MOZART: SYMPHONIES NOS. 36 AND 38. English...

MOZART: SYMPHONIES NOS. 36 AND 38. English Chamber Orchestra conducted by Jeffrey Tate. Angel Eminence AE-344d68 (digital). Tate cultivates a contemporary sonority with an average-sized chamber orchestra of modern instruments, yet he penetrates closer to the heart of Mozart than many of the authentic, performance-practice scholars-turned-conductors. The ECO may not set new standards for suavity of execution, but these performances display Tate’s artful probing of light and shadow, of public pomp and private sentiment, especially in the “Prague.” EMI’s engineers have balanced the winds so that they become principal players and have accommodated 67 minutes of music on one record with little sign of deterioration.