Chamber Music Mozart

Andreas Späth is a new name to me, but his long and distinguished career saw him create a varied catalogue of over 150 works. He was also a clarinettist, violinist, organist, and voice teacher, as well as becoming the city music director in Neuchâtel and an honorary member of the Swiss Music Society among other things. Very little of his music has found its way onto recordings, so this extensive overview of his chamber music with clarinet is very welcome indeed. This release is titled ‘Romantic Clarinet Chamber Music’, but Späth’s idiom has a Classical poise and an elegant lack of sentimentality, at least in the Introduction & Variations on Weber op. 133. This has a nice variety in its variations, emphasising lyricism and witty inflection rather than pure virtuosity, though there is indeed some of this in evidence, and we are fortunate to be in the safe hands of soloist Rita Karin Meier.

The circle of musicians surrounding Germany's audiophile MDG label has been responsible for several important discoveries in the music of the late 18th century, and this pair of chamber works for winds and strings, unearthed by bassoonist Rainer Schottstädt of the Calamus Ensemble, must rank among the nicest. Composer Luigi Gatti crossed paths with Mozart several times; in 1783, after Mozart had left Salzburg, he become court music director to the infamous Archbishop Colloredo.

The circle of musicians surrounding Germany's audiophile MDG label has been responsible for several important discoveries in the music of the late 18th century, and this pair of chamber works for winds and strings, unearthed by bassoonist Rainer Schottstädt of the Calamus Ensemble, must rank among the nicest. Composer Luigi Gatti crossed paths with Mozart several times; in 1783, after Mozart had left Salzburg, he become court music director to the infamous Archbishop Colloredo. The Sextet for English horn, bassoon, violin, viola, cello, and double bass recorded here may have been composed in 1790, and the uniquely titled Serenata a più stromenti di Concerto seems to be of roughly the same vintage.

Pianist Jeremy Denk is the closest thing classical music has to a public intellectual in his native U.S., with his booklet notes to this live performance offering an excellent example. Technical and yet personal, they provide a kind of play-by-play to the interpretations offered here, which are quite detailed and yet lively. Although the recording was made before the coronavirus reared its ugly receptors, it was released in 2021, and Denk alludes to the periodic and seemingly random C minor shades in the big C major opening movement of the Piano Concerto No. 25 in C major, K. 503, as suggesting that we now "have to live with uncertainty." As it happens, details of this kind are where Denk excels.

This is all-around a great recording. I want to principally address the C major concerto (#13 K. 415), as it is light years beyond the early 6th, and warrants a bit more consideration. Before purchasing this record, I had previously only heard the C major once, and I can't even remember the soloist or orchestra (maybe Barenboim); consequently, I was a bit hesitant to go ahead and buy it. However, it has surely become one of my favorite Mozart piano concertos. This is in no small part due to the extraordinary first movement, which, barring the last of the 19th and the 1st of the 20th, would certainly be my favorite in any of the Mozart piano concerti.