Mozart’s splendid flute music provides the strongest proof that his supposed dislike for the instrument was only to justify his failure to complete the famous commission from the Dutch amateur musician DeJean. In this latest issue, Konrad Hunteler and the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, directed by Frans Bruggen, shape the elegant lines of the G major Concerto with appropriate finesse, enhanced by an exceptionally attractive blend between Hunteler’s c1720 Denner flute and the orchestra’s pleasingly fine-grained sound. Susan Palma’s eloquent alternative with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra is one of the finest versions of this piece played on modern instruments; however, Hunteler’s softer flute sound (atmospherically evoking the human voice) and the orchestra’s more distinctive period instruments bring added dramatic intensity to this music.
Likewise, Hunteler and the OEC capture the direct charm of the C major Andante. To appease DeJean, Mozart offered an arrangement for flute of his Oboe Concerto. For this recording, the eighteenth-century flute parts have been compared with those for oboe for a more ‘authentic’ text, and the resulting exquisitely balanced account makes a wholly convincing masterpiece for the flute.
Mozart was prompt with the commission for a flute and harp concerto for Comte de Guines, who “played the flute matchlessly” and whose daughter “played the harp magnificently”. On the rival disc Palma, with Nancy Allen playing the harp, presents this piece’s spirited, courtly French characteristics with freshness and natural clarity; Hunteler and Storck, aided by the orchestra’s subtle playing, highlight still more vividly the music’s perfect match of technical and instrumental resources.'