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Mozart in Salzburg |
List Price: $29.98
Your Price: $26.98 |
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Reviews |
Features:
Description:
The pieces selected for this 1990 concert form an admirably programmed cross-section of Mozart's accomplishment, from his youth to his final years, from stirring orchestral works to a pair of emotive arias. Would that the performances displayed this same range and variety. When rousing excitement is called for, Hans Graf's muscular readings deliver the goods, but unfortunately he never displays the slightest hint of subtlety or nuance. Every moment of every piece, however dancing or light it should be, is trampled through with the same cloddish, foursquare brusqueness. The famous andante of the Piano Concerto No. 21 in C, K. 467, loses its tender wispiness; the adagio opening to the Symphony No. 39 in E-flat major is overdramatic, even bombastic, so the appearance of the subsequent allegro loses its delightful, surprising momentum. (The aural monotony is not helped by the venue, Salzburg's Mozarteum, an elegantly gilded but over-resonant hall.) The soloists, at least, tone it down a bit. In the concerto pianist Maria Tipo displays a welcome delicacy and attention to detail, and soprano Claudia Kallisch performs her two numbers with considerable feeling. The DVD is nicely packaged for the novice music lover. Included in its extras are a glossary of music terms and an optional series of music analysis subtitles that list the appearance of expositions, transitions, and so on. The last feature winds up being regrettably necessary, since for a concert designed to celebrate the multifaceted nature of Mozart's genius, Graf ends up making all the music sound pretty much the same. --Bruce Reid
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