COMPOSERS: Mozart
LABELS: PentaTone
ALBUM TITLE: Mozart Clarinet Music
WORKS: Clarinet Concerto in A
PERFORMER: Andrew MarrinerAcademy of Saint Martin in the Fields Chamber EnsembleSir Neville Marriner
CATALOGUE NO: 5186 048
The Concerto recording was a double
birthday celebration for conductor
father and soloist son, respectively
80 and 50 in 2004, and it finds both
in fine form. Orchestral lines are
purposefully shaped, while the solo
clarinet-playing is some of the mostbeautiful on record, mellifluous across
all the registers. Especially notable
is Andrew Marriner’s pianissimo
playing, perhaps applied too often, but
exquisite at the right moments, such as
the hushed return of the main theme
in the slow movement. The airy Henry
Wood Hall sound helps, too. But
Marriner uses a standard A clarinet
in more or less the standard text, and
once you’ve heard the extended basset
clarinet straighten out the kinks in
Mozart’s arpeggio writing it’s hard to
accept the compromises of the familiar
version. There’s also a shortage of
sometimes necessary decoration.
The Quintet is equally lovely,
though once or twice Marriner nearly
trips up in the more demanding
passagework, and some exaggerated
gaps occasionally break the flow.
The sound takes some getting used
to: initially it seems remote, as if the
five players have settled themselves
within an unchanged orchestral setup;
and Kenneth Sillito’s first violin
chair is too much of a back seat almost
throughout. But even with these
reservations, if you want this coupling
in the best modern sound, including
SACD, this recording is generally
preferable to those of Martin Fršst
(BIS, reviewed November 2003)
and Walter Boeykens (Etcetera,
reviewed March 2004). My overall
recommendation in the Concerto,
though, remains Sabine Meyer’s live
Berlin recording, using basset clarinet
to full advantage. Anthony Burton