Yehudi Menuhin Conducts Mozart.

Mozart: Yehudi Menuhin Conducts Mozart. Yehudi Menuhin, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Sinfonia Varsovia, English Chamber Orchestra. Virgin 7243 5 61678 2 7 (5-disc set).

I've never been big on recommending sets of anything. Usually, one can find individual performances by different conductors that bring more consistent pleasure. But occasionally one finds a boxed set of something that has so many outstanding virtues it's hard not to commend it. Such is the case with Yehudi Menuhin's 1989-90 recordings of late Mozart symphonies, plus various odds and ends, now boxed up on five discs. Menuhin had turned to conducting in his later years, the stress of playing the violin finally becoming too demanding. He seems to have been as successful at the new endeavor as he was at the old.

The five CDs in this medium-priced package include Symphonies Nos. 35, 36, 38, 39, 40, and 41, coupled with the two Flute Concertos, the Flute and Harp Concerto, the Divertimento in D major, KV136, the Serenade in D major, KV239 "Serenata notturna", the Serenade in D major, KV320 "Posthorn," and two marches. The symphonies are played by Menuhin's own orchestra, the Sinfonia Varsovia, the Concertos by the English Chamber Orchestra, and the serenades by the Orchestra de Chambre de Lausanne.

All of the performances are characterized by Menuhin's obvious love and affection for the music. Speeds are zesty but never breathless or out of control. Phrasing ...