Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. 1. Allegro con brio
2. 2. Andante
3. 3. Menuetto - Trio
4. 4. Allegro
5. 1. Allegro moderato
6. 2. Andante
7. 3. Menuetto - Trio
8. 4. Allegro
9. 1. Adagio - Allegro
10. 2. Andante
11. 3. Presto

Disc 2:

1. 1. Allegro con spirito
2. 2. Andante
3. 3. Menuetto - Trio
4. 4. Presto
5. 1. Adagio - Allegro spiritoso
6. 2. Andante
7. 3. Menuetto - Trio
8. 4. Presto
9. 1. Molto allegro
10. 2. Andante
11. 3. Menuetto. Allegretto - Trio
12. 4. Allegro assai

Disc 3:

1. 1. Adagio - Allegro
2. 2. Andante con moto
3. 3. Menuetto. Allegretto - Trio
4. 4. Finale. Allegro
5. 1. allegro vivace
6. 2. Andante cantabile
7. 3. Menuetto. Allegretto - Trio
8. 4. Molto allegro

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #115589 in Music
• Released on: 2003-07-01
• Number of discs: 3

Customer Reviews

The best bargain on the market
The new Trio series has to be one of the most welcome and affordable additions to the classical music market. This set shows why. For a budget price one can get pretty much all of Mozart's best loved symphonies, in some of the most highly regarded performances made of them. Bernstein's lush, relaxed, and very romantic interpretations may not be for all tastes, especially those who have become used to period style. But for those who feel Mozart would have preferred his music performed with the warmth and beauty that is missing from the rather cold, analytical period interpretations that have become the norm, these are for you. I cannot recommend this set more highly.

Retrograde Mozart with undeniable heart
Leonard Bernstein thought that every composer was a romantic because he was. These big, heart-on-sleeve performances of Mozart's great late symphonies use the Vienna Phil. at almost full force--they could slip into the Brahms First without adding personnel. Bernstein lived long enough to theoretically be influenced by the period-instrument movement, but his allegiance never shifted. He belongs with Karajan and Bohm as the last conductors for whom Mozart should sound "important."

At its best, this approach yields romantic depth, perhaps not what Mozart intended but valid in its way. I would rather listen to Bernstein's Mozart symphonies than Karajan's (tending to be slick and glossy, although better than reputed) or Bohm's (brisk and faceless). A new listener should know in advance that the slow movements will be expressively drawn out and the minuets often slow and heavy-footed (these dancers are wearing boots). But Bernstein believes in this music, and he is always genuine. That ocunts for a lot with a composer who used to be played as if he were a porcelain doll and is now too often played as if his divine music were written by a Roccoco computer. Four stars.

Mozart: The Great Late Symphonies
What a great album we have here. Leonard Bernstein conducts the later symphonies of Mozart, which are considered to be his most mature and his greatest works for full orchestra. This album is worth the price and a treasure to own for your extensive classical music collection. If you appreciate classical music, you'll truly enjoy this album. Everyone knows that Leonar Bernstein ranks among one of the best conductors of the 20th century, right up there with the great names of Herbert Von Karajan, Bruno Walter, Sir Neville Marriner, all who have held their own when it comes to Mozart's music. Karajan I feel is not quite as good when it comes to Mozart's symphonic works. Bruno Walter and Sir Neville Marriner have long surpassed Karajan in the area of Mozart symphonies. Indeed, if you get the chance be sure to check out symphonies conducted by either Bruno Walter or Sir Neville Marriner. Marriner and the Acadamy Of Saint Martin In The Fields did mostly Mozart and provided the music of the 1984 Milos Forman film Amadeus.

The reason this album is so good is Leonard Bernstein conducting. As a conductor and a musically atuned soul, he seems to really interpret these symphonies perfectly. He gets Mozart. He has captured every note, every vibrato, roulade, flowing lines and bouncy but balanced joy in every allegro movement, such as the first movement of the Prague Symphony No. 38. For contrast, he understood the substance and darkness that seems to be written into the Allegro of the Symphony No. 25. The first movement is meant to sound furious, anguished and complex, and fast in a darker sort of mood. It's one of those rare moments in which Mozart foreshadows the Romantic Era that would begin with Beethoven. Mozart would also do this with the andante of his 21st piano concerto and the opening movement of the Piano Concerto No. 20. The last symphonies 40 and 41, "Haffner" and "Jupiter" are regarded as Mozart's most mature works for the symphony. The orchestra is more panoramic and produces a less lighter texture. The music is a fully developed Mozart in his later years. The Jupiter is his grandest. Its name conjures up the vastness of the planet Jupiter or the majesty of the Roman god Jupiter. Get this album if you're a fan of Mozart and a fan of the conductor Leonard Bernstein who aptly conducted the New York Philharmonic for many years and the Berlin Philharmonic towards the end of his life.