Syms 33/36/39

I heard Eugen Jochum conduct the Boston Symphony at Tanglewood in 1974 in Mozart's "Jupiter," a performance also enshrined on a DG LP. He was a simply wonderful Mozartian. The performances on this CD are absolutely marvelous. I believe he recorded No. 36 in stereo in Amsterdam for Philips, but the mono sound on this CD is so vivid that there really is no need to search out the later recording. Jochum was the founder of the Bavarian Radio Symphony, and what one hears here is an orchestra with a beautiful sense of ensemble playing, so crucial for Mozart. There is a glow over the performances, especially in the lovely wind playing--just the thing for No. 39. I really can't think of better recordings than these. Bruno Walter seems lumpy by comparison, and George Szell's No.39 is somewhat antiseptic sounding, too. We can only hope that more Mozart recordings by this team will surface.

I am loving DG's new "Musik...Sprache der Welt" series! Sure a few of the titles feature selections that have already been or continue to be available on other CDs (see my reviews of the Schubert Markevitch and Schumann Furtwangler titles), but the vast majority of these performances have been languishing in the vaults for far too long. Of course, the fact that these discs sell at mid-price when comparable classic historical performances from the EMI and Decca archives sell on labels like Testament for full-price, makes this series all the more worthwhile.

Conductor Eugen Jochum is known to most as one of the great interpreters of Bruckner, but he also recorded wonderful accounts of the Symphonies of Beethoven, Haydn (see my reviews) and Mozart among others. This CD features him leading the Bavarian RSO in performances of Mozart's Symphonies Nos. 33, 36 & 39 from 1954-55. These mono accounts were the DG standard until Bohm's stereo recordings replaced them, and they are still wonderful to hear today fifty years later. I would like to commend DG/Universal on producing another fine classical music series in "Musik...Sprache der Welt." Thanks for reminding us that there are still some great recordings that need to be reissued, and that we shouldn't have to pay a small fortune to hear them.

but especially the hitherto difficult to obtain #39. I wore out two or three US Decca lps of EJ's BRSO #s 39 and 40- they became uncoupled until a short lived Japanese CD (39, 40, EK Nachtmusik). Like 36 and 33 here, EJ uses a reduced orchestra whiich produces diaphonous textures and consistent clarity ( with especially great winds in the second movement. #36 is also very fine, and Jochum does take the first movement as quickly as the score directs. I would like it about 30 seconds slower. The slighter #33 encounters no such problems- it was also a favorite of Szell and both Kleibers. EJ's BRSO 40 is still scarce, alas

Peers #39: Szell, Kubelik/BRSO, Jochum/Bamberg SO, Klemperer/Testament and EMI, Sawallisch/Czech PO
#36: Jochum/RCO, Tate/ECO, Kubelik/BRSO, Dohnanyi/Cleveland
#33 Szell, Carlos Kleiber, Tate, Krips/RCO, Bohm/BPO