Mozart for beginners

Many classical music buffs prefer Mozart's instrumental music sprightly and elegant, but beginners often prefer it lush and romantic with a large orchestra.

Here is a brief list of Mozart's most accessible and enjoyable instrumental works on CD/DVD, mostly with a romantic or soulful flavour and full orchestra.

• Mozart: Symphonies 40 & 41/Divertimenti DVD featuring the "Great 40", "Jupiter" and the beautiful Divertimento K.136 performed by the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Riccardo Muti. The best versions out there.

• Symphonies Nos. 35-41 by the Berliner Philharmoniker conducted by Karl Bohm. Mozart's final six symphonies.

• Symphonies (1,25,28,29,31,33,34,35,36,38,39,40,41) by the Vienna Philharmonic and Vienna Symphony Orchestras conducted by Karl Bohm. A DVD boxed set of all the Mozart symphonies Bohm recorded on film.

• Violin Concertos 3 & 5 by the Berliner Philharmoniker conducted by Herbert von Karajan, with soloist Anne-Sophie Mutter.

• Sinfonia Concertante by the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. The Sinfonia Concertante in E flat for violin and orchestra (K.364); the Sinfonia Concertante in E flat for oboe, clarinet, horn, bassoon and orchestra (K.297b). Very soulful.

• Sinfonie Concertanti by the Berliner Philharmoniker conducted by Karl Bohm. The Sinfonia Concertante for violin and orchestra; the Sinfonia Concertante for oboe, clarinet, horn, bassoon and orchestra. Lush and romantic.

• Violin Concertos 1-5 and Sinfonia Concertante in E Flat DVD by the Vienna Philharmonic with Nicholas Harnoncourt conducting and soloist Gidon Kremer. A 2-disk set featuring all five violin concertos and the Sinfonia Concertante in E flat for violin and orchestra (K.364).

• The Huberman Festival 2-disk DVD featuring a variety of violin works including Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante (soloists Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zuckerman) by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Zubin Mehta. Dolby 2.0 sound.

• A Mozart Gala from Prague DVD featuring the Clarinet Concerto (soloist Sharon Kam) and Symphony No. 38 "Prague" performed by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Manfred Honeck. The best versions available.

• Clarinet Concerto; Concerto for Flute & Harp by the Wiener Philharmoniker conducted by Karl Bohm. Clarinet Concerto in A major (K.622); Concerto for flute, harp & orchestra in C major, K.299 (K.297c). Flute & Harp Concerto featured in Amadeus.

• Europa Konzert from Lisbon DVD featuring a wonderful version of Piano Concerto No. 20 by the Berliner Philharmoniker conducted by Pierre Boulez, with soloist Maria Joao Pires.

• Piano Concertos Nos. 20 & 21 by the Wiener Philharmoniker conducted by Claudio Abbado, with soloist Friedrich Gulda. Concerto No. 20 featured in Amadeus.

• Piano Concertos Nos. 8, 23 & 24 by the Berliner Philharmoniker conducted by Ferdinand Leitner, with soloist Wilhelm Kempff.

• Mozart Great Piano Concertos Vol 2 DVD featuring Piano Concertos 23 & 24 (soloists Zoltan Kocsis and Andre Previn) performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Andre Previn. Fine versions of two popular concertos. 1 & 4 are also on the disk.

• Symphonien Nos. 25, 29 & 31 'Pariser' by the Berliner Philharmoniker conducted by Karl Bohm. Symphony No. 25 was featured in Amadeus.

• Eine kleine Natchmusik/Serenata Notturna/Posthorn Serenade/Haffner Serenade by the Vienna Philharmonic and Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Karl Bohm. Thomas Brandis' violin in the Haffner Serenade is a joy to hear.

• Violin Concertos Nos. 1, 2 & 4; Adagio in E by the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields (Sir Neville Marriner), Philharmonia Orchestra of London (Riccardo Muti), with soloist Anne-Sophie Mutter. Not quite as memorable as concertos 3 & 5 but the Adagio is beautiful.

• Serenade for 13 Winds "Gran Partita" by the Orchestra of St. Luke's conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras. Featured in the "Voice of God" segment of Amadeus.

• Serenade No. 10 "Gran Partita"; Serenade No. 12 by the Vienna Philharmonic Wind soloists and Berlin Philharmonic Wind Soloists conducted by Karl Bohm. Featured in the "Voice of God" segment of Amadeus.

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