Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Early Symphonies (7CD) 2006

Nikolaus Harnoncourt was born in Berlin, grew up in Graz (Austria) and studied the cello in Vienna, where from 1952 to 1969 he was a cellist with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. In 1972 he became Professor for Performance Practice at the Salzburg Mozarteum, a position he held until 1993.

In 1953 he and his wife Alice Harnoncourt founded the Concentus musicus Wien as a specialist ensemble for the performance of early music on original instruments. By 1957 he was giving regular concerts with the group, as well as making recordings of music from the 13th to the 18th century.

Since 1970 Nikolaus Harnoncourt has worked as a conductor both in the opera house (he has appeared in Milan, Zurich, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Frankfurt and Vienna conducting a repertory ranging from Monteverdi to Johann Strauss), and in the concert hall, where he has worked with the great European orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Vienna Symphony, the London Philharmonia, and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, among others. He frequently collaborates with many of the world's most renowned soloists, including Martha Argerich, Gidon Kremer, Thomas Hampson, Dawn Upshaw, Cecilia Bartoli and Peter Seiffert, to name a few. Highlights of his career have included productions of operas by Monteverdi and Mozart at the Zurich Opera in stagings by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle and Jürgen Flimm, performances of Mozart, Haydn and Schubert with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and Beethoven cycles with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.

Nikolaus Harnoncourt's recording activities have expanded since 1970 to include the operas, oratorios and symphonic works of the 18th and 19th centuries. He has performed and recorded the complete symphonies and sacred works of Mozart, the complete symphonies of Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann and Brahms, as well as the late symphonies of Haydn. He has also recorded Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, the piano and violin concertos of Schumann and Brahms’s Violin Concerto and his Double Concerto. He conducted the Vienna Philharmonic's 2001 New Year's Concert to rave reviews internationally.

Nikolaus Harnoncourt's outstanding achievements have been recognised with numerous awards: the Erasmus Prize (1980) and the Hans Georg Nägeli Medal of the City of Zurich (1982). In 1983 he was appointed a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music in Stockholm. In 1987 he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Edinburgh. His recordings of Beethoven's Missa solemnis and Symphonies Nos. 1 - 9 with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and the Arnold Schoenberg Choir received numerous distinctions, including the German Record Critics' Prize and Gramophone Magazine's Record of the Year Award in addition to selling nearly one million copies worldwide. In 1994, Mr. Harnoncourt was awarded the prestigious Polar Music Prize. His recordings of Beethoven’s Fidelio, Schumann’s Genoveva and Bruckner's Symphony No. 7 won Belgium’s Caecilia Prize in 1996, 1998 and 2000 respectively. He received the 'Diapason d'Or du siècle' (January 2000) for Monteverdi's L'Orfeo and the Edison Award (March 2000) for Johann Strauss in Berlin. More recently, his recording of Bach's St Matthew Passion won the 2002 Grammy Award for 'Best Choral Performance' and Belgium's Caecilia Prize. He received the Ernst von Siemens Prize for Lifetime Achievement in May 2002.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (German: [ˈvɔlfɡaŋ amaˈdeus ˈmoːtsaʁt], English see fn.; 27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791), baptised as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era.

Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty. At 17, he was engaged as a court musician in Salzburg, but grew restless and travelled in search of a better position, always composing abundantly. While visiting Vienna in 1781, he was dismissed from his Salzburg position. He chose to stay in the capital, where he achieved fame but little financial security. During his final years in Vienna, he composed many of his best-known symphonies, concertos, and operas, and portions of the Requiem, which was largely unfinished at the time of his death. The circumstances of his early death have been much mythologized. He was survived by his wife Constanze and two sons.

He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, operatic, and choral music. He is among the most enduringly popular of classical composers, and his influence on subsequent Western art music is profound; Beethoven composed his own early works in the shadow of Mozart, and Joseph Haydn wrote that "posterity will not see such a talent again in 100 years."

Symphony No. 1 in E-Flat, K. 16
01. I. Molto allegro [00:07:12]
02. II. Andante [00:05:09]
03. III. Presto [00:01:27]

Symphony No. 4 in D, K. 19
04. I. Allegro [00:02:31]
05. II. Andante [00:03:49]
06. III. Presto [00:02:54]

Symphony No. 4a in F, K. 19a
07. I. Allegro assai [00:05:55]
08. II. Andante [00:04:38]
09. III. Presto [00:02:20]

Symphony No. 5 in B-Flat, K. 22
10. I. Allegro [00:02:48]
11. II. Andante [00:02:10]
12. III. Allegro molto [00:01:13]

Symphony No. 43 in F, K. 76 (K. 42a)
13. I. Allegro maestoso [00:04:53]
14. II. Andante [00:03:04]
15. III. Menuetto [00:03:15]
16. IV. Allegro [00:03:20]

Symphony No. 6 in F, K. 43
17. I. Allegro [00:06:23]
18. II. Andante [00:05:58]
19. III. Menuetto [00:02:15]
20. IV. Allegro [00:03:49]

Symphony No.7a in G major, K.45a 'Lambach'
01. I. Allegro maestoso [00:05:30]
02. II. Andante [00:06:45]
03. III. Presto [00:02:20]

Symphony No.7 in D major, K.45
04. I. Allegro [00:02:35]
05. II. Andante [00:02:08]
06. III. Menuetto & Trio [00:03:51]
07. IV. Molto allegro [00:02:40]

Symphony No.55 in B flat major, K.45b
08. I. Allegro [00:02:16]
09. II. Andante [00:03:31]
10. III. Menuetto & Trio [00:03:08]
11. IV. Allegro [00:03:56]

Symphony No.8 in D major, K.48
12. I. Allegro [00:04:40]
13. II. Andante [00:02:25]
14. III. Menuetto & Trio [00:04:06]
15. IV. Molto allegro [00:03:27]

Symphony No.9 in C major, K.73
16. I. Allegro [00:03:24]
17. II. Andante [00:03:59]
18. III. Menuetto & Trio [00:02:36]
19. IV. Molto allegro [00:01:55]

Symphony No.44 in D major, K.81
20. I. Allegro [00:03:17]
21. II. Andante [00:04:52]
22. III. Allegro molto [00:02:35]

Symphony no. 47 [D], K. 097/073m
01. I. Allegro [00:02:48]
02. II. Andante [00:02:34]
03. III. Menuetto & Trio [00:02:37]
04. IV. Presto [00:01:31]

Symphony no. 45 [D], K. 095/073n
05. I. Allegro [00:01:58]
06. II. Andante [00:03:53]
07. III. Menuetto & Trio [00:02:58]
08. IV. Presto [00:03:35]

Symphony no. 11 [D], K. 084/073q
09. I. Allegro [00:03:47]
10. II. Andante [00:01:38]
11. III. Allegro [00:04:45]

Symphony no. 10 [D], K. 074
12. I. Allegro [00:03:16]
13. II. Andante [00:02:14]
14. III. Allegro [00:02:15]

Symphony no. 42 [F], K. 075
15. I. Allegro [00:03:24]
16. II. Menuetto & Trio [00:03:32]
17. III. Andantino [00:04:48]
18. IV. Allegro [00:02:38]

Symphony no. 12 [G], K. 110/075b
19. I. Allegro [00:05:56]
20. II. Andante [00:04:06]
21. III. Menuetto [00:03:48]
22. IV. Allegro [00:02:00]

Symphony [D], K. 111 & 120/111a
23. I. Allegro [00:03:53]
24. II. Andante Grazioso [00:01:28]
25. III. Finale Presto [00:01:10]

Symphony No.46 in C major, K.96
01. I. Allegro [00:02:06]
02. II. Andante [00:04:21]
03. III. Menuetto & Trio [00:03:31]
04. IV. Molto allegro [00:03:13]

Symphony No.13 in F major, K.112
05. I. Allegro [00:05:39]
06. II. Andante [00:04:33]
07. III. Menuetto & Trio [00:02:28]
08. IV. Molto allegro [00:02:12]

Symphony No.14 in A major, K.114
09. I. Allegro moderato [00:07:41]
10. II. Andante [00:04:43]
11. III. Menuetto & Trio [00:03:41]
12. IV. Molto allegro [00:04:38]

Symphony No.15 in G major, K.124
13. I. Allegro [00:05:19]
14. II. Andante [00:04:20]
15. III. Menuetto [00:02:15]
16. IV. Presto [00:02:08]

17. Menuetto in C major K.409 - Menuetto & Trio [00:07:07]

Sinfonia no. 16 in C-Dur, K128
01. 1. Allegro Maestoso [00:05:10]
02. 2. Andante Grazioso [00:04:27]
03. 3. Allegro [00:04:18]

Sinfonia no. 17 in G-Dur, K129
04. 1. Allegro [00:04:49]
05. 2. Andante [00:04:04]
06. 3. Allegro [00:03:08]

Sinfonia no. 18 in F-Dur, K130
07. 1. Allegro [00:05:44]
08. 2. Andantino Grazioso [00:06:52]
09. 3. Menuetto & Trio [00:02:41]
10. 4. Molto Allegro [00:07:14]

Sinfonia no. 19 in Es-Dur, K132
11. 1. Allegro [00:04:05]
12. 2. Andante (Version 2) [00:10:25]
13. 3. Menuetto & Trio [00:03:50]
14. 4. Allegro [00:04:02]
15. 5. Andante (Version 1) [00:02:42]

Symphony No. 20 in D, K. 133
01. I. Allegro [00:10:43]
02. II. Andante [00:07:43]
03. III. Menuetto - Trio [00:04:23]
04. IV. Allegro [00:05:35]

Symphony No. 21 in A, K. 134
05. I. Allegro [00:05:29]
06. II. Andante [00:05:10]
07. III. Menuetto - Trio [00:03:47]
08. IV. Allegro [00:04:35]

Symphony No. 50 in D, K126 & 161
09. I. Allegro moderato [00:03:27]
10. II. Andante [00:01:51]
11. III. Presto [00:01:51]

Symphony No. 22 in C, K. 162
12. I. Allegro assai [00:03:55]
13. II. Andante grazioso [00:02:47]
14. III. Presto assai [00:01:58]

Symphony No. 26 in Es, K. 184 (166a)
15. I. Molto presto [00:02:53]
16. II. Andante [00:03:05]
17. III. Allegro [00:02:16]

Symphony No. 27 in G, K. 199 (K. 161b)
01. I. Allegro [00:06:42]
02. II. Andante grazioso [00:10:05]
03. III. Presto [00:05:24]

Symphony No. 23 in D, K. 181 (K. 162b)
04. I. Allegro spiritoso [00:04:57]
05. II. Andantino grazioso [00:02:36]
06. III. Presto assai [00:02:03]

Symphony No. 24 in B-Flat, K. 182 (K. 166c)
07. I. Allegro spiritoso [00:04:12]
08. II. Andantino grazioso [00:03:28]
09. III. Allegro [00:03:09]

Symphony No. 25 in G Minor, K. 183
10. I. Allegro con brio [00:10:45]
11. II. Andante [00:06:06]
12. III. Menuetto [00:03:34]
13. IV. Allegro [00:07:03]

Symphony in D, K. 196 & K. 127 (207a)
14. I. Allegro molto [00:02:32]
15. II. Andante grazioso [00:02:12]
16. III. Allegro [00:02:29]