Marc Minkowski - Mozart: Symphonies 40 & 41 (2006)

This is a mixed bag. On the one hand, Mozarteans will admire how swiftly, cleanly, and transparently these works are played, and how fiercely Minkowski has his Musiciens du Louvre attack the beat, bringing out a potent rhythmic thrust in Mozart's last two symphonies. The Jupiter has whopping good moments, with period kettledrums thwacking away, winds piercing and sharply played, and celli and double basses being bowed with real zeal. But it somehow lacks the urgency and grandeur most conductors find in it. The 40th Symphony, the G minor, seems weak and underplayed despite the "swing" Minkowski brings to it. The first movement in particular is too feathery and not nearly dark enough; it's practically merry. The Ballet Music to Idomeneo, heard outside the already long opera it belongs to, is very effective, and handsomely played. In short, a new look at the symphonies that may please some but may seem like studies for more imposing readings. --Robert Levine