Sir Colin Davis was indisputably one of the greatest Mozart conductors of the last century, both in the opera house and in the recording studio. In Munich in the early 1990s, near the end of his tenure as chief conductor of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, he recorded several of the popular serenades and wind concertos (“Davis is completely at home in this music and brings to it grandeur and delicacy in good measure and judicious balance” – Gramophone). And in 1998, as the Dresden Staatskapelle’s first-ever conductor laureate, he recorded twelve opera overtures (“Beautifully turned string playing, wonderful contributions from the wind section, and transparent textures: it all represents splendid ‘big band’ Mozart in the modern tradition” – Classics Today). These superb RCA recordings are now reissued in a 4-album box set.
CD 1
Mozart: Serenade No. 13 in G major, K525 ‘Eine kleine Nachtmusik’
Mozart: Clarinet Concerto in A major, K622 (Karlheinz Steffens, clarinet)
Mozart: Serenade No. 11 in E flat major, K375
CD 2
Mozart: Bassoon Concerto in B flat major, K191 (Eberhardt Marschall, bassoon)
Mozart: Serenade No. 9 in D major, K320 ‘Posthorn’
CD 3
Mozart: Serenade No. 10 in B flat major, K361 ‘Gran Partita’
Mozart: Serenade No. 12 in C minor, K388 “Nacht-Musik”
CD 4
Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro K492 – Sinfonia
Mozart: Bastien und Bastienne, K50: Overture
Mozart: Der Schauspieldirektor, K486: Overture
Mozart: Lucio Silla, K135: Overture
Mozart: Così fan tutte, K588: Overture
Mozart: La finta giardiniera, K196: Overture
Mozart: Die Entführung aus dem Serail, K384: Overture
Mozart: Il re pastore, K208: Overture
Mozart: Idomeneo, K366: Overture
Mozart: La clemenza di Tito, K621: Overture
Mozart: Don Giovanni, K527: Overture
Mozart: Die Zauberflöte, K620: Overture
Symphonie-Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Sir Colin Davis