Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – The Very Best of Mozart (2005)

For those of you not into classical music, this is a great starting point to hear some of the greatest melodies ever created. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart commonly referred to simply as Mozart, is considered one of the finest musicians to have ever walked this planet. He is often seen as one of the top three classical music composers, along with Bach and Beethoven.

He lived well before people could record his music, back in the 1700s. By pure luck and recognition, his music has lived on to this day. This album was recorded with a multitude of different orchestras and composers fairly recently. Unfortunately, although the total names of these brilliant renderers will not be included in this review (the reason being that there are too many to mention here), their work is fantastic in replicating his music. It’s a great little album to get you stuck right into the world of classical music.

Let’s see how it sounds, track by track. Noted that this album is quite long, running at over two hours, so ensure you are patient with the listen if you decide to hear this album.

The first piece is Serenade No. 13 in G Major, K. 525, ‘Eine Kleine Nachtmusik’ I. Allegro. It is a beautiful piece of almost riff like melodies and progresses nicely for a classical music piece. This is Mozart’s most recognized piece, so it is fine listening, and well worth hearing. A great orchestral piece. The end climax is brilliant.

Next up is Horn Concerto No.4 Rondo: Allegro Vivace. It uses a great horn melody with a sort of call-and-response from the horn playing and the string orchestra. Relatively short for this compilation, at around three minutes long. Still, it’s great. A good example of what Mozart could do, and pull off nicely.

Cosi fan Tutte: Act 1: Soave Sia Il Vento comes next. It’s a beautiful opera piece like in Italian. The singing here is majestic and takes you to another place with the orchestration on this track. Great stuff. The male and female voices make for great harmony in music. It’s short, only three minutes long, good stuff.

Violin Sonata, K. 378: Andantino is a beautiful and majestic piece with violin and piano. Nothing else required here. It’s a bit melancholy sounding but still essential for classical music fans. Quality listening for sure, it’s effective all right, and nice and slow as well. It progresses nicely, no wonder Progressive Rock musicians dig classical music, there is a purpose for this sort of instrumental. Nice. There is a rhythmic section towards the end.

Following is Requiem: Confutatis and Lacrymosa. It’s more opera with some background orchestra support the overall piece. It’s more of the same that we have heard earlier but sounds triumphant. This album is good in terms of different styles of classical based music, the variety here is excellent. The suspense here is awesome.

After this, we arrive at Symphony No. 40: Molto Allegro. This is a well-known piece of Mozart’s and has a nice feel to it. It sounds triumphant. The melodies here are just top, and this piece in particular demands listening to it. Brilliant stuff. A great string-led piece written by Mozart. It’s never dull for the length of seven minutes here. Grand sounding, which is very good.

String Quartet, ‘Hunt’ Minuetto arrives next, and it is a lovely sounding piece that easily could be played in the background of somebody’s house when guests are there for a dinner party. It’s simple and effective, a gentle melodic orchestration. Good stuff. The multitude of sections is fantastic.

Don Giovanni: La Ci Darem La Mano is more opera, a short and good sounding opera piece here. It’s more for opera fans rather than traditional Classical Music fans but sounds interesting nonetheless.

The next piece German Dance No. 3: ‘Sleigh Ride’ is another more famous piece of Mozart goodness. It sounds optimistic and bold and is yet again a worthy addition to this recording. There are sleigh bells aplenty here, which makes this piece come alive.

After that, we arrive at Piano Concerto No. 20 Allegro Assai. It’s a much longer piece, clocking in at over seven minutes. It sounds far more lively than you’d think for a piece of music that long, just super good to hear. The piano playing here is amazing, as well as the orchestra too. A must listen. It almost stops halfway through but resumes, a great move of suspense.

Marriage of Figaro: Voi Che Sapete is a brief piece of intertwined melodies and opera singing. Note that there seems to be too much Opera on this recording and not enough more traditional Mozart pieces. Still, it’s good, but even so, that factor could be bettered here.

Symphony No. 25: Allegro Con Brio is another more famous Mozart piece. It’s an extended and marvelous instrumental piece. It combines rhythmic string instruments and melodies into a continuous whole. Excellent sounding and well played.

Following this, we have Ave Verum Corpos, a short and melancholy piece that shows some pure emotion with a choir here. It’s somewhat different from what we traditionally have on this album, but still, it’s very good to hear this difference here. Soothing. It sounds like Christmas chanting in some respects.

The next piece, Marriage of Figaro: Overture is another famous piece by Mozart. It sounds like a triumph style piece, depending on the occasion. Still, it’s another must-hear orchestrated piece, wonderful to listen to. Excellent.

Clarinet Concerto: Adagio is a more subdued piece, could easily have been present in the Star Wars films, if possible. It’s a near-perfect mixture of clarinet and orchestra, making for a great listen. Good to hear something different here. The clarinet is excellently played on this track.

Mass in C Minor: Kyrie is back to the string sections. This one sounds a little depressing, to be fair. It’s still a good listen but it sounds like an emotionally tragic sort of piece of music. Fits in nicely between the other works here, however. More opera singing is here as well as a choir. The female singer has a great voice perfect for that role.

Next is Piano Concerto No. 21: Andante. This is an excellent and another famous Classical Music piece created by Mozart. It’s so beautiful, wonderful and majestic, it will take your mind to other places. Fantastic. Go ahead and give this one a listen for sure. The piano, in particular, is much more precise than you’d think.

After that, we enter Symphony No. 41 ‘Jupiter’: Molto Allegro. Yet another often played piece, it sounds glorious. It combines multiple string sections here and sounds happy and positive the whole way through. The orchestra really does sound great here, a nice listen overall. A nice listen even though it clocks just under ten minutes, so be patient with this one.

Die Zauberflöte: Der Hölle Rache comes next. It’s another rather, by this point, unnecessary Opera piece. Still, it is a great way to show how it’s done, but maybe next time, not so much Opera on this album? That would be an improvement. This is one of the better pieces on the album which has Opera vocals, but it is flogging a dead horse here, for the most part.

Piano Sonata No. 11: Rondo Alla Turca is a nice change, being a solo piano piece. It is intricate and well played. It’s an awesomely create and constructed piece. More songs on this compilation should be like this, it sounds great here.

The next offering is Flute and Harp Concerto: Andantino. It’s a much more laidback and relaxing sounding piece. There is, believe it or not, harpsichord in this instrumental. It’s a slower, but more listenable experience than you’d imagine. Gentle listening. The harp sounds very pristine and beautiful. The flute is super melodic.

Up next is Serenade For Winds, K.361: Menuetto. It is another long piece on the album, and although is not a famous piece by Mozart, it still sounds great. It’s just a nice sound here, which is the key to Mozart’s music. A good listen. Worth your time.

Clarinet Quintet: Larghetto which arrives next is a much slower, yet more beautiful piece here. The clarinet adds a precise melody and connection with the rest of the orchestra. Not much else needed here musically, the clarinet and orchestra do well here. A good and quiet listen.

Violin Concerto No. 5: Tempo De Menuetto is the last piece on this album. It goes back to stringed instruments here and finishes the album nicely.

This is a good, but not great Mozart listening experience. It seems like a mixture that is all over the place, plus the Opera sections, for the most part, are awful. However, if you are still keen on entering the world of Classical Music, or just to hear something different, give this album a short. It has a mixture of great and not-so-great instrumentals. Still, it’s okay to hear.

7/10