Mozart: Symphonies Nos. 40 & 41 "Jupiter"

Mozart was a constant presence in conductor Herbert von Karajan’s 50 years as a recording artist. This EMI coupling of Mozart’s last two symphonies dates from 1970, around the halfway point of Karajan’s 33-year tenure as the Berlin Philharmonic’s principal conductor. The dramatic Symphony in G minor (No. 40) suits Karajan’s approach particularly well, with lightly articulated violin lines set in telling contrast to the often broiling cellos and basses. The emotional temperature peaks in the finale, where trenchantly unanimous string phrasing heightens the intensity of Mozart’s contrapuntal writing. In the “Jupiter” Symphony (No. 41) the silken haze of muted violins in the slow movement distils both tenderness and poignancy, the Berlin woodwinds adding eloquent commentary. The “Minuet” is on the stately side, but the dashingly played finale exudes an invigorating optimism, with a wonderfully uplifting account of the magnificent fugal conclusion to Mozart’s last completed symphony.