Unless you’re familiar with the trio of florid arias by Josef Myslivecek in Magdalena Kozena’s recent CD of 18th-century opera selections, his name likely will elicit a wondering “Joseph who?”–but he was a leading composer of the period. Born in Prague in 1737, Myslivecek sought his fortunes in Italy, where he made them, lost them, and died in 1781. Along the way he befriended the Mozart family (the teenaged Wolfgang admired his work) and wrote prolifically, including 30 operas and 45 symphonies (a.k.a. Overtures, since Italian composers of the period used the term “sinfonie” for both). Such works conformed to a fast-slow-fast structure and were concise–the longest of the six on this disc runs almost 11 minutes. But lest you think all 45 really are one long piece sliced into 45 bits, these half-dozen published in 1772 are impressive not only for their quality but also for their variety of expression, confirming the adage that the tighter the bonds the more inventive the artist.
It would be easy to mistake virtually every movement for early Mozart, and some passages can leave you trying to remember which Mozart work they’re taken from. But it’s all Myslivecek, and it’s all good without reaching for the heights. My own favorite here is the Symphony in F major F 28, whose dramatic Allegro is followed by a gorgeous Andante and an exuberant Presto finale. “Exuberant” well describes other movements, such as the opening Allegros of F 26 and F 31, to which we can add the charm of F 27’s Andante, the grace of the Andante of F 30, and the odd slow movement of F 31, where conventional elegance takes on an air of mystery.
Conductor Matthias Bamert makes a strong case for Myslivecek, paces the works well, and elicits fine playing from the venerable London Mozart Players. However, I wish that Myslivecek’s colorful writing, which extends to whooping horns and perky woodwinds, had been better balanced. Here, it’s blanketed by string-heavy performances and engineering that lacks the ultimate in refined detail and transparency. Despite such quibbles, this fine introduction to an interesting composer adds up to a very pleasant hour’s listening.
