Est 1923

Beethoven/Mozart Wind Music

Record and Artist Details

Composer or Director: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven

Label: Decca

Media Format: CD or Download

Media Runtime: 68

Mastering:

DDD

Catalogue Number: 436 654-2DH

Tracks:

Composition Artist Credit
Serenade No. 11 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
Vienna Wind Soloists
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
Serenade No. 12 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
Vienna Wind Soloists
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
Octet Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer
Vienna Wind Soloists
Although written in the same year (1781), Mozart's two Serenades in E flat, K375 and C minor, K388 are very different in character. The five-movement E flat Serenade is a comparatively carefree work, while the C minor, in four movements, is altogether more serious, and the Vienna Wind Soloists' broad, fluid phrasing and alert musical response contribute to aptly characterized interpretations of both works. Slow movements are warm and tender and their splendid ensemble in the finales generates compelling brilliance and verve. In the E flat work, the Netherlands Wind Ensemble (whose 1968 recording still sounds remarkably fresh) produce a vivid, natural sound, although, to my ears, the Vienna Wind Soloists create a more powerful dramatic impulse. Contrast, for example, the two performances of the second minuet. The Netherlands ensemble engagingly capture the music's rustic charm but, by playing the trio much more slowly than the minuet, the Vienna Soloists achieve a more telling effect.
Classical Winds' inclusion of the discarded Beethoven Rondino, WoO25 in their period-instrument version of the Octet, Op. 103 is supported by solid musicological argument; here, though, the Vienna Wind Soloists play only the four movements published in the first edition of 1830. As in the two Mozart pieces on this disc, their polished sound and fluent handling of varied instrumental groupings is immensely satisfying. They convey a convincing sense of forward drive throughout; the duet between oboe and bassoon is beautifully balanced in the Adagio, and the performance culminates in a virtuoso finale that bubbles with energy.'

Beethoven/Mozart Wind Music

Serenade No. 11

Serenade No. 12

Octet

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