Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791)
Clarinet Quintet in A, K581 [32:27]
Rondo in A, K581a (draft of the quintet; completed by Robert Levin)
[5:50]
Allegro in B flat, K516c (completed by Robert Levin) [8:11]
Eight-bar fragment for clarinet and string quartet [0:42]
Allegro in F, K580b, for clarinet, basset horn, and string trio (completed
by Franz Beyer) [12:48]
Colin Lawson (basset clarinet in A (Quintet, Rondo), basset clarinet
in B flat (Allegro in B flat, fragment), clarinet in C (Allegro in F));
Michael Harris (basset horn (Allegro in F))
The Revolutionary Drawing Room
rec. 3-5 March 2012, All Saints, East Finchley, London
CLARINET CLASSICS CC0068 [59:58]
This disc of Mozart’s chamber music for clarinet is more than a historical
curiosity. It includes four fragmentary works which he wrote for clarinet
and strings, three of them in completions by others and one a tantalisingly
pretty forty-second fragment. The Revolutionary Drawing Room plays on
period instruments, and so do clarinetist Colin Lawson and basset horn
player Michael Harris. The booklet contains a photograph of the three
clarinets used, and the weirdly bent basset clarinet in A is especially
fascinating to behold. Oh, and the playing is good too.
The biggest draw here is the fragmentary odds and ends: you’ve probably
never heard this eight-bar fragment for clarinet and string quartet,
which is unbearably intriguing. It practically cries out for a fuller
treatment; what genius lays just behind the ending? I suppose if I ever
take those composition lessons I’ve been eying, this could be an excellent
subject for theme-and-variations. In the case of three other fuller,
better-developed fragments, we have completions: Franz Beyer tidied
up an allegro in F major which uses both clarinet and basset horn, and
acclaimed keyboard player, improviser, and scholar Robert Levin finished
two very substantial manuscripts, one of them using detective work and
jotted-down clues from other sources. All of these are superb, and while
there is a natural inclination to ask, “What would Mozart have done?”,
nobody can be dissatisfied with the results. How many people who’ve
tried to complete Mozart’s thoughts have done so with as deep an understanding
as Robert Levin?
Thus, impressively, the quintet takes up only about half the disc, and
even more impressively, the cover is accurate when it says this CD contains
a world premiere recording of Mozart! Even without the quintet it would
have been a worthwhile album, but this is a fine performance of the
mainstay, too. True, there are more sensitive and more exquisitely rendered
versions: in recent years, Martin Fröst and Pascal Moraguès have brought
extraordinary lightness and beauty to the larghetto, which Colin Lawson
can’t quite match. But you’re compromising very little here, and the
period-instrument sound will be an attraction for many.
With very fine sound quality and a personal essay note by Colin Lawson,
this is a fascinating peek at Mozart’s clarinet music: that is, the
clarinet music you’ve never before heard. I do wish there was a bit
more annotation on the instruments - the basset horn gets left out of
the group photo - and I’m aware that the performance of the quintet
is very good but maybe not Great, and yet I’m very glad to have this
CD. The fragmentary odds and ends are delights all, fascinating examples
of what might have been. A great album for all Mozart lovers.
Brian Reinhart
