Mozart: Divertimento No. 11 in D major, K251 (Nannerl septet)

Sir Colin Davis and the English Chamber Orchestra made several Mozart recordings for L'Oiseau-Lyre. All five symphonies and both Divertimenti he recorded are collected here on a 2-CD set. Crisp and tender, they are classic performances from the 1960s and will be warmly welcomed in these CD transfers by many a collector.

Overflowing with Mozart’s characteristic melodic invention and deliciously abundant wit, these two celebratory Divertimenti are both associated with his time in Salzburg. K. 251 was probably written for the name-day of Mozart’s sister Nannerl, and K. 334 for the university graduation of a prosperous family friend.

A delightful programme of Mozart works which features the considerable talents of Laura Mikkola. The recording is based around the Finnish village of Iitti’s summer festival held in the delightful wooden church, which dates back to 1693.

This 2-CD set marks the 40th anniversary of the death of Sir John Barbirolli (1899-1970) and features recordings ranging from boy cellist in 1911 to international conductor 1969 – in both ‘live’ and studio recordings. John Barbirolli was born in Southampton Row, Bloomsbury, on 2 December 1899, a Cockney as he proudly boasted. Or, to be accurate, Giovanni Battista Barbirolli was born, son of an Italian émigré violinist and his French wife. English-born with Italo-French parentage – a wonderful pedigree for a musician. And so it proved, for he conducted Elgar, Verdi and Debussy, Vaughan Williams, Puccini and Ravel, with equal sensitivity and perception and intuition. This album of recordings forms a kind of musical biography; and Michael Kennedy’s notes (with many rare photos) trace that life alongside the recordings. A special bonus is the 1947 Austrian Radio recording of two works, Weber’s Euryanthe overture and Delius’s Walk to the Paradise Garden, from the Salzburg Festival concert on 20 August at which he conducted the Vienna Philharmonic. Was this, Michael Kenneday asks, the first time this orchestra had played the Delius? Two rare mementos of the New York period are included in this album. Anthony Collins had long been a friend of Barbirolli (they played in the LSO together) and worked in the USA from 1936 to 1945 and his Sir Toby and Sir Andrew, based on the two comic characters in Twelfth Night, is an example of his overlooked talent. Another composer almost forgotten today is the Czech-born Jaromir Weinberger whose opera Schwanda the Bagpiper enjoyed inter-war popularity. His Christmas for organ and orchestra was composed in 1929. In 1939 he dedicated his Variations and Fugue on an old English tune, ‘Under the Spreading Chestnut Tree’ to Barbirolli and the New York Philharmonic.

The Scottish Chamber Orchestra continues their hugely successful series of Mozart recordings, following on from Mozart Symphonies 38-41. Austrian-born violinist Alexander Janiczek directs the Orchestra in a fine performance of the rarely recorded Colloredo Serenade and Divertimento K.251.

The Colloredo Serenade, written for Hieronymous, Count von Colloredo, who was elected Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg in 1772, shows the eighteen-year-old Mozart writing in an easy, informal style, but showing great originality.

The Divertimento K.251, in the same key as the Serenade and similarly designed for summer entertainment, is full of spirited, catchy themes and dance music. It contains some delightful surprises!

The Orchestra uses a stylish combination of modern instruments (except for natural trumpets), and period influences such as selective vibrato that results in clear textures and an exciting, entertaining performance in the natural acoustic of Greyfriars Kirk, Edinburgh.

Salzburg-born director and prize-winning violinist Alexander Janiczek is the perfect choice to direct the music of his fellow Austrian. He directs from his 1716 Stradivarius delivering a superb performance from the SCO with whom he has a close relationship, having led the Orchestra from 1999-2002.