English Chamber Orchestra, Ralf Gothoni - Mozart: Wind Concertos (2004)

While this double-disc of Mozart's wind concertos covers familiar ground for the cognoscenti and offers few interpretive or stylistic surprises, it is still a generous compilation of fine performances that may appeal to beginners and casual listeners. Ralf Gothóni and the English Chamber Orchestra are quite warm and pleasant in these 2000-2002 performances, and they provide solid support to the soloists, each a stalwart member of the ensemble but outstanding when thrust into the limelight. Oboist John Anderson, clarinetist Anthony Pike, bassoonist Julie Pike, and the two horn principals, Richard Berry and John Thurgood, shine in the solo concertos and in the Sinfonia Concertante in E flat, K. 297b, for four winds and orchestra. Reflecting some points of Classical practice but playing on modern instruments, the ECO's performances feel more or less authentic, and though true period timbres are lacking, the orchestra is vivid and distinctive because of Gothóni's attention to color and pursuit of a robust sound. Recorded in Gateway Studios, the Clarinet Concerto is possibly the most acoustically focused, though it has only slightly less resonance than the other recordings, which were made in St. Paul's Church, London.