Malcolm Macdonald's lengthy booklet note for this CD lays out a decent case for recording two of Mozart's best-loved works with the viola rather than the clarinet. Although the provenance of these two arrangements is unclear, they were published in 1802 and 1803 by Johann André of Frankfurt and Mozart's manuscripts for the works, originally written for the so-called Bassett-Horn, are lost. These versions therefore represent a missing link between the necessarily altered versions for clarinet (the clarinet's range didn't extend as low as the Basset-Horn or viola) and Mozart's originals, composed for his friend and fellow freemason, Anton Stadler.
It cannot be doubted, then, that these arrangements are an important musicological source. The question, however, is whether or not they really warrant being recorded since arrangements like this were primarily made to increase a work's chances of being performed; André was, after all, a businessman who would have been keen to realise as much profit as possible from the manuscripts he'd bought off Mozart's widow shortly after his death.
Listening to the performances here, though, I feel that whatever the questions of authenticity and provenance, this is a disc of beautiful playing, excellently recorded that only the most avid purist would fail to enjoy. Although in the version of the concerto, one misses the mischievousness of the Basset-Horn, or even the clarinet's lower range and the instrument's natural lyricism and ability to sing, Lars Anders Tomter's viola makes a very creditable stab at standing in for its wind counterpart. It's got an appealing gruffness in the finale and brings an added wistfulness in the Adagio, even if on the hushed reappearance of the main theme, it cannot hope to capture the whispered tenderness in the best clarinet and Basset-Horn versions. Although the concerto was recorded live, the audience is barely perceptible, with just a little bit of shuffling between movements.
The concerto is, essentially, a swap between clarinet and viola with necessary adjustments here and there. In the version of the quintet though, the work is more heavily re-arranged (the clarinet part is split between the first violin and viola). The work's character is changed as it becomes essentially another string quintet, albeit one with a rather prominent role for the viola. It's really difficult to be able to guess how different people will react to this; for some this music is so specifically composed for its original combination of instruments that it will just seem a little superfluous, for others it might even verge on the sacrilegious.
For me, though, it was a chance simply to marvel once again at what a wonderful piece of music this is. Heard for string quintet it allowed me to enjoy it as "purer" music, emphasising for example the rigorously argued counterpoint in the first movement's development. That said, in the original Mozart often seems to be writing for the clarinet (or Basset-Horn) as a kind of subjective commentator on the music of the strings, so inevitably in this version that aspect is lost. Making a judgement is particularly difficult since here a lot of the playing is quite exquisite, especially in the Larghetto. Given that Mozart wrote his other mature string quintets around the same time and was becoming particularly keen on the sound of the viola in his orchestral writing, one could argue that the work in this arrangement takes on a little extra validity, though it would be foolish to assign it "authenticity".
So, in sum, this is a beautifully played, cleanly recorded CD. Although no doubt viola players will be very keen to get hold of a copy I would also encourage lovers of these great works to put aside any purist tendencies and consider buying this disc too.
By Hugo Shirley