through in his conducting, and the start of the Prague Symphony, even though played on modern instruments,...
Mozart: Symphonies Nos. 38 & 39
NDR Radiophilharmonie, Andrew Manze
Purchase product
His background as a violinist and proponent of historically informed performance comes through in his conducting, and the start of the Prague Symphony, even though played on modern instruments,...
About
EXPANSIVE SYMPHONIES PLAYED WITH ENERGY AND URGENCY
The NDR Philharmonie and Andrew Manze continue their exploration of Mozart’s late orchestral works with a recording of the composers 38th and 39th symphonies. Nicknamed after Prague, where it was first performed in 1787, the 38th shares with its successor a solemn, “Romantic” slow introduction to the first movement, followed by lighter music that shares a kinship with the playful arias and ensembles of Le nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni, composed in the same period. By playing all repeats, Manze underlines the ambitious, expansive character of these works, but the NDR Radiophilharmonie never drags, offering the same energy and sense of urgency as in their acclaimed interpretation of Mozart’s 40th and 41st symphonies, released in 2019.
In their collaboration, Andrew Manze brings his experience in the field of historically-informed performance to the polished symphonic sound of the NDR Radiophilharmonie, resulting in a prize-winning complete cycle of Mendelssohn symphonies (2017-2018), as well as highly-praised interpretations of Mozart’s 40th and 41st symphonies (2019) and Beethoven’s 5th and 7th symphonies (2020), all released on PENTATONE.
Released physically on standard CD.
Contents and tracklist
Awards and reviews
Christmas 2021
His background as a violinist and proponent of historically informed performance comes through in his conducting, and the start of the Prague Symphony, even though played on modern instruments, rejoices in its clarity and colour...This is up there with the best played, and the best recorded.
March/April 2022
[Prague] Manze phrases this slow movement with such suppleness and elegance that I didn’t grow impatient, and he finds enough variety in dynamic shading that the music’s dramatic side is brought out very well.
March 2022
This disc of the Prague and No 39 revisits many of the qualities of that previous album: finely honed and unanimous string-playing, perky solo woodwind and an approach to the music as if from within.
24th October 2021
With his scrupulous balancing of a small string body with glorious woodwinds, these performances make one listen with refreshed ears. Outstanding.
