The Lindsay’s policy of pairing Mozart quartets and quintets makes for very attractive programmes; here, the sombre D minor Quartet provides a splendid foil to the more sunny K593 with its contrapuntal wizardry reminiscent of the Jupiter Symphony. These are distinguished performances, showing dedicated respect for the composer’s text. K421’s score is marked with unusual care, and the Lindsay follow everything exactly, yet with no exaggeration and showing a real understanding of the larger shapes. In the Andante, for example, they don’t overplay the mezzo-forte bars, so that the forte outbursts in the middle section really stand out. The sotto voce at the start of the first movement elicits a wonderful soft tone; indeed the quiet passages in both works show a beautiful range of restrained sounds.
I did occasionally feel that these performances were a bit too cool. In the passionate episodes in K593’s Adagio, Grumiaux may not always stay within the restraints of the marked dynamics, but he conveys the emotional feeling with much greater intensity. In the opening Allegro of K421, the Budapest Quartet’s 1953 recording also projects the music’s emotions more strongly; their exceptionally vocal style allows them to bring out all the lyrical elements that abound with Mozart, even in the louder music. But if you’ve enjoyed the previous Lindsay Mozart CDs, you won’t be disappointed by this one. The recording quality is very good, though I noticed the violas sounding a little backward in the Quintet (and a wrong note at 3'04'' on track 6). The Lindsay play all the repeats, except the last one in K593’s finale; the development section of the Quintet’s first movement is so exciting it’s great to have it twice!'