Sándor Végh's credentials as a Mozart conductor need no introduction. His musicianship, sense of style, and interpretive standards were second to none. Just listen to...

Sándor Végh's credentials as a Mozart conductor need no introduction. His musicianship, sense of style, and interpretive standards were second to none. Just listen to the way he handles the first subject of Eine Kleine Nachtmusik's opening movement, his execution of both forte and piano passages, giving each its particular character while always maintaining the long singing line. All of the performances in this set, drawn from the Salzburg Festival's Mozart Matinee concerts from 1988-93, show these same qualities in virtually every bar. The "little" G minor symphony is particularly noteworthy in this respect, perhaps because of its greater emotional range than the various divertimentos and cassations also included here; but there isn't a note anywhere that isn't vibrantly alive.

The three concertos with Schiff (Nos. 8, 11, and 13) comprise the most substantial works in this set. Although very well performed, Schiff and Végh made commercial recordings of these pieces for Decca that feature even better playing and engineering. In the two vocal numbers, including "Ch'io mi scordi di te?", perhaps the greatest concert aria ever written (and featuring Schiff in the piano solos), mezzo Daphne Evangelatos has a notably rich and pleasant tone, but she sings under the notes and fudges some of her passage-work. So there are small blemishes here and there. The sonics are good but variable over the five-year period in which the performances took place, and the programming may not be optimal from a marketing point of view if you already own the Decca set of piano concertos--but in all other respects this is a set to cherish.

--David Hurwitz, Classics Today.com