From the archives
Andrew Mcgregor reflects on Charles Mackerras’s approach to late Mozart as recorded by Linn Records
This set, Sir Charles Mackerras conducts Mozart (Linn Records CKD651; 5CDS), is all the proof we need that Mackerras and Mozart are two names that belong together. I was at the first recording sessions in Glasgow City Halls in
2007, and Mackerras told me his interpretation of Mozart’s late symphonies had altered considerably since he’d last recorded them. He loved working with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and wanted to record late Mozart with them one last time: modern instruments (except for the timpani and the natural horns and trumpets), but with Mackerras’s historically informed approach to articulation and phrasing, with just a little vibrato on the longer notes to warm the string sound. Meticulous preparation too; Mackerras brought his own scores and markedup orchestral parts, so everyone could see his thinking, starting on the same page. We’re rewarded with delightfully alert playing and transparent textures, all the detail joyfully revealed in these excellent recordings – one of which won ‘Recording of the Year’ at the 2009 BBC Music Magazine Awards.
The Jupiter Symphony is radiant, the finale of the Linz is majestic, the Haffner is full of colour and character and the gentle grace of the SCO strings enhances the G minor Symphony
No. 40. Mackerras makes it seem so natural, so supple; you’ll ask yourself why Mozart can’t always be like this, even as you realise it’s far from simple, that it takes a lifetime of love and knowledge and research. The sessions were democratic, not authoritarian; lots of discussion, listening and laughter, qualities that shine through in the wit and humanity of these recordings.
The Requiem was originally released in 2003, using Robert Levin’s edition of the Süssmayr completion, aiming to get closer to what Mozart might have written, and soprano Susan Gritton is outstanding. Charles Mackerras died in July 2010, shortly after conducting Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte at Glyndebourne, his love and respect for Mozart accompanying him to the end.
Works by Satie and Scheidt (arr. for baroque ensemble) Lautten Compagney/ Wolfgang Katschner DHM G0100044377293 (digital only) 65:38 mins
These are strangely effective bedfellows. Berlin-based ensemble Lautten Compagney is fond of quirkily creative combinations and its latest album, Time Zones, creates a musical dialogue between two thoroughly idiosyncratic figures: Erik Satie (1866-1925) and Samuel Scheidt (1587-1654) are separated by the distance between Paris and Halle, by three centuries and clearly by aesthetic. Nonetheless, there is a certain kinship in the way both composers stood resolutely apart from their peers, finding inspiration in the past for their music. Most of the Satie pieces were originally written for piano and are arranged here with whimsical flair by Bo Wiget for Lautten Compagney’s evershifting forces. The intertwining lines of Scheidt’s contrapuntal gems require comparable creative decisions since the instrumentation is never specified in his scores.
There is a broad nod to era, the chirpy recorders, cornett and trombones of the cheerful Canzon ad imitationem Bergamasca clearly Baroque in outlook, while Satie’s Pièces froides have the whiff of a Parisian café band. However, juxtaposition soon becomes exchange, Satie’s Avant dernières pensées sounding like a dreamy recollection of the vivacious movements from Scheidt’s Ludi musici I. There are delectably inventive stylistic flirtations, such as saxophone and marimba figuring prominently, and convincingly, in the ninth of Scheidt’s Siebzig Symphonien. Satie’s Sarabande No. 3 is utterly enchanting heard on two archlutes and chitarrone, and only the hardest of hearts could resist the amiable reimagining of his Les oiseaux for delicate plucked strings accompanying low recorder. Overall, a charmingly diverting set of new perspectives on both composers. Christopher Dingle
PERFORMANCE ★★★★
RECORDING ★★★★