It's homegrown, it doesn't cost much, and it doesn't last long. But reservations about the performances on this disc are no more in order than excuses that are sometimes made for the works themselves. I have seldom enjoyed them so much.
Judith Hall has come late to the soloist's art; but her stint at the Royal Opera has given her enough understanding of Mozart as aria writer for hers to be a truly magic flute. Nowhere is this more true than in the slow movements, particularly that of the D major Concerto, where the simplicity of Hall's long, clear and clean lines does away with any of the lurching mannerism which so often masquerades for affect in this movement.
The opening of this K314 Concerto gives the first taste of her nimble, unbreathy timbre, effervescent, but without too many bubbles. And its finale has all the fun of the Seraglio, with elegant curlicues of figuration and sustained notes bounced on the breath, keeping the movement full of light. For K313 she saves her most sophisticated phrasing, with meticulous preparation revealing itself in an almost improvisatory ease. I like the poise of her tip-toeing cadential phrases; I welcome, too, the nicely judged cadenzas which never outstay their welcome.
Just as Peter Thomas responds to Hall's imaginative artistry, so the Philharmonia warm to their leader with playing of eager, immediate response, caught in a close, though not suffocating, acoustic.'