The best-known work here, which comes first, is the Kegelstatt Trio. James Levine and his two colleagues of the Vienna-Berlin Ensemble give a gentle account of the lilting first movement, which I find quite pleasing although some people will want more attack. The following minuet and finale are reasonably paced, but otherwise these artists give us the same quietly mellow approach, and it is Levine in particular who seems to lead the way relaxing into something tonally miniature (and a touch over-refined) whenever he gets the M opportunity. He also tends to relax rhythmically, as in his C minor solo at 2'40'' in the finale; when this is repeated at 3'08'' he also adds a melodic ornament of his own devising. Ultimately, the music seems prettified, presenting Mozart as a cherub rather than a man of flesh and blood, but there is some exquisite playing tonally and the recording is no less refined.
The Adagio and Rondo in C minor was originally written for glass harmonica, which produced sounds from the rim of glasses, and though the harp is hardly the same instrument, it, too, sounds well in this grave piece. I can't believe that a harmonica could play at the tempo chosen here for the Rondo, but the work is otherwise sensitively played by five expert musicians, the other instruments being flute, oboe, viola and cello. The Duo Sonata for bassoon and cello is an agreeable curiosity and the sort of piece that Mozart could have written in his sleep, but it's worth hearing in this gently glowing performance by Milan Turkovic and Georg Faust. The playing and recording are equally refined in the Divertimento, scored for oboe, two horns and string quintet. However, there's a gimmick in that the first movement (a kind of march) approaches from the distance. The perspective then changes, and we hear the individual players in a well characterized account of the various movements, but the opening march is repeated at the end, this time fading away.'