Thanks to his unusually strong affinity with Haydn and grasp of classical structures, Josef Krips proves a near-ideal conductor for the Fourth Symphony. Noting Mahler's repeated 'nicht eilen' ('don't rush') markings, Krips never hurries the music or indulges in unnecessary point-making, least of all in the radiant variations of the poco adagio third movement. The score unfolds with natural charm and warmth, lovingly communicated by the LSO's string section - led by Hugh Maguire, whose 'Death the Fiddler' is gauged at just the right level of grotesquery. With Suzanne Danco a pristine soloist in the finale, childlike but never childish, this is a beautifully-judged performance of a work which can too easily sound overstated, faux-naif or both.

Mozart created 22 stage works in his lifetime. This 10 CD box comprises the world-famous ‘evergreens’ in historical recordings from Vienna 1955. Soloists are Christa Ludwig, Lisa Della Casa, Hilde Gülden, Alfred Poell, Cesare Siepi, Fernando Corena, Kurt Böhme and many more.

REVIEW:

Böhm's conducting creates a slim, fluid Mozart sound in which the dynamic pendulum could swing a little more impulsively here and there, but which still has an instinctive feel for theatrical and dramaturgical diction on the one hand and interaction with the singers on the other.​

-- Klassik.com

The legendary Vienna Mozart Ensemble which came into being in the early years after World War II will forever be associated with the name of the Austrian conductor Josef Krips (1902–1974). Born in Vienna, he studied music there under Felix Weingartner, was principal violinist in the Volksoper orchestra, then Weingartner's assistant. He took posts as concertmaster in Aussig, then Dortmund and Karlsruhe, where he was appointed General Music Director in 1926 before returning to Vienna, where in 1933 he was given the post of conductor at the Vienna State Opera. He left the country of his birth again in 1938 after the Anschluss, but in Belgrade he was prohibited from working after intervention by the Nazis. At the end of the war, Krips returned to Vienna and immediately became actively involved in the reconstruction of cultural life in the city on the Danube. His artistic and organizational skills were in demand in post-war Austria when it came to re-establishing the Salzburg Festival. In 1950 he found himself under suspicion of engaging in Communist activities and went to London, where he was principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra until 1954; he returned to Vienna in 1955 and was later principal conductor of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. From 1968 onwards he conducted regularly at the Vienna State Opera, and in 1970 he succeeded Wolfgang Sawallisch as principal conductor of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. For many, Krips was the most knowledgeable Mozart conductor of his time, and the composer's works are the main focus of this edition, though he is also featured here as a highly respected partner to top-flight concert soloists including Artur Rubinstein, Mischa Elman, Clifford Curzon, Edwin Fischer and Isaac Stern.