Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performer: Hubert Barwahser, Phia Berghout, Kathleen Long, Bram de Wilde
Orchestra: Concertgebouworkest, London Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Eduard van Beinum
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Decca
Catalogue: ELQ4825525
Release: 2017
Size: 477 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: cover
Concerto for Flute, Harp, and Orchestra in C, K.299
01. 1. Allegro
02. 2. Andantino
03. 3. Rondo (Allegro)
Symphony No. 29 in A, K.201
04. 1. Allegro moderato
05. 2. Andante
06. 3. Menuetto
07. 4. Allegro con spirito
Symphony No. 33 in B flat, K.319
08. 1. Allegro assai
09. 2. Andante moderato
10. 3. Menuetto
11. 4. Finale (Allegro assai)
Symphony No. 35 in D Major, K.385 “Haffner”
12. 1. Allegro con spirito
13. 2. Andante
14. 3. Menuetto
15. 4. Finale (Presto)
Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, K. 491
16. 1. Allegro
17. 2. Larghetto
18. 3. Allegretto
Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra in A Major, K.622
19. 1. Allegro
20. 2. Adagio
21. 3. Rondo (Allegro)
With reissues of music from Haydn to Sibelius, Eloquence has returned to availability much of the recorded legacy of Eduard van Beinum, the chief conductor of the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam in the post-war years. This is the first time that his complete Mozart studio recordings have been gathered together in a single issue, and they have been newly remastered for the occasion.
Van Beinum prized warmth over clarity, according to some of his musicians, but there is no lack of incisive attack in Classical repertoire such as the previous reissue of Haydn symphonies (4768483). Of the three symphonies presented here, No. 33 KV 319 was a particular favourite of Van Beinum’s: he performed it more than any other Mozart symphony, and this 1951 recording is an object demonstration of the art of orchestral legato, relaxed and easy-going in mood even in the momentum of the opera-buffa-style finale.
The soloists in the Clarinet Concerto and the Flute and Harp Concerto were the orchestra’s principals in those instruments, resulting in a memorably collegial atmosphere to these sessions in May and June 1957, which were the conductor’s last Mozart recordings before his death two years later. The C minor Piano Concerto was recorded at the earliest sessions here, in September 1948, when Van Beinum’s sober intelligence and immaculate sense of style were complemented by the British pianist Kathleen Long.
A fascinating booklet note by Niek Nelissen details the history of these recordings and of the conductor’s warm relationship with his musicians, including several personal testimonials: one violinist pays tribute to the ‘more flowing lines’ of van Beinum’s art, which disregarded barlines to craft interpretations of outstanding suppleness and spontaneity.