Search - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra :: Mozart: Complete Wind Concertos

Excellent - Worth Every Penny!

Padric J. McCaig | San Francisco, CA USA | 08/18/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have heard all these pieces and even played some myself over the years and thought that this was an excellent collection of Mozart's wind concerti. You really get to see the development of this prodigy from his teens (bassoon concerto) to his late 30s, the clarinet concerto was one of his last crowning pieces.



The oboe and bassoon concerti were both delightful and the "clicking" of the keys mentioned by another reviewer are the limitations of the instruments. I'm an oboist and all oboes and bassoons make this noise. I don't find it distracting at all. If you hear it, think of it as an percussive accompaniment. :-) I thought the bassoon concerto to be one of the best interpretations yet and the oboe concerto was confident and bright.



The Sinfonia Concertante (one of my original reasons for purchasing the set) was delightfully balanced and playful - a definite pleasure.



The flute concerto and andante were both fun to listen to as well as the concerto for flute and harp. The horn concerti are always joyful and are a nice balance to all the woodwind (technically-speaking) music.



The clarinet concerto was indeed lovely and played on a basset clarinet so there were some richer tones than when it's played on a typical 'A' clarinet. Superb.



I thought all the concerti had wonderful cadenzas and the orchestra was excellently balanced against the soloists. This is a CD collection that you will never regret and will feed your soul."

A great way to get Mozart's concertos

G. Metcalf | United States | 11/11/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This set of three discs is a great, economical way to fill out your collection of Mozart concertos. Contained are good to excellent versions of all 4 horn concertos, the three works featuring flute, the fine clarinet concerto and the early bassoon and oboe concertos. The digitally recorded sound is very clear if occasionally dry and the balance between soloists and orchestra is quite natural. Many times, particularly with the flute works, on other recordings the soloist ends up being unnaturally favored but not so here.



The Sinfonia Concertante which opens the collection is a delightful work even if it is not actually a Mozart composition -- which it almost certainly is not. The Clarinet soloist in the clarinet concerto plays beutifully and I think rivals Leister's great work with Karajan. The four horn concertos are fine even if the soloists are not quite at the level of the famous Brain recordings. The Bassoon and Oboe soloists are truly excellent and these are the best versions of these pieces I have yet heard.



This collection can be recommended highly."

A great set of Mozart concertos

Jill Malter | jillmalter@aol.com | 09/01/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This set is an excellent value. 212 minutes of Mozart's music at a very modest price. And what music! The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra does a superb job.



The first disc begins with the Sinfonia Concertante for Oboe, Clarinet, Horn, Bassoon and Orchestra. Next is one of Mozart's last works, the beautiful Clarinet Concerto. Charles Neidich is the soloist, on basset clarinet, and his technique is simply the best. I also like his cadenzas very much. By the way, the use of the basset clarinet makes this concerto so much better! It was indeed written for the basset clarinet, which goes four half-notes lower than a normal A clarinet, and five half-notes lower than a normal B-flat clarinet. And the disc finishes with an Andante for Flute and Orchestra, with Susan Palma on the flute.



The second disc has the famous four horn concertos. William Purvis is the soloist for concertos 2 and 3 (playing his own cadenzas, of course). David Jolley solos for concertos 1 and 4. Purvis does a fine job, and I like Jolley even more. The disc also has a very nice recording of an early Mozart work, the bassoon concerto (written when Mozart was 18). Frank Morelli is the solist here, and offers us nice cadenzas too.



The final disc begins with the Oboe concerto, where we get Randall Wolfgang as the soloist (playing his own cadenza). Then we hear the Flute concerto, followed by the Flute and Harp concerto. Susan Palma is the flute soloist on both of these, and she plays her own impressive array of cadenzas. Nancy Allen does a great job on the harp on the latter piece.



I highly recommend this set of discs."