Mozart: Symphonies 34, 35 & 39

Capella Istropolitana, Wordsworth, Barry

8.550186

The Capella Istropolitana consists of leading members of the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra of Bratislava; though their string-tone is thinnish, it is very much in scale with the clarity of a period performance but tonally far sweeter.
The recording is outstandingly good, with a far keener sense of presence than in most rival versions and with less reverberation to obscure detail in tuttis. Wordsworth observes exposition repeats in first movements, but in the finales only in such symphonies as Nos. 38 and 41, where the movement particularly needs extra scale. In slow movements, as is usual, he omits repeats. He often adopts speeds that are marginally slower than we expect nowadays in chamber-scale performances; but, with exceptionally clean articulation and infectiously sprung rhythms, the results never drag even if No. 29 is made to sound more sober than usual. In every way these are worthy rivals to the best full-priced versions, and they can be recommended with few if any reservations.
Anyone wanting to sample might try the coupling of Nos. 34, 35 and 39—with the hard-stick timpani sound at the start of No. 39 very dramatic. The Linz too is outstanding. For some, the option of having the last two symphonies coupled together will be useful.

CD x 1

Naxos

17/04/1989

4891030501867