Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791)
Accommodato
Flute Quartet (transcription of Oboe Quartet K.370 by Antoine Hugot) [14:43]
Flute Trio in C (anonymous transcription from 'Five Divertimenti'
K.439b) [10:21]
Flute Trio in D (anonymous transcription from 'Five Divertimenti'
K.439b) [10:21]
Flute Trio in F (anonymous transcription from 'Five Divertimenti K.439b)
[10:46]
Flute Quartet (transcription of Piano Sonata K.111 by Anton Hoffmeister) [18:03]
Ensemble à l'Antica (Luigi Lupo (flute), Rossella Croce (violin), Luigi
Azzolini (viola), Rebecca Ferri (cello))
rec. Palazzo Venturi, Avio, Trentino, Italy, 1-3 April 2011. DDD
SHEVA COLLECTION SH063 [62:56]
The extremely crowded market-place for Mozart recordings continues to grow
almost by the day, yet this one, released by the small Italian independent
label Sheva, may well find a niche. The latin subtitle 'Accommodato'
refers to the venerable art of transcription, of which five very decent specimens
are offered here by the Italian period-instrument flute quartet Ensemble à
l'Antica.
Mozart's mellifluous, sensitive music is immensely suited to the intimacy
of chamber arrangements, all the more so if the flute is the main melody instrument.
These transcriptions come from different sources, from the French eighteenth-century
flautist/composer Antoine Hugot to Mozart's close contemporary Franz
Anton Hoffmeister, composer of 25-plus flute concertos. Add to this three
trio arrangements by an anonymous hand. Most intriguing is undoubtedly Hoffmeister's:
his idea to turn a piano sonata, of all things, into a flute quartet is as
successful as it is bizarre.
As the booklet notes point out, it was in fact largely through the process
of wholesale transcription that Mozart's reputation penetrated far
and wide after his death. In that sense, this recording is wholly justified
in musical terms. Ensemble à l'Antica give a warm, polished account
of these works, with plenty of tasteful phrasing and elegant tempos. Their
period reproductions have a soft tone that should be more than acceptable
to all preferences.
That goes for just about every aspect of this disc, in fact. Sheva's
sound quality is good - technical improvements on early releases are substantial.
Lupo's deep breaths are constantly audible, but are not really loud
enough to be considered intrusive. The CD booklet is neat and informative.
The cover and track list are in Italian only, but the words should be familiar
to music-lovers across the world. Sheva use a rather dense print for their
booklets that not all eyes will welcome. On the other hand it means there
is more room for detail, this time in both Italian and English. After an introduction
from Luigi Lupo, well written - if slightly servile - notes by Giacomo Fornari
follow. Finally, there are list-of-achievements biographies of the four soloists,
probably unfamiliar to listeners outside Italy.
Byzantion
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Arrangements of Mozart – mellifluous and sensitive.