The selling points here are that for the first time both Mozart's major clarinet works have been accommodated on one record, and (much more to my tastee both are played on a basset clarinet. And there's one other little matter: both receive outstanding performances. Soon after the war it was realized that the published solo part in the Clarinet Concerto could not be precisely what Mozart wrote, and that he must have had in mind an instrument with several extra notes at the bottom of the compass. This type of clarinet had only a brief life span, so the eventual publisher got someone to adjust the part so that these bottom notes were not needed. We shall never know just what Mozart did write, but in the Eulenburg miniature score of 1971, Alan Hacker suggested convincing alterations which, however much they may be dismissed as guesses, are quite certainly much closer to Mozart's intentions than what is normally played. Arpeggios and scales obviously meant to cover the whole compass sound much more musical and appealing when not interrupted in midstream by an unmusical change of octave.
Thea King is a superb musician with a lovely tone, impeccable phrasing and a deep understanding of the music, and the ECO under Jeffrey Tate provide skilful, sympathetic backing while making a very positive contribution when required. She has recorded the concerto before (the last time was in 1979, on a conventional instrument—Meridian E77022, 1/80), but this is surely the performance by which she would like to be remembered. I learn from the sleeve-note that the basset clarinet is now being made commerically, and the time must be near when only basset versions of the concerto are acceptable at public concerts.
It is odd that there are not nearly so many places in the Quintet where these additional low notes seem to be required. The slow movement and the main section of the Minuet need no alteration at all, and it may be that Mozart originally wrote them for a conventional clarinet. But editorial low notes are a convincing contribution to the final variations. The stereo recording makes the cello sound unusually far away from the other strings, but the Gabrieli Quartet do the music proud, and the quality of the sound is excellent. Strongly recommended.'