Trevor Pinnock, The English Concert - Mozart: The Symphonies (11CD) (2002)

This set is pure joy. These are period performances, but there's nothing hair-shirt about them.
Pinnock caresses the slow movements with great affection, and throughout there's a sense of fun and enjoyment. What's exciting is the sweetness of the period-instrument sound and the suppleness and flexibility The English Concert brings to the music. They play, much of the time, as if it were chamber music, particularly in second subjects – the lyrical passages, that is, where they shape the phrases with a warmth and refinement you hardly expect in orchestral music. Timing is quietly witty, yet not at all contrived or artificial: it's the sort of expressive refinement that depends on listening to one another, not on the presence of a conductor. There's large-scale playing, too.
The middle symphonies are especially good.
The opening of the brilliant K133 (No 20) has a splendid swing, with its prominent trumpets, and a real sense of a big, symphonic piece. K184 (No 26) is duly fiery and its accents are neatly judged. K201 and K202 (Nos 29 and 30) are both very impressively done: an eloquent rather than a fiery account (though something of that too) of the opening movement of K201, with a particularly euphonious and shapely Andante.
The finales of both are done with exceptional vitality and the rhythmic resilience that's characteristic of these performances.
Pinnock's Jupiter (No 41) is truly outstanding.
The first movement is duly weighty, but energetically paced, and its critical junctures timed with a keen sense of their role in the shape of the whole. In the Andante he draws an extraordinarily beautiful, almost sensuous sound from The English Concert, and the lines are moulded with tenderness. This, above all, is the quality that distinguishes Pinnock's recordings from all others, this natural and musical sound, deriving from the way the players are intently listening to one another; and it's fitting that it reaches its high point in the Jupiter. As for the finale: well, it's decidedly quick, giving the impression of a performance in which the orchestra is pressed to an extent that its ensemble playing is under stress, though it holds together. It's a very bold, outspoken reading, which leaves one gasping afresh at the music's originality.
In short, quite outstanding performances, unfailingly musical, wholly natural and unaffected, often warmly expressive in the slow music and always falling very happily on the ear, with no trace of the harshness that some think is inevitable with period instruments. They are excellently recorded, with the properly prominent wind balance helping to characterise the sound world of each work.

Track List:

CD 1
Symphony No.1 In E Flat Major, K.16
1 1. Molto Allegro 5:49
2 2. Andante 6:13
3 3. Presto 2:01
Symphony In F Major, K.Anh.223 (19a)
4 1. Allegro Assai 5:00
5 2. Andante 3:54
6 3. Presto 2:36
Symphony No.4 In D Major, K.19
7 1. Allegro 2:14
8 2. Andante 4:04
9 3. Presto 2:47
Symphony No.5 In B Flat Major, K.22
10 1. Allegro 2:38
11 2. Andante 2:48
12 3. Molto Allegro 1:17
Symphony In G Major, K.Anh.221 (45a) "Old Lambach"
13 1. Allegro Maestoso 5:04
14 2. Andante 4:55
15 3. Presto 2:30
Symphony No.6 In F Major, K.43
16 1. Allegro 5:32
17 2. Andante 5:31
18 3. Menuetto - Trio 2:18
19 4. Allegro 3:39

CD 2
Symphony No.7 In D Major, K.45
1 1. Molto Allegro 2:35
2 2. Andante 2:25
3 3. Menuetto - Trio 3:09
4 4. Molto Allegro 2:38
Symphony No.8 In D Major, K.48
5 1. Allegro 3:04
6 2. Andante 3:51
7 3. Menuetto - Trio 3:30
8 4. Molto Allegro 3:04
Symphony No.9 In C Major, K.73
9 1. Allegro 3:05
10 2. Andante 4:21
11 3. Menuetto - Trio 3:17
12 4. Molto Allegro 2:00
Symphony In F Major, K.76
13 1. Allegro Maestoso 4:22
14 2. Andante 3:51
15 3. Menuetto - Trio 3:42
16 4. Allegro 2:46
Symphony In B Flat Major, K.Anh.214
17 1. Allegro 2:18
18 2. Andante 4:40
19 3. Menuetto - Trio 2:44
20 4. Allegro 3:41
Symphony In D Major, K.81
21 1. Allegro 2:52
22 2. Andante 4:38
23 3. Allegro Molto 2:27

CD 3
Symphony In D Major, K.97
1 1. Allegro 2:36
2 2. Andante 3:28
3 3. Menuetto - Trio 3:05
4 4. Presto 1:38
Symphony In D Major, K.95
5 1. Allegro 2:15
6 2. Andante 3:13
7 3. Menuetto - Trio 3:16
8 4. Allegro 3:06
Symphony No.11 In D Major, K.84
9 1. Allegro 3:40
10 2. Andante 2:30
11 3. Allegro 3:21
Symphony In B Flat Major, K.Anh.216
12 1. Allegro 3:27
13 2. Andante 4:10
14 3. Menuetto - Trio 2:40
15 4. Allegro Molto 3:38
Symphony In F Major, K.75
16 1. Allegro 3:11
17 2. Andantino 5:16
18 3. Menuetto - Trio 3:32
19 4. Allegro 2:20
Symphony In C Major, K.96
20 1. Allegro 1:58
21 2. Andante 5:28
22 3. Menuetto - Trio 3:42
23 4. Molto Allegro 2:56

CD 4
Symphony No. 10 In G Major, K. 74
1 1. Allegro 3:10
2 2. Andante 2:40
3 3. Allegro 1:51
Symphony No. 12 In G Major, K. 110
4 4. Allegro 6:41
5 2. Andante 4:29
6 3. Menuetto - Trio 3:48
7 4. Allegro 2:11
Symphony No. 13 In F Major, K. 112
8 1 Allegro 5:20
9 2 Andante 5:24
10 3. Menuetto - Trio 2:18
11 4. Molto Allegro 2:24
Symphony No. 14 In A Major, K. 114
12 1. Allegro Moderato 7:41
13 2. Andante 4:55
14 3. Menuetto - Trio 3:49
15 4. Molto Allegro 4:23
Symphony No. 15 In G Major, K. 124
16 1. Allegro 5:09
17 2. Andante 4:58
18 3. Menuetto - Trio 3:22
19 4. Presto 2:11

CD 5
Symphony No.16 In C, K.128
1 1. Allegro Maestoso 4:24
2 2. Andante Grazioso 4:06
3 3. Allegro 3:20
Symphony No.17 In G, K.129
4 1. Allegro 6:27
5 2. Andante 5:46
6 3. Allegro 3:48
Symphony No.18 In F, K.130
7 1. Allegro 5:16
8 2. Andante Grazioso 5:06
9 3. Menuetto 2:15
10 4. Allegro Molto 7:02
Symphony No.19 In E Flat, K.132
11 1. Allegro 4:04
12 2. Andante 6:09
13 3. Menuetto 4:19
14 4. Allegro 3:54
Symphony No.26 In E Flat, K.184
15 1. Molto Presto 2:50
16 2. Andante 3:09
17 3. Allegro 2:12

CD 6
Symphony No.20 In D, K.133
1 1. Allegro 7:20
2 2. Andante 5:57
3 3. Menuetto 3:55
4 4. Allegro 5:29
Symphony No.21 In A, K.134
5 1. Allegro 5:20
6 2. Andante 4:36
7 3. Menuetto 4:10
8 4. Allegro 3:34
Symphony No.22 In C, K.162
9 1. Allegro Assai 3:33
10 2. Andantino Grazioso 3:00
11 3. Presto Assai 2:05
Symphony No.23 In D, K.181
12 1. Allegro Spirituoso 4:53
13 2. Andantino 2:05
14 3. Presto Assai 2:11
Symphony No.27 In G, K.199
15 1. Allegro 6:47
16 2. Andantino Grazioso 5:33
17 3. Presto 5:18

CD 7
Symphony No.24 In B Flat, K.182
1 1. Allegro Spiritoso 4:00
2 2. Andantino Grazioso 2:35
3 3. Allegro 1:32
Symphony No.25 In G Minor, K.183
4 1. Allegro Con Brio 10:13
5 2. Andante 6:50
6 3. Menuetto 4:08
7 4. Allegro 6:31
Symphony No.30 In D, K.202
8 1. Molto Allegro 5:53
9 2. Andantino Con Moto 5:57
10 3. Menuetto - Trio 4:53
11 4. Presto 4:48
Symphony No.31 In D, K.297
12 1. Allegro Assai 7:28
13 2. Andante 5:53
14 3. Allegro 3:35

CD 8
Symphony No.29 In A, K.201
1 1. Allegro Moderato 9:59
2 2. Andante 11:22
3 3. Menuetto 3:47
4 4. Allegro Con Spirito 6:39
Symphony No.28 In C, K.200
5 1. Allegro Spiritoso 7:27
6 2. Andante 8:30
7 3. Menuetto (Allegretto) 4:24
8 4. Presto 5:28
Symphony No.33 In B Flat, K.319
9 1. Allegro Assai 6:52
10 2. Andante Moderato 4:26
11 3. Menuetto 3:12
12 4. Finale (Allegro Assai) 8:11

CD 9
Symphony No.32 In G, K.318 (Overture In G)
1 1. Allegro Spiritoso 2:54
2 2. Andante 2:50
3 3. Tempo I 1:55
Symphony No.34 In C, K.338
4 1. Allegro Vivace 6:57
5 2. Andante Di Molto Pi¨´ Tosto Allegretto 7:08
6 3. Finale (Allegro Vivace) 7:37
Symphony No.35 In D, K.385 - "Haffner"
7 1. Allegro Con Spirito 5:46
8 2. Andante 6:45
9 3. Menuetto 3:28
10 4. Finale (Presto) 3:53
Symphony No.36 In C, K.425 - "Linz"
11 1. Adagio - Allegro Spiritoso 11:04
12 2. Andante 9:21
13 3. Menuetto 3:56
14 4. Finale (Presto) 7:32

CD 10
Symphony No. 38 In D Major, K 504 "Prague"
1 1. Adagio - Allegro 13:07
2 2. Andante 12:10
3 3. Presto 7:36
Symphony No. 39 In E Flat Major, K. 543
4 1. Adagio - Allegro 10:21
5 2. Andante Con Moto 8:25
6 3. Menuetto: Allegretto Trio 4:23
7 4. Finale: Allegro 7:26

CD 11
Symphony No.40 In G Minor K550
11 1. Molto Allegro 7:23
12 2. Andante 11:21
13 3. Menuetto: Allegretto - Trio 4:48
14 4. Allegro Assai 9:28
Symphony No.41 In C K551 "Jupiter"
15 1. Allegro Vivace 11:16
16 2. Andante Cantabile 11:22
17 3. Menuetto: Allegretto - Trio 5:27
18 4. Molto Allegro 11:27

Performers:
The English Concert
Trevor Pinnock