“In the slow movement, I admire the beautiful balance the band secures in the light scoring ... This remarkably spacious movement ... has all manner of instrumental attractions, which could not, I think, be more graciously deployed than here. It never lags, never loses serenity. The minuet, alternately, resounds with the best Vienna pomp ... The finale is all martial clamour ... The triumphant drive of it is unforgettable.”- The Gramophone, 1938
Four symphonies, four overtures, Three German Dances, a piano concerto, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik and the Requiem - what a collection there is of Mozart here! This 3-CD collection, curated by Mark Obert-Thorn, holds every Mozart recording made by Bruno Walter before 1939 (barring a handful of short works already available here at Pristine).
As well as conducting we also find Walter at the keyboard for the Piano Concerto No. 20, K.466, from where he directs the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. He's joined for a live performance of the Requiem, made when the Philharmonic was on tour during the 1937 Paris Exposition, by Elisabeth Schumann, Kerstin Thorborg, Anton Dermota and Alexander Kipnis - a recording that was never issued on 78rpm discs which has been newly transferred from rare vinyl test pressings.