Mozart: The Symphonies, Vol. 3

Ever wondered how it might have felt to hear Mozart for the very first time: the energy, the urgency, the freshly minted sense of wonder? That was what Christopher Hogwood and the Academy of Ancient Music aimed to recreate when they set out to record the first ever complete Mozart symphony cycle on period instruments. This set of early symphonies was their first release, and it caused a sensation when it first appeared in 1979—introducing a leaner, brighter Mozart and redefining the way we listen to late 18th-century music. Half a century on, it’s lost none of its capacity to startle and delight. This is musicmaking charged with the thrill of discovery, giving a radical overhaul to music (from Mozart’s youth) that’s still too often taken for granted.