Linus Roth & Jörg Färber: Rosetti’s Symphony in G-minor; Mozart’s Violin Concerto, K.219 & Symphony in G minor, K.550

Recorded live during the Klosterkonzerte at the abbey of the Maulbronn Monastery on 14 July 2000, this CD presents a rare opportunity to hear side-by-side the famous Symphonies in G-minor by Mozart and by his contemporary composer, Francesco Antonio Rosettti... separated only by Mozart’s monumental violin concerto No. 5 featuring Linus Roth, a fabulous young German violin virtuoso.

Sample: www.youtube.com/watch?v=62cLX5pfcTg

Linus Roth violin (1703 Stradivarius “Dancla”)
Jörg Färber / Württembergisches Kammerorchester Heilbronn (WTKO)
Tracks:
1-4. Francesco Antonio Rosetti: Symphony in G-minor
Perhaps better known as Franz Anton Rösler, Rosetti was a well regarded German composer who lived and worked in the time of Haydn and Mozart... and wasn’t all that over-shadowed by the two behemoth geniuses, by all contemporary accounts. History hasn’t been kind to him, though. Not many of his works are still performed today, and even fewer are recorded for posterity. This rather ‘raw’ symphony, if anything, sounds heavily influenced by the music of Franz Joseph Haydn. It is good-naturedly melodic and quite simplistic without being shallow (though I wouldn’t call it a ‘deep thinking music’ either... nothing like Mozart’s G minor symphony that closes the CD). The use of woodwinds to mirror the strings and to colors to the musical phrases is very lovely... Unlike a Mozart symphony, though, this Rosetti symphony is more 'music' than 'story in musical form.'

5-7. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 5 in A- major, K.219
This most ambitious concerto for a solo violin and orchestra is something of a mini opera without words. It is dubbed ‘The Turkish Concerto’ due to the rather exotically wild ending allegro movement, but the whole concerto really runs the whole gamut of flavors. If you have ever wondered about how to tell if a composer loves the voice or the orchestra more, listen for clues of 'who dictates what the others do'... Mozart loved voice and gives the singing voice of the violin the right of way in this concerto, though he also loved the orchestra (maybe a little less) and makes it its perfect side-kick.

Listening to this recording now as an opera-fan is different from listening to it as a symphony-lover... The way Linus Roth sings with his violin brings something operatic out of Mozart's music score. I don't mean that he emotes. If anything, this young fiddler shows exemplary grasp of the Classical style and never tries to romanticize the music. The Dancla Stradivarius is a poised Adonis tenderly courted by the WTKO under Jörg Färber. Both displaying exemplary dynamic control that would calm even a manic PCP overdosed jackrabbit with the caressingly melancholy adagio. The Dancla’s sound turns in such viola-ish sound at times that the perky rondo tempo di menuetto that follows retains enough of the melancholy of the preceding movement to really make the whole concerto more opera-ish than usual (no split-personality here, but the same singing violin that is capable of portraying complex emotions coherently).

8-11. W. A. Mozart: Symphony No. 40 in G- minor, K.550 (the revised version with clarinets)
Compared to the ‘here and now’ feel of Rosetti’s symphony on the same key, Mozart’s K.550 symphony is more directional... As if he already had the full picture of the symphony in mind as he composed rather than sitting at the piano thinking out the next musical phrase as he goes along.

Maestro Färber sets a tad slower a pace (but in no way sluggish) on the opening Molto allegro than I am used to, giving the concerto a more brooding and stormy feel than usual. This is perhaps the most Beethoven-ish of a Mozart composition... Classical in style, but emotionally loaded. This is not Mozart as you see him in a film like Amadeus, as a careless genius with everything bestowed upon him, but Mozart the grown up man who is both aware of his great potentials and (perhaps more than) a bit weary of the pressure of living up to it. Mozart he still is, though. He doesn't relish in brooding about life's troubles that come his way... And, from all the dark chromatic shifts he loaded this symphony with, he had his fair share of troubles. In a way, he would have made quite a good Bulgarian Troubled and melancholy, but will get through it somehow and will even stop to entertain you as he goes about getting through it. Most definitely a survivor.


For a live recording from a concert performance, the sound engineering here is excellently clear and well balanced indeed. Background noise is minimal and, aside from a few muffled coughs, the audience is awesomely quiet through out. Most lovers of classical music will already be familiar with the Mozart numbers, especially the K.550, but this performance gives them enough unique interpretation to justify buying the CD for... Which makes the presence of the rarely heard Rosetti symphony a really flavorful icing on the cake. It is a good buy, though may be a bit hard to find. If you can’t find it on English language sites like Amazon.com, try the German Amazon or www.jpc.de.

1 CD. Play-time: min. Lining contains track list and note on the musicians and the Heilbronn festival in German and English.

Smorg is grateful to our music CL, lambchops for her speedy addition of this CD to the Epinions database. :o)

Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Listening