Mozart: Der Schauspieldirektor, K486: Overture

Andrea Marcon and his terrific ensemble, La Cetra, approach Mozart à la Baroque − vigorously, colourfully, and with acute awareness of the sound world the composer was born into but changed forever. These overtures are gems of melodic inspiration, ingenious orchestration, and sheer zest that stand on their own.

Naïve continues its collaboration with renowned conductor, Rinaldo Alessandrini, which sees him lead the Norwegian National Opera Orchestra in an exciting release featuring the overtures from Mozart’s greatest operas.

This is in fact Alessandrini’s first recording with an orchestra playing on modern instruments and resulted from Alessandrini’s position as Principal Guest conductor of the Norwegian National Opera that he’s held since 2005. He chose this repertoire as during his years in this position, it was the sublime music of Mozart that the Orchestra responded to best.

A virtuoso on the harpsichord, organ and fortepiano, and the founder and conductor of Concerto Italiano, Rinaldo Alessandrini is considered a major force in today’s international early music scene. He and his group have created new standards of excellence in the performance of 17th and 18th century Italian vocal music. Alessandrini’s desire to re-conquer the long-neglected madrigal repertory of the early seventeenth century led to the founding of the Concerto Italiano vocal ensemble. Norwegian National Opera Orchestra is one of Northern Europe’s oldest orchestras, dating back to 1827.

This is a very important record for collectors of great orchestral interpretations, in that it reveals aspects of the great Hungarian-born but naturalised American conductor Fritz Reiner which have rarely been made available on disc before. There are two major highlights on this CD – Prokofiev’s ‘Peter and the Wolf’ with the magnificent tenor Lauritz Melchior adopting a new role on disc as narrator, and an early war-time performance of Shostakovich’s epic Sixth Symphony with the Phlharmonic-Symphony Orchestra of New York. This very well-filled CD is completed by a brilliant performance of Mozart’s ‘Impresario’ Overture, and masterly accounts of the March from Tchaikovsky’s First Orchestral Suite, Debussy’s Fetes from his three Nocturnes and a beautifully transcription by Lucien Caillet of Bach’s ‘Little’ Fugue in G minor – the last three with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Excellent sound.