This release of two
Mozart wind serenades is from the bold
independent designer label Onyx launched
in 2005 with recordings from renowned
performers: Viktoria Mullova; Borodin
String Quartet; Pascal Rogé and
Barbara Bonney. Fortunate to have been
the recipient of several Onyx review
copies I have been most impressed with
their consistently high standard of
performance and sound.
Mozart composed a considerable
amount of music for wind band, or Harmoniemusik,
that was intended for informal outdoor
entertainment on social occasions, almost
as background music, and not for serious
performance in the concert hall, church
or recital room. This 'entertainment
music' in Mozart’s output took several
forms, orchestral, small chamber group
and wind ensembles.
Even if the objective
of the work was for casual purposes
Mozart took the modesty inherent in
'entertainment music' very seriously.
I believe that some of his greatest
inspiration can be found in these scores,
such as in his music for wind ensemble
'Harmoniemusik'. This Onyx release
comprises two such works one of which,
K361, I believe to be a true masterwork.
The outstanding seven
movement 'Gran Partita' was Mozart’s
largest and richest composition for
wind ensemble. Often it is referred
to as the Serenade for 13 Wind Instruments,
which is not strictly correct, as
it is scored for 13 instruments but
generally not all are wind. In the autograph
score Mozart specifies 12 wind instruments:
four horns, pairs of basset-horns, oboes,
clarinets and bassoons with the addition
of one double-bass. However, on this
recording, "For purely musical
reasons of improved blend and balance
…" the London Winds have decided
to employ a contrabassoon instead of
a double-bass. Studies have been unable
to place a precise date of composition
although a period between 1781 and 1784
is likely. It seems that the score was
intended for a specific outside event.
Here the 'Gran Partita'
is given an impressive performance and
the director Michael Collins also plays
the clarinet. However, they are up against
commanding competition. Compared to
the versions from the English Chamber
Orchestra under Barenboim on HMV and
the Amadeus Winds under Hogwood on Decca
I found this interpretation had insufficient
control over the players’ exuberance
in the brisk movements and in need of
a touch more sensitivity in the slower
passages. The opening movement Largo,
Molto allegro with its distinctive
dancing quality is performed excessively
freely and in the fourth movement Menuetto,
Allegretto that essential bite
is tamely absent. In the fifth movement
Romanze, Adagio the London
Winds virtually equal that special degree
of tenderness that the ECO provides.
The exuberant closing Rondo is
given a vivacious reading by the London
Winds who then lose their composure
in a wild sprint to the finishing line.
Little is known about
the attractive Serenade No. 12
K388, thought to have been written around
1782-83. A wind octet for pairs of clarinets,
horns, bassoons and oboes and cast in
four movements, this score is unusually
sombre for Mozart. The Onyx annotation
refers to it as 'Nacht Musique'
which is a term that Mozart used in
a letter to his father in 1782 and is
thought to apply to this score. This
title of 'Nacht Musique' is not
to be confused with Mozart’s famous
Serenade for strings in G major
which is more popularly known as 'Eine
kleine Nachtmusik'.
Despite spirited playing
the extended opening Allegro
and the third movement Menuetto in
canone are slightly less controlled
in approach and the second movement
Andante cannot emulate the poetry
achieved by Hogwood and his Amadeus
Winds on Decca. The closing Allegro
was rather disappointing as the playing
requires a higher level of ebullience
as provided by the rival account from
the Amadeus players.
My unequivocal reference
account in K388 is the stunning performance
on period instruments by the Amadeus
Winds under Christopher Hogwood, from
1985 in New York, on Double Decca 458
096-2.
This Onyx recording
frequently adds a sharp, over-bright
edge to the timbre that overall makes
the sound quality acceptable rather
than pleasing. The uncredited annotation
serves the purpose well but left me
wanting more information. These are
fine recordings. However, the excellence
of the strongest rival versions make
this set difficult to recommend.
There may be readers
who, in Mozart’s 250th anniversary year,
have only just discovered the delights
of the 'Gran Partita', a masterwork
in a genre that can easily be overshadowed
by his operatic, orchestral, concertante
and instrumental works. If you fall
into this category or are new to Mozart
and are looking for something outside
his mainstream repertoire I can enthusiastically
suggest the six movement Divertimento
(String Trio) in E flat,
K563 (1788). Also worthy of exploration
are the pair of Duos for Violin and
Viola, K423 and K424 both
composed in 1873. All three Mozart scores
have been described by Robin Golding
as, "…unqualified masterpieces…"
and I have been very happy with my 1967/68
Netherlands accounts from the eminent
Grumiaux Trio on a Philips Duo 454 0232
and also on Volume 13 of the Complete
Mozart Edition a double set on Philips
422 513-2.
Michael Cookson
Visit
the ONYX Catalogue
London Winds/Michael Collins (clarinet) 
