A new release from Universal Music Group (UMG) looks like being the ultimate early Christmas present for Mozart fans – a 200 CD boxset, with more than 240 hours of Mozart’s music. Created in collaboration with Salzburg Mozarteum Foundation and Mozart expert professor Cliff Eisen of King’s College London, Mozart 225: The New Complete Edition will be released on 28 October.
The pieces are organised chronologically within genre, including the first ever recordings of two recently discovered works: Sonata K331 and K477a. The latter was inspired by a friendly rivalry with Antonio Salieri.
More than 600 soloists feature in the boxset, as well as 60 orchestras.
Recordings are taken from Decca and Deutsche Grammophon’s archives, as well as from 18 other labels. The release is accompanied by a new Mozart biography from Eisen and a separate track-by-track guide.
‘We have started from first principles, reassessing new thinking in performance practice and scholarship to produce something that we hope will be an item of desire and reference for general music lovers but also a first port of call for places of study,’ said UMG’s Paul Moseley, who spearheaded the project.
However, all of this comes at a price – the boxset is listed on Amazon for a hefty GBP300.50 (€350).
