Since May, Naxos have been steadily issuing discs in their splendid edition of Mozart symphonies played by the Northern Chamber Orchestra under Nicholas Ward. This latest volume presents an opportunity to enjoy Mozart’s inexhaustibly imaginative assimilation and transformation of Italian operatic models. To begin, Ward’s sensitively balanced orchestral textures reveal Mozart’s fragrant orchestration with great clarity in the A major Symphony (No. 21), composed in August 1772. Sample the second movement’s deftly handled interplay of strings, woodwind and horns, and buoyantly stately Menuetto that culminates effectively in the finale’s restless drive.
The complete musical satisfaction provided by the four Italian-overture symphonies (composed in 1773) that comprise the remainder of the programme is due both to the intrinsic fullness and vigour of the orchestration itself, and to the NCO’s lively performances. The opening allegros and cheerfully effervescent finales bubble with infectious vitality, while the slow movements provide the opportunity for more intimate instrumental ensembles. Listen to the carefully phrased dialogue between oboes and horns in the C major Symphony, the tender oboe solo that emerges out of the first movement in the Andantino grazioso of the D major or the graceful contributions from the flute in the B flat major. Most impressive, however, is the E flat major, which originated as the Overture to the play Lanassa. Here, Ward and the NCO compellingly portray the dramatic violence of the opening Presto, the profound despair of its minor-key Andante and the exuberant rhythms of its finale. Atmospherically recorded.'