Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Don Giovanni, K. 527, Opera arranged for Wind Ensemble by Josef Triebensee cover

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Don Giovanni, K. 527, Opera arranged for Wind Ensemble by Josef Triebensee

Released

Breezy tempos, transparent textures, all-star singing, and strong attention to detail. It isn’t giving too much away to say that there is a significant stabbing in the first five minutes of Don Giovanni, and Nézet-Séguin creates an extraordinary “bleeding” effect on a chord where other conductors simply drop a loud exclamation point. Where other conductors who make his sorts of un-Romantic choices sacrifice drama and excitement, his speedy, unsentimental approach just ratchets up the intensity in the opera’s famous closing scene. A complete modern Mozart opera performance.

Sean Wood

Suggestions
Vivaldi: L’Estro Armonico cover

Vivaldi: L’Estro Armonico

Brecon Baroque, Rachel Podger
Mahler: Symphony No. 9 cover

Mahler: Symphony No. 9

Leonard Bernstein, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Stravinsky: Symphony of Psalms cover

Stravinsky: Symphony of Psalms

Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Pierre Boulez
Brahms: Symphony No. 4; MacMillan: Larghetto for Orchestra cover

Brahms: Symphony No. 4; MacMillan: Larghetto for Orchestra

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Manfred Honeck
Williams: Violin Concerto No. 2 & Selected Film Themes cover

Williams: Violin Concerto No. 2 & Selected Film Themes

Boston Symphony Orchestra, Anne-Sophie Mutter
Jascha Heifetz plays Beethoven (Sonatas & Concerto) cover

Jascha Heifetz plays Beethoven (Sonatas & Concerto)

Ludwig van Beethoven, Jascha Heifetz
Beethoven: 9 Symphonies (Recordings From 1961-62) cover

Beethoven: 9 Symphonies (Recordings From 1961-62)

Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan
Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring; Stokowski: Bach Transcriptions cover

Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring; Stokowski: Bach Transcriptions

Philadelphia Orchestra, Yannick Nézet-Séguin