A useful selection
of concertos from Mozart’s pen. How
nice to hear the oboe and bassoon concertos,
so rarely aired in concert halls of
today. The wind Sinfonia concertante
(as opposed to the far more famous one
for violin and viola) is pure delight,
as this performance reminds us.
The unifying factor
in this set is the excellence of the
accompaniments. Finnish conductor Ralf
Gothóni became Principal Conductor
of the ECO in 2000. Clearly the orchestra
holds him in high esteem, for the playing
in unfailingly sensitive throughout.
All soloists hail from the ranks of
the ECO (the two hornists are the orchestra’s
co-principals).
Of course competition
is fierce in this field. The clarinet
concerto, for example, receives first-rate
advocacy from Michael Collins (on basset
horn) with Pletnev and the RNO on DG
457 652-2, and of course Jack Brymer
is (in my humble opinion) unparalleled
in this work (try Philips Solo 442 390-2,
conducted by Colin Davis and where he
couples the concerto with the Clarinet
Quintet, or perhaps even better EMI
GROC 567 596-2, an earlier recording
with Beecham, coupled with Symphony
No. 41 and the Bassoon Concerto). Anthony
Pike, who joined the ECO way back in
1989, is however perfectly fine in the
present context of a wind conspectus.
This is a middle-of-the-road interpretation,
the slow movement old-school slow but
lyrical, the finale jolly enough. It
is fun, but just not inspired.
The second work on
the first disc is the magnificent Sinfonia
concertante for Wind, a magnificent
and woefully neglected work. Instead
of the autumnal maturity of the Clarinet
Concerto it breathes an outdoor vitality
redolent of the serenade. It is exuberant,
linking the height of civility (especially
in the finale) with suavité and
barely concealed joy. All soloists on
this occasion are virtuosi in their
own right and, perhaps more importantly,
seem to revel in the chamber-music atmosphere
of it all. Balances in the beautiful
slow movement are exemplary. This is
the highlight of the set.
The Oboe Concerto is
a delight. A pity the acoustic seems
too large and overly reverberant. John
Anderson’s contributions to the Sinfonia
concertante were marvellously appealing,
so it is a treat to hear him shine on
his own. His tone is very appealing
(un-acidic), his account of the slow
movement sensitive in the extreme (including
a simply lovely cadenza of his own making)..
Anderson’s way with the throw-away ornaments
of the theme of the finale could hardly
be bettered.
If this set has an
Achilles heel, it comes in the form
of the Bassoon Concerto. Julie Price
plays well, but is sometimes a little
under-projected. Yet there I much to
admire – again, a lovely cadenza, and
she integrates the wide thematic leaps
in the slow movement perfectly convincingly.
Room only for one of
the four horn concerti. Competition
is perhaps steepest in this work out
of all the featured concerti (will anyone
ever supplant Brain and the Philharmonia?;
or if you want the natural way, try
Baumann). Yet Richard Berry has his
own way, and very appealing it is. His
tone is creamy and confident (in fact
authoritative), and he can be sensitive
when required. Nice to finish the listening
session off with the most famous Mozart
concerto movement of them all. It is
evident great fun was had by all.
Retailing at budget
price, this is well worth snapping up.
Authenticists might not agree with everything,
but surely even they would get sucked
in to the spirit of it all.
Colin Clarke
Anthony Pike (clarinet); John Anderson (oboe);
Richard Berry (K495), John Thurgood (K297b) (horns);
Julie Price (bassoon); English Chamber Orchestra/Ralf
Gothóni. 
