Georg Abraham Schneider (1770-1839)
Flute Concerto Op 53 in A minor (1811)
Flute Concerto Op 12 in G major (1802)
Flute Concerto Op 63 in E minor (1812)
Gaby Pas-Von Riet (flute)
Württemberg Chamber Orchestra, Heilbronn/Johannes Moesus
rec. 2020, Flina Flein, Heilbronn, Germany
CPO 555 390-2 [75]
Wolfgang Kossack's program note (as translated by Susan Marie Praeder) calls the late-Classical composer Georg Abraham Schneider "a representative of the spirit of Haydn and Mozart and wanted to be understood as the preserver of their legacy." These three of his four flute concertos very much reflect that style and spirit. The orchestral sonorities, firmly grounded in the bass, are invariably full in texture, thanks to a generous wind presence and frequent punctuations by the batteria. The contours of the Allegros are rugged; those of the slow movements, more yielding but equally purposeful.
Much of the music strives to claim the mantle of Mozart in its emulation of that composer's "operatic" dramatic style. In the G
major concerto, each of the three movements, including the central Romance and the easygoing 6/8 Rondo, ducks briefly into a minor-key turbulence! (That elegant Romance somehow contrives a menuet-like graciousness within a duple rhythm!) Unfortunately, like other Classicists, Schneider doesn't offer the layered emotions that made Mozart's minor-key works so memorable. Another mild weakness is structural: several movements end unexpectedly, somehow too soon.
The idiomatic flute writing is dominated by runs, both staccato and legato, set off by lovely cantabile phrases. Gaby Pas-Von Riet is a fine soloist. Her runs are poised and easy, with a nice crisp tone. She takes the varied series of turns in the G
major's opening in stride, and she's unfazed by the harmonic-minor runs in the E minor.
At the podium, Johannes Moesus leads firmly, mostly finding appropriate tempi and tone for the music: I particularly enjoyed the G
major's unbuttoned, airy vigor. In the A minor's first movement, however, the Allegro moderato tempo, which sounds fine at the start, loses some momentum when the triplets arrive - it perhaps wasn't moderato enough.
In early-stereo days, the Württemberg ensemble was a mainstay of the Vox/Turnabout catalogue. Their descendants now remain equally capable, playing firmly and enthusiastically, and CPO gives them far better sound than they could have imagined a half-century ago.
Stephen Francis Vasta
stevedisque.wordpress.com/blog
Published: November 2, 2022
