LEOPOLD MOZART

The best-selling Contemporaries of Mozart series is one of Chandos’ longest-running recording projects

Conducted by Matthias Bamert and the London Mozart Players, the broad range of Leopold’s symphonic style is on clear display in the charming symphonies recorded here.

All the works are recorded for the first time.

Although Leopold Mozart‘s reputation as a violinist, teacher and composer was eclipsed by his renown as the father of Wolfgang Amadeus, prior to Wolfgang’s birth Leopold held a respected position at the Salzburg court and had achieved European fame not only for his highly-regarded teaching, but also his compositions.

The symphonies are among the chief works by which Leopold established his compositional popularity, and they take pride of place. They far outstrip in quality, to say nothing of quantity, the symphonies of his Salzburg contemporaries or, for that matter, most other early composers in Europe. His oeuvre was extensive and it is clear from his letters that Leopold considered himself a modern, fashionable composer, a claim borne out not only by the works themselves but by later musicologists. His style was that of a generation younger and shows a clear progress toward sonata form.

Under the guidance of Matthias Bamert this beautiful music is sure to flourish amongst the Contemporaries of Mozart series and will no doubt guarantee Leopold Mozart the recognition he deserves as a composer in his own right.

The outstanding Chandos series ‘Contemporaries of Mozart’ already numbering some 20 CDs, reaches new ground with this issue of six symphonies by Mozart’s father. What is more, none of them have been recorded before, and they are all well worth getting to know… The performances are first class, with precise string articulation and neatly balanced wind detail. It’s clear that Bamert enjoys and admires Leopold Mozart’s symphonies from this warmly recorded disc, lovers of eighteenth century byways will also find rewards and lasting pleasure.
More courtly in style than the symphonies of Mozart Jr, the six works recorded here – performed with thoughtfully deployed energy by the London Mozart Players – display much of the effortlessness and poise associated with the Mozart name, some moments proving utterly transporting.
Matthias Bamert and the London Mozart Players programme of Leopold Mozart symphonies reveals a deft musical craftsman whose works are graced by genial melodies animated by an exuberant ‘esprit de coeur’ and imbued with the intimacy of chamber music…. Suave polished performances, and the virtuoso horn playing deserves mention.

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