Expansive symphonies played with energy and urgency : the NDR Philharmonie and Andrew Manze continue their exploration of Mozart’s late orchestral works with a recording of the composer's Symphony No. 38 and Symphony No. 39. Nicknamed after Prague, where it was first performed in 1787, the No. 38 shares with its successor a solemn, “Romantic” slow introduction to the first movement, followed by lighter music that shares a kinship with the playful arias and ensembles of Le nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni, composed in the same period.
With all repeats, Manze underlines the ambitious, expansive character of these works, but the NDR Radiophilharmonie never drags, offering the same energy and sense of urgency as in their interpretation of Mozart’s No. 40 and Symphony No. 41 (2019). © Pentatone