Favorite Moments in a Mozart Symphony

[Jo498]

Yes, this post is ancient, but I didn't want to start a new thread if an old one already existed (plus, I got to quote the ultimate curmudgeon).

I am struggling to enjoy any of Mozart's symphonies, as I find them all to be snoozefests, so today I was like I'm going to find a 41 I can at least get through.

For #41 Minkowski or Immerseel, both HIP. The most unconventional Mozart symphony recordings I know are Harnoncourt's (he might have been easily outdone by more recent ones I have not heard, though), but his 41 (Concertgebouw, he made 2 later ones but I have not heard them) is slow and mannered, esp. in the first movement, so I don't think it's a good place to start.

But do you like other Mozart: concertos, sonatas, operas? Maybe you don't like the overall style?
Try 39, 40, 38 or the "little g minor" 25. The 1st movement of 41 is quite conventional, especially in the themes, maybe not the best place to start

[Mandryka]

Yes, this post is ancient, but I didn't want to start a new thread if an old one already existed (plus, I got to quote the ultimate curmudgeon).

I am struggling to enjoy any of Mozart's symphonies, as I find them all to be snoozefests, so today I was like I'm going to find a 41 I can at least get through.

Tried Bohm et al.
Tried HIP (Hogwood; Koopman; Marriner)
Tried the No. 1 sounding orchestra from YouTube.

I cannot make it through the first movement. I find it incredibly boring to the point that it quite literally pulls me to sleep.

Mozart symphonies are asmr to me, and I didn't get it, and I am trying - you cannot say I'm not trying.

Think of 41 as an comic opera without words, in my opinion recorded performance is all downhill after Albert Coates.

[DaveF]

in my opinion recorded performance is all downhill after Albert Coates.

Ah, the version with 4 trumpets, piccolo, clarinet and 30 obbligato moustaches.  Bet they're all thinking "Did we have to play in the cupboard where the harpist keeps his kit?"

[hopefullytrusting]

I'd be interested to know whose symphonies you don't find boring - do you prefer Haydn, for example, often bracketed with Mozart but really a very different composer?  Or is your ideal symphony Webern's Op.21 or Brian's Gothic? (Extreme examples, but my question, and interest, are serious.)  I'm intrigued because, until relatively recently, I considered Mozart, much as I enjoy his music, to be a sort of second-rate Haydn who just wasn't very concerned with symphonic development.  I'm now slowly getting the point that a typical Haydn symphonic movement is a discussion, one by Mozart more like a brilliantly-illustrated story.

I've liked pretty much every other symphonic composer that I have heard, except Michael Haydn, who I found more boring than Mozart, but who I listened to because of the Wikipedia article on Mozart's 41. I would say that I am more of an instrument person than an orchestra person though, in general.

For #41 Minkowski or Immerseel, both HIP. The most unconventional Mozart symphony recordings I know are Harnoncourt's (he might have been easily outdone by more recent ones I have not heard, though), but his 41 (Concertgebouw, he made 2 later ones but I have not heard them) is slow and mannered, esp. in the first movement, so I don't think it's a good place to start.

But do you like other Mozart: concertos, sonatas, operas? Maybe you don't like the overall style?
Try 39, 40, 38 or the "little g minor" 25. The 1st movement of 41 is quite conventional, especially in the themes, maybe not the best place to start

I'll add both of those to today's docket, and report back.

Oh, I love pretty much everything else by Mozart. It is only his symphonies which have been giving me trouble.

Think of 41 as an comic opera without words, in my opinion recorded performance is all downhill after Albert Coates.

I'll give that a listen later today. :-)

Thanks for all the recommendations.

[DaveF]

Think of 41 as an comic opera without words...

Yes, that's exactly what I was trying to say - not just 41, but all of them (for me).

And instead of just making silly comments, I decided to have a listen to Coates - flippin' 'eck, 7½ minutes for the first movement, including expo repeat, a good 4 minutes less than (for example) Pinnock.  I wondered first of all if it was like one of those old World War I newsreels, where the troops all march by at speeded-up tempo, but no, it's pitched perfectly in C.  Either something to do with fitting it onto 2 sides of a 78, or HIP has been around longer than we thought.

[Wanderer]

Have you tried the Riccardo Minasi/Ensemble Resonanz version?

Also, two quite exciting and energetic recent HIP versions that came to mind: the one by Matthieu Herzog/Ensemble Appassionato and the one by Martin Frost/Swedish Chamber Orchestra (on the "Ecstasy and Abyss" album).

[Mandryka]

Yes, that's exactly what I was trying to say - not just 41, but all of them (for me).

And instead of just making silly comments, I decided to have a listen to Coates - flippin' 'eck, 7½ minutes for the first movement, including expo repeat, a good 4 minutes less than (for example) Pinnock.  I wondered first of all if it was like one of those old World War I newsreels, where the troops all march by at speeded-up tempo, but no, it's pitched perfectly in C.  Either something to do with fitting it onto 2 sides of a 78, or HIP has been around
longer than we thought.

Sometimes I like it fast -- Bruno Maderna playing Schubert 9 is another good example

[hopefullytrusting]

Also, two quite exciting and energetic recent HIP versions that came to mind: the one by Matthieu Herzog/Ensemble Appassionato and the one by Martin Frost/Swedish Chamber Orchestra (on the "Ecstasy and Abyss" album).

I'll add those to my list.

I won't tempt fate today, but I'll get to them sooner rather than later.

[hopefullytrusting]

Okay, finally got through all my homework.

To ask those who suggested speed - let me say - that was an unexpected experience. I wouldn't say it improved anything, but the piece changed dramatically, so I enjoyed how different the experience was. In fact, I'd love to see an orchestral competition on who could get through the first movement the quickest.

The one I liked most was by Immerseel, and this began my youtubing, and it led me to an amazing find: Harpsichord Vinyl Gallery (https://m.youtube.com/@HarpsichordVinylGallery/videos).

That channel shine is well worth my price of admission.

Thanks all.