Search - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Joel Pontet, Swedish Chamber Orchestra :: Mozart: Flute Concertos Nos. 1 and 2; Concerto for Flute & Harp

Lovely Flute, agile orchestra, Fine Mozart, 24-bit sounds

Dan Fee | Berkeley, CA USA | 05/06/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There are those who might hold the sheer glint and fluency of these Mozart concertos against both the composer himself, and against the players and listeners who might keep this lighter repertoire alive, either on disc or in the concert hall. I am not among this crowd, however.Yes, I must admit that I do not find the flute/flute-harp concertos all that profound an experience. Yet although the galante flow of this music can be consigned to the background, if you want to listen more closely to the music, you can. As with almost all of Mozart, the harmonies have some sort of deeper power of sheer well-being, which although subtle in the extreme, is not exactly shallow or worthless. So you may use these familiar little masterpieces as the welcoming music they are, as you approach Mozart's cosmos again whenever you like.Starting with the second concerto, Patrick Gallois brings everything required, and more, to each of his performances. His flute is a silver sparkle, marvelously floating on a human breath; but he varies his sound, tone, phrasing, and gives a listener more than enough nuance to compensate for any supposed sameness of flute, flute, flute. The orchestra is smallish, and light on its feet. Everybody plays together, and seems to be having a whale of a good time.I am listening to the DVD-audio version of this release, and I can highly recommend it. The magic of 24-bit sound is hard to characterize, compared to the standard 16-bit redbook CD. In my system, I just get more presence, not necessarily louder in volume, but nevertheless musically alive and occupying space. I don't see the Naxos dvd-audio disc listed yet on this Amazon site; they seem to be really dropping the ball on the latest round of Naxos dvd-audio releases. Who knows why? Still you can certainly get either the regular inexpensive CD in almost any store; and probably get the DVD-audio disc there, too.I must recommend the altogether alluring performances caught here, and if you can find the DVD-audio (which will play on any DVD player), you will be doing yourself a favor in another way.Look, too, for the additional Naxos DVD-audio releases of recent note: Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky Cantata, the Rachmaninoff Piano Concertos 2 & 3 with Konstantin Scherbakov; the Tchaikovsky Piano Concertos 1& 3 with Konstantin Scherbakov. If Naxos keeps up this golden stream of music in high resolution at decent prices, we may all find music/high resolution nirvana sooner rather than later.Highly recommended for sheer velvet and loveliness. Five stars, certainly."

Excellent Budget Release of Mozart's Flute Concerti

J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 12/14/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There is a widely held notion that Mozart didn't like the flute as an instrument. On February 14, 1778, Mozart wrote to his father the following letter, in response to a nagging letter about why he hadn't been paid in full for writing some commissioned music: "Mr. De Jean, who leaves tomorrow for Paris, paid me only 96 gulden (an error of 44 gulden, or it would have made just half the promised amount), for I only completed two concertos and three quartets. But he'll have to pay me in full, because I've arranged it with Wendling that I shall have the rest sent after him. It is only natural that I couldn't get it done. I don't have a moment's quiet here. I can only write at night, and so I can't get up early, too. And, besides, one is not always inclined to work. Of course, I could scribble away all day long, but these things do get out into the world and I don't wish to have my name appearing on them. Furthermore, as you know, I soon grow weary of having to write for the same instrument (one I can't abide, at that)." It is possible to interpret this as simply the moaning of an overworked and pressured young composer. However that may be, there is certainly no evidence from the music at hand that Mozart didn't like or understand the flute as an instrument. These three concerti are masterpieces of their kind and certainly better than any other flute concerti of the day. In these performances the flutist is the renowned French player, Patrick Gallois, student of Jean-Pierre Rampal and former principal flute of the Orchestre National de France. He is a subtle, technically secure and musical player and he does a superlative job here. He is joined in the flute and harp concerto by Fabrice Pierre; together they perform admirably, accompanied by the fine Swedish Chamber Orchestra. So, if you're in the market for performances of these three concerti but have budget outlay in mind, this is your choice. And, as far as that goes, you won't do any better at full price. Scott Morrison"