An odd coincidence that two discs of the same three unfamiliar Mozart works—or largely unfamiliar—should reach me together. The Quintet began life as a serenade for wind octet and then was arranged by Mozart as a string quartet. But the first violin part of this was almost identical with the first oboe part in the serenade, and it recently occurred to someone to restore the top line to the oboe while keeping Mozart's other four string parts. The resulting oboe quintet makes delightful listening. Mozart left the expressive Adagio for cor anglais and string trio unfinished, but the cor anglais part seems to survive more or less complete. He later used the opening music for his well known motet, Ave verum corpus.
Unlike these two works, the Oboe Quartet is well known to Mozartians. The performances of it that I've been hearing are very different. hansj7org Schellenberger is eager to display his superb technique, and the outside movements are taken much faster than usual. Ingo Goritzki is less assertive, more of a chamber-music player. His sensitive phrasing is an indication of his expressive and, as it were, more humble approach to the music. If you enjoy being astonished (and why not?) the Schellenberger is the version for you, but I found the Goritzki more to my liking. All the players can be admired in the quintet, but Goritzki's phrasing is again an attraction, and with the Berne Quartet he better conveys the curiously hushed quality of the ingenious trio. Also the difficult syncopated variation in the finale gains from more rhythmic precision. Both versions of the Adagio are nicely managed, and both groups have been well recorded. The sleeve-note for the Denon disc is in Japanese only—another reason for preferring its rival, which is also available on LP as well.'