Great Conductors in the Bicentenary Year 1956

Released in 2006, that is, 250 years after Mozart's birth, this four-disc set returns to the catalog many of the recordings that made the bicentenary of Mozart's birth in 1956 a reason to celebrate. Perhaps not all the recordings were wholly worth reissuing -- Otto Ackermann's 1953 recording of Symphonies No. 22 and No. 24 with the Amsterdam Philharmonic Orchestra is a bit rough and Bernhard Paumgartner's 1954 recording of Symphony No. 31 with the Camerata Academica Salzburg is more than a tad raw -- but the majority of them are just about as good as it gets in the Mozart discography. George Szell's 1955 recording of Symphony No. 33 with the Cleveland Orchestra is light and flexible, Georg Solti's 1954 recording of Symphony No. 25 with the London Symphony is driven and dramatic, Herbert von Karajan's 1955 recording of Symphony No. 39 with the Philharmonia Orchestra is elegant and refined, and Bruno Walter's 1953 and 1956 recordings of Symphonies No. 40 and No. 41 with the New York Philharmonic are commanding, compelling, and certainly among the greatest performances of the works ever recorded. Nearly as good are Colin Davis' effervescent 1956 recording of the Concertone for 2 violins, oboe, and cello with English Chamber Orchestra, Joseph Keilberth's graceful Eine kleine Nachtmusik, and Guido Cantelli's hilarious 1953 recording of Ein musikalischer Spass. But best of all is Karl Böhm's supremely masterful and heartbreakingly tragic 1956 recording of the Requiem with the Vienna Symphony, a performance that has only occasionally been equaled and never surpassed. Although Urania's sound is apparently taken directly from aged LPs, the sound is in most cases more than acceptable. For anyone who loves Mozart and wants to know how his music sounded when he was only 200 years old, this set will be indispensable. ~ James Leonard, All Music Guide