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Mozart: Clarinet Concerto, Clarinet Quintet / Thea King


Release Date: 10/12/2010 
Label:  Hyperion   Catalog #: 30010   Spars Code: DDD 
Composer:  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performer:  Thea King,  Keith Harvey,  Kenneth Sillito,  Brendan O'Reilly,   ... 
Conductor:  Jeffrey Tate
Orchestra/Ensemble:  English Chamber Orchestra,  Gabrieli String Quartet
Number of Discs: 1 
Recorded in: Stereo 
Length: 1 Hours 4 Mins. 

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Notes and Editorial Reviews

'Truly, music of the Gods' (Daily Express)

'It is hard to imagine more affecting, stylish readings' (International Record Review)

'Exquisite interpretations, superb musicianship and natural recorded sound prove an entrancing combination' (Classic FM Magazine)

'A delight' (Hi Fi News)

'Outstanding' (Which CD)

'A very desirable record' (The Daily Telegraph)

'65 minutes of pure, unclouded pleasure, deserving the widest possible hearing' (Punch)

'Excellent accounts of both these masterworks have never been scarce but one would have to search long and hard to find any that surpassed these ... A treasurable release. Beautifully inflected, Read more immaculately phrased, subtly coloured and impeccably responsive as well as eloquent' (BBC Music Magazine Top 1000 CDs Guide)

'Winning performances. Excellent recording' (The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs)

FULL REVIEW

The selling points here are that for the first time both Mozart's major clarinet works have been accommodated on one record, and (much more to my taste) both are played on a basset clarinet. And there's one other little matter: both receive outstanding performances. Soon after the war it was realized that the published solo part in the Clarinet Concerto could not be precisely what Mozart wrote, and that he must have had in mind an trument with several extra notes at the bottom of the compass. This type of clarinet had only a brief life span, so the eventual publisher got someone to adjust the part so that these bottom notes were not needed. We shall never know just what Mozart did write, but in the Eulenburg miniature score of 1971, Alan Hacker suggested convincing alterations which, however much they may be dismissed as guesses, are quite certainly much closer to Mozart's intentions than what is normally played. Arpeggios and scales obviously meant to cover the whole compass sound much more musical and appealing when not interrupted in midstream by an unmusical change of octave.

Thea King is a superb musician with a lovely tone, impeccable phrasing and a deep understanding of the music, and the ECO under Jeffrey Tate provide skilful, sympathetic backing while making a very positive contribution when required. She has recorded the concerto before (the last time was in 1979, on a conventional instrument—Meridian E77022, 1/80), but this is surely the performance by which she would like to be remembered. I learn from the sleeve-note that the basset clarinet is now being made commercially, and the time must be near when only basset versions of the concerto are acceptable at public concerts.

It is odd that there are not nearly so many places in the Quintet where these additional low notes seem to be required. The slow movement and the main section of the Minuet need no alteration at all, and it may be that Mozart originally wrote them for a conventional clarinet. But editorial low notes are a convincing contribution to the final variations. The stereo recording makes the cello sound unusually far away from the other strings, but the Gabrieli Quartet do the music proud, and the quality of the sound is excellent. Strongly recommended.

-- Gramophone [3/1986]
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Works on This Recording

1. Concerto for Clarinet in A major, K 622 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performer:  Thea King (Basset Clarinet)
Conductor:  Jeffrey Tate
Orchestra/Ensemble:  English Chamber Orchestra
Period: Classical 
Written: 1791; Vienna, Austria 
 Date of Recording: 03/1985 
Length: 30 Minutes 20 Secs. 
2. Quintet for Clarinet and Strings in A major, K 581 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performer:  Thea King (Basset Clarinet), Keith Harvey (Cello), Kenneth Sillito (Violin),
Brendan O'Reilly (Violin), Ian Jewel (Viola)
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Gabrieli String Quartet
Period: Classical 
Written: 1789; Vienna, Austria 
 Date of Recording: 07/1985 
Length: 32 Minutes 58 Secs. 

Featured Sound Samples

Clarinet Quintet: II. Larghetto
Clarinet Concerto: I. Allegro

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