Henk Rubingh & Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra - Mozart: Wind Concertos (2005) [Hi-Res]

This Concertgebouw survey of four wind concertos dates across a fair span of Mozart's adulthood. The First Horn Concerto was composed for Mozart's friend Joseph Leutgeb at Vienna in 1791; modern-day counterpart Jacob Slagter employs a warmly refulgent tone in his lively performance. Next, we have the First Flute Concerto (Paris, 1778). Emily Beynon's neatly executed, charming playing is well suited to the celebratory, sunny first movement. The Concertgebouw strings contribute hushed accompaniment in the Andantema non troppo.

Mozart's Salzburg years are represented by his Bassoon Concerto (1774) and Oboe Concerto (written in 1777 for the Italian oboist Giuseppe Ferlendis, who had joined the Salzburg court only a few months before). Bassoonist Gustavo Nuñez plays with fruity directness, displaying stunning agility in the Allegro and poignant playing in the Andante ma adagio. Alexei Ogrintchouk's oboe provides a melancholic Adagio nontroppo and a fluent impression of Mozart's felicitous inventiveness in the gleeful Rondo. All four soloists are principals of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. The chamber incarnation sounds playful yet at ease. Phrases are shaded off and chords often shortened, but there is no selfconsciousness or evident struggle in the pervading cheerful spirit. — Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010