Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Neville Marriner - Mozart: Symphonies No. 38 "Prague" & No. 39 (1986)

These distinguished, if not perfect, recordings made in 1984. They should be amongst everyone’s preferred renditions. They are brisk but not tense, dramatic and even playful when need be. Occasionally, but only at rare moments, such as the beginning of the “Prague” Symphony, I would like something a little fiercer. Mostly Marriner is right on, as in the transition between the darkish introduction to the first movement of the Symphony No. 39 and its exuberant main theme. Marriner and his smallish orchestra do so much so well that it seems almost impertinent to list details, but I will mention the gracious way his orchestra plays the Andante to the “Prague,” the grace and precision of the fast movements throughout, and the fully convincing joyous grandeur of the first movement of the “Jupiter.” Marriner’s performances are detailed — one hears every instrument clearly — stylish, and generally well recorded.