Fans of Martin Pearlman and the Boston Baroque will be delighted to find that they have at last ventured into recording Mozart's symphonies and concertos for Telarc; one hopes this 2005 disc is a sign of great things to come. Though the Flute Concertos (2) seem a modest enough place to start -- a pair of the piano concertos might have made a bigger splash -- the performance of Mozart's greatest symphony is an auspicious beginning indeed. Pearlman and his ensemble make the Symphony No. 41 in C major, K. 551, "Jupiter," sparkle with the timbres of original instruments, and give it a good shaking with brisk tempi and compelling forward momentum. None of the ponderous weight of Romantic interpretations can be found here, and the often obscured wind parts are at last heard clearly, in proper balance with the strings. While Jacques Zoon's renditions of the Flute Concerto in D major, K. 314, and the Flute Concerto in G major, K. 313, are radiant and refreshing for their clarity and delicacy, they are much less revelatory than the performance of the symphony. Pearlman's "Jupiter" brilliantly makes the case for authentic period practices and shows how exciting this masterpiece is when played with smaller forces, sharper details, and greater speed. Telarc's DSD recording has never sounded better.
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