Complete HMV Stereo Recordings

Founded in 1949, the London Mozart Players was one of the first orchestras in the twentieth century to perform Mozart's music with a band roughly the size of one that Mozart himself would have used, and were playing him so when conductors like Bruno Walter and Herbert von Karajan saw nothing wrong with playing Mozart's music with the regularly sized, full symphony orchestras they normally led. For London Mozart Players' leader Harry Blech to recognize that there was a purely musical benefit in returning to Mozartian dimensions took no small amount of prognostication; six decades on, it is customary for even the largest symphony orchestras to slim down somewhat before launching into one of Mozart's symphonies, and there's a great reason why; his musical textures become clearer, as do ornaments and other instrumental details which the largesse of a full symphony orchestra tends to obscure. Although the recorded heritage of the London Mozart Players begins around 1950 and yet continues, First Hand Remasters' 3-CD set London Mozart Players - Harry Blech: The Complete HMV Stereo Recordings focuses on the early stereo recordings the ensemble made for HMV in 1956 and 1957, most of which were issued as mono LPs only; here those performances are made available in stereo for the first time. Among the treasures included are Mozart's piano four hand concertos as played by the legendary piano duo of Vitya Vronsky and Victor Babin and the first recording made of Juan Arriaga's Symphony in D major. The performances are brisk, energetic and spontaneous; although they were not an original instruments ensemble -- Vronsky and Babin play Steinways rather than the Anton Walter pianos that Mozart favored -- but they had the flexibility of one, which is demonstrated to good effect in the swinging lilt of their gait in the Mozart Minuets and Dances included here, originally issued on a 45 rpm EP. The London Chamber Players were also a very effective group for purposes of recording as Harry Blech preferred to separate his first and second strings to the left and right respectively in order to expose the antiphonal crosstalk between these parts, and HMV's recording picks that up exactly. The recordings are of excellent quality for the era, indeed better than some stereo recordings made a decade or more later, although they belong to their time in that there is an emphasis on midrange and the low end lacks a little punch. Also there are occasional inequities in the performances themselves; little mistakes here and there or passages of a bit too strident a string tone, but these are minor concerns, barely noticeable in light of the power and electrifying energy of these recordings. By way of filler, a 1955 mono recording of Haydn's "Drum Roll' Symphony is also included, and it is useful to illustrate the difference in sonics between it and the stereo content, not to mention in itself a very fine and exciting performance. As the London Mozart Players remain active on the scene, have re-recorded most if not all of this material and none of the members on these recordings are in the group any longer -- Harry Blech retired in 1984 and died in 1999 -- this isn't the sort of package that a reissue producer would necessarily place at the top of his/her blotter for prospective re-release. Nevertheless, it is a good idea; these recordings still represent key, late 18th century literature in bracing, top quality performances and splendid sound, all being elements that never go out of style. Uncle Dave Lewis .