The precise circumstances which gave rise
to this glorious work are unknown. Mozart wrote it at that
crucial time of his life when he was breaking links with
his Salzburg past and trying to establish himself in Vienna.
It’s an important and fascinating work for many reasons. For
example, it is the first of a sequence of great works for
wind ensembles, with K375 in E flat and K388 in C minor following
within the next twelve months. It’s also the first work
in which Mozart used a pair of basset-horns, a kind of alto
clarinet that he went on to use to great effect in his Masonic
music as well as memorably in the unfinished Requiem.
It earns the title Gran Partita by
virtue of being one of the composer’s most expansive instrumental
works. Indeed it may well be the longest, though no doubt
some of the other serenades run it close. However, we should
be a little wary of confusing size with ‘weight’ – this is
essentially a light-hearted, outdoor sort of piece, entirely
living up to the basic idea of the Serenade. The term originates
from the Italian word ‘sereno’, meaning ‘serene’, and was
thus given to music suitable for playing on a fine, calm
evening. The two later pieces mentioned above are far more
substantial, despite being shorter.
So we have an initial Allegro, with
a grand slow introduction; two minuets, each with a pair
of trios, on either side of a stunning Adagio; a broad Romanze;
a charming Theme and Variations; and a brief, almost cursory
final Presto. I rather agree with the great writer
on music Donald Mitchell, who felt that the piece would be
better without this rather flip conclusion – the variations
finish on a positive, emphatic note and would have made a
most acceptable ending to the work. A rare miscalculation
on Mozart’s part? Maybe, but in the absence of detailed
information, we cannot know the precise performance circumstances
which could well have determined factors such as the length
of the work or number of movements.
What of this reading by the Chamber Orchestra
of Europe under Alexander Schneider, the violinist and conductor
who died in 1994? This is an indubitably fine group of wind
players, with outstanding contributions from, in particular,
principal oboe and clarinet, respectively Douglas Boyd and
Richard Hosford. But all the members play with great character
as well as precision, and it is wonderful to hear basset
horns – notoriously capricious instruments – played with
such true intonation as well as beauty of tone. This is
especially noticeable in the Adagio (track 3), where
the melody is passed around the solo oboe, clarinet and basset,
and in the first Trio of the second movement (track 2), a
quartet for two clarinets and two bassets.
The
Chamber Orchestra of Europe players have recorded this work
twice; once as here under Schneider, then again a few
years later
with no conductor, but a very similar line-up (available
on Teldec 2564 60866-2). The comparison is revealing, and
I have to say that I prefer the later version to this one,
for there is a more natural, relaxed feeling to the playing. Furthermore,
Schneider’s interpretation has one or two really annoying
mannerisms, such as the ‘expressive’ slowing down for the
gentle phrase that answers the bold opening of the first
Minuet (track two). This is distracting the first time,
but the nature of this movement means that, in all, this
is heard no less than eight times, and by the last repeat,
I found it unbearable! On the other hand, Schneider is oddly
off-hand in the second trio of the other minuet (track 4,
3:25), one of the most delightful passages in the work, and
where the players need a little more time to shape their
phrases; they don’t get it.
One of the most problematic movements is
the Romanze, with its slow triple time. It can easily
drag if the chosen tempo is too slow, and that is very much
the case in Schneider’s performance. Again, listening to
the CoE’s later recording, I found a flowing tempo that allowed
for plenty of expression, yet kept the music moving. Erring
in the opposite direction, Schneider selects an uncomfortably
hurried tempo for the incomparable penultimate variation
of the sixth movement. Here Mozart creates the most extraordinary
textures by his scoring for basset horns, French horns and
bassoons together, but the speed does not allow Douglas Boyd’s
oboe solo the sense of breadth it requires, and a little
of the magic is lost. Furthermore, both Boyd and clarinettist
Hosford sound ill at ease with Schneider’s interpretation
of the ornaments in their solo parts, which are very fussily
done in places such as this.
A good performance, then, with many fine
virtues, but not a great one. There is some strong competition,
with a splendid version on Decca from Hogwood and Amadeus
Winds playing on period instruments. If you do want modern
instruments, de Waart and the Netherlands Wind Ensemble are,
as ever, marvellously stylish, or there is Sir Charles Mackerras’s
reissued version on Telarc with the Orchestra of St.Luke’s,
full of sparkle and fun.
Gwyn Parry-Jones
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Wind soloists
of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe (Douglas Boyd, Mark Pledger
(oboes); Richard Hosford, Nicholas Rodwell
(clarinets); Nicholas Bucknall, Martin Robertson (basset
horns); Robin O’Neill, Christopher Gunia (bassoons); Jonathan
Williams, Christopher Boers, Stephen Stirling, Peter Richard
(horns); Enno Senft (double-bass))/Alexander Schneider 
