Mozart: Last 5 Symphonies

These were always fine performances of Mozart's last five symphonies (Nos. 36 and 38-41; Michael Haydn wrote his 37th) and they stand up wonderfully. Marriner was never an over-Romanticizer, and even here, with a pretty-good-sized band of modern instruments, the touch is thoroughly "Mozartean," without being at all fussy. In other words, this is a very classy set--tempi and emphasis are never less than ideally judged, and there's energy to spare. What a buy! --Robert Levine