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Mozart: Complete Symphonies, Vol. 12 - Fischer

Mozart: Complete Symphonies, Vol. 12 - Fischer

Dacapo Records  6.220639

Stereo/Multichannel Hybrid

Classical - Orchestral


Mozart: Symphonies 40 & 41

Danish National Chamber Orchestra
Adam Fischer


This is the 12th and final volume in Dacapo's acclaimed series of the complete symphonies by W.A. Mozart, recorded by the Danish National Chamber Orchestra and their renowned Austro-Hungarian chief conductor Adam Fischer. We conclude the series with symphonies nos. 40 and 41, composed in 1788.

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Review by John Broggio - December 7, 2013

Oh dear. The account of No. 33 on Mozart: Complete Symphonies, Vol. 9 - Fischer was clearly not a one off.

How to describe the interpretations?

Barely a bar is left untouched by Fischer's ceaseless search for "meaning" and the results leave one troubled & disorientated throughout the disc, not just in great G minor work (which obviously does not share the mood exultation of the Jupiter). To give just one example of the "meaning" found, the Trio of the Jupiter symphony is transformed into a quasi-Strauss waltz. For all the potential to apply an interpretation to the notes, whole passages cry out just to be heard "as is"; here, this option was sadly not utilised at all.

The quality of the sound is immaterial given the conducting. (As a purely orchestral exercise, the playing is astonishing - the rating is not for the Danish ensemble.)

Mozart: Symphonies 38-41 - Mackerras is far better every respect imaginable, so please excuse me whilst I use it to bathe my ears and recover.

Copyright © 2013 John Broggio and HRAudio.net

Performance:

stars

Review by Adrian Quanjer - December 17, 2013

With this issue Adam Fischer’s Mozart symphony cycle has come to an end. All 45 symphonies are now available as a box set, but (for the time being?) in RBCD only. A job well done? Opinions differ.

Like most other cycles there are highs and lows. This Fischer (not to be mixed up with his brother, Ivan) is an excellent chef and he knows how to inspire his musicians. But in order to blow new life in (too) well-known music he does not recoil from putting in more ideas of the interpreter than those of the composer in the final result. He says so himself: “We mustn’t just the play the music as the composer wished. That would be blind obedience.” The question then is: do we want that, and if so, to what extent.

As a matter of principle I do not take issue with ‘daring’ nor ‘searching’ interpretations. It is one of the basic rights of an art that needs interpretation to make it accessible to the audience (theatre is another one). The problem, so it seems, is that with some interpreters it adds up and with others it kind of samples down the result: unwanted contrasts, too fast too slow, awkward accentuation, etc. Olli Mustonen’s Beethoven concertos spring to mind, and, staying with Mozart, Nikolaus Harnoncourt’s awkward contrasts between scherzo and trio in symphony 39 for Teldec. In Polly Nomial‘s view Fischer clearly is in the latter league. That is his good right and understandably so, though half a star is rather meager.

Adding nonetheless some flesh to the bone, one might look at it from a different angle: As I see it, Fischer’s Mozart is a ‘half way’ product in that it aims at playing historically informed on modern instruments retro-interpreting “what he (Mozart) wanted to say, but it must come out of my own fervent conviction”. Leaning now this way and then again that way, the listener may get lost in which ‘mode’ he is at any given moment, thus creating a contrasting mixture of uneasiness and excitement.

This said, in Symphony no. 40 Fischer sticks pretty much to Mozart as played nowadays by other period oriented bands. Fast tempi, fluid passage work, excellent and ‘elegant’ articulation. However, in essence this is one of the more gloomy symphonies, written in Vienna during the summer of 1789 when Mozart was in a bad shape, both financially and waning popularity. Despair seems best to describe his mood. And notwithstanding a somewhat faster tempo, Fischer’s melancholy shines through better than the brooding tone of Sir Charles in the slow movement.

Number 41, composed (together with 39, by the way) in the same short summer period, is different in that it is not an easy symphony to bring to life. In an attempt to bring excitement Fischer seemingly resorts to mannerisms in the first movement which are, indeed, disturbing. In comparison, Mackeras and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra are to a certain extent ‘provocative’ as well, but with much greater consistency. On the other hand one might say that Fischer’s contrasts between forte and soft violins mark Mozart’s dualism between fighting and resignation.

For me, the second movement is the most difficult part of the symphony. Not so much in terms of difficult scoring but rather in ‘keeping the attention of the listener’. Many conductors of lesser renown easily turn this movement into one of the most boring parts in Mozart’s oeuvre. Especially in the repeats. Here, Fischer is not only able to keep the momentum but also to refrain from unnecessary accents, shaping the whole movement along more conventional lines.

In the two remaining parts the excitement returns, this time without the ‘mannerisms’ from the first movement. Mozart becomes ‘obstinate’, which may not have been far of the mark anyway.

Seen in this light, Fischer puts back what might have been lost over the years in routinely played subscription concerts. In conclusion: Interesting stuff for those who like to go off the beaten track.

Copyright © 2013 Adrian Quanjer and HRAudio.net

Performance:

Sonics (Multichannel):

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