Mozart: Symphonies Nos. 35, 36, 38- 41
Karl Bohm was one of this century's great Mozart conductors--a fact that's apt to be  forgotten in the flood of authentic instrument productions, many of them on DG's associated labels.  He conducted Mozart with real love and affection, maintaining moderate tempos, allowing each  work's gorgeous melodies a chance to sing and breathe. Mozart's symphonic music has its roots in  the opera house, and so did Bohm. Listening to the witty woodwind interjections in the finale of  Symphony No. 39, for example, you can readily imagine the witty exchanges of different  characters in one of Mozart's comic operas. These beautifully recorded versions of Mozart's  greatest symphonies belong in the collection of every fan of the composer.--David Hurwitz