Gramophone 'Top 10 Recent Mozart Recordings' (April 2015)

Gramophone Choice (February 2015) 

'These performances wonderfully capture the charm of these Mozart chamber works, each instrument oozing a delightfully unforced sense of personality...I fancy Mozart would have smiled in approval.' 

Following the success of performances and recordings of Weber's Wind Concertos with SCO principals as soloists, the SCO Wind Soloists that feature on this album have since 2012 started to explore Harmoniemusik repertoire.

This new recording includes four of the five Tafelmusik sextets for pairs of clarinets, horns and bassoons, together with the Serenade in E flat major, the first of Mozart's three great wind serenades. The Serenade in E flat major has many unusual features. Its opening fanfare - a series of repeated chords on the tonic in E flat - immediately catches the ear. The fact that Mozart avoids fatiguing the listener with a surfeit of the same sonorities, in music with a necessarily limited dynamic and instrumental range, bears eloquent testimony to his genius.

This recording captures the wealth of detail in Mozart's Divertimenti; there is something in each of them for every music lover.

Comprising pairs of clarinet, bassoons and natural horns, the players are dedicated to performing each work in a stylish and informed way, from the masterpieces of Mozart, Beethoven and Weber to twentieth-century works and contemporary commissions. The SCO Wind Soloists are: Maximiliano Martín clarinet, William Stafford clarinet, Peter Whelan bassoon, Alison Green bassoon, Alec Frank-Gemmill horn, Harry Johnstone horn.

'Like the SCO proper, they straddle a distinctive stylistic line between period sensibility and mostly modern instruments. The notable exception, the natural horns, which gave superb balance and character.' The Herald

'You'd be hard-put finding better wind ensemble playing.' The Guardian Limelight

Editor’s Choice: 'Classical charm and grace...it's the fine performances that make this recording stand out.'
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Hi-Fi News

Album Choice: 'enjoyable...and clean 192kHz rendering'
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BBC Music Magazine

'...exuberant performances, recorded with real presence.'
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AllMusic.com
'perfection and elegance'
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The Irish Times

'special appeal'
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MusicWeb International
'...there is a beautifully warm feel to the sound...The whole air of the disc is exceptionally genial and I enjoyed it immensely.'
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The Sunday Herald Scotland

'Superb playing, great characterisation and marvellous music-making from the splendid SCO wind gang.'
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The Sunday Times
'The SCO wind soloists play the rare original scoring for six players - darker in timbre and sparer in texture - with brio.'
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The Perth Courier
'And as for the players? Undoubtedly six of the very best.'
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Europadisc
'The SCO Wind Soloists combine superb stylishness, period-performance sensibilities and abundant character in performances that are a joy from start to finish.'
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Pizzicato
,,des ‘Scottish Chamber Orchestra’ spielen frisch und mit viel Vitalität''
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McAlister Matheson Music
'Buy the disc, and prepare to be charmed, amazed and delighted!'
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The Guardian

'These performances pick up on every morsel of wit and ingenuity in the wind writing, and never forget that the purpose of this music was to entertain.'
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MusicWeb International
'...very fine in every respect...'
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BBC Radio 3 ‘CD Review’
'It's playing and music that exudes elegance, sparkles with joy and chuckles with good humour in a well-balanced recording.'
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Gramophone
Choice: 'I fancy Mozart would have smiled in approval.'
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