Mozart [Concerto] Concertos for Wind Instruments. Flute Concerto No. 1 in G major, K313. Werner Tripp (fl) From 2530 527 (7/75). Oboe Concerto in C major, K314. Gerhard Turetschek (ob) From 2530 527 (7/75). Clarinet Concerto in A major, K622. Alfred Prinz (cl) From 2530 411 (6/74). Bassoon Concerto in B flat major, K191. Dietmar Zeman (bn) From 2530 411 (6/74). Horn Concerto No. 1 in D major, K412. Gunter Hogner (hn) From 2740 231 (12/80). Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra / Karl Bohm.

DG (Mid  price) 415 021-1GX2 (two records, nas) (Cassette) 415 021-4GX2.

An excellent idea to package together one each of the concertos Mozart wrote for the most likely wind soloists of the orchestra (trumpet and trombone he left, perhaps wisely in his day, to his father). It is true that the D major Horn Concerto, as it stands probably incomplete, is distinctly not the most representative of the four he wrote for that instrument; but it is probably the only one short enough to be able to join the bassoon concerto on a single side.

The concertos share several common elements in their performances: each has a Viennese soloist, the VPO, and Karl Bohm. The resulting common element in the performances is a smooth style and sound, the latter quality one also communicated by the agreeable recorded tone-quality. The effect is at its most pronounced, of course, if you listen to the five concertos on the trot, a procedure not recommended. Taken separately, the effect is more varied. The Flute Concerto is, I think, a winner: Tripp allying a splendid style with a clear tone, and with only a modest vibrato, to produce an enchanting effect; even the rather long cadenzas (agreeably in style, though) are shown at their best. Turetschek is relatively prosaic, though, as Viennese oboe-playing often is, in the Oboe Concerto (a piece which may possibly not be by Mozart at all, I am tending more and more to join the doubters). Turetschek however, has a competitor in dullness: Alfred Prinz, who plays the Clarinet Concerto with splendid control, with the most beautiful of tone-quality, and with apparent total indifference to anything magical going on in the music. In comparison, Zeman makes the bassoon sound human. This, considering the instrument's nature, is a great feat; indeed, Zeman's beautiful performance is very strongly competitive with the best. Hogner, too, proves himself a masterly and warm-toned horn-player.

A double-sleeve allows for two separate informative sleeve-notes, one in German and English, and the other in French. The information, though, is only about the woodwind concertos; neither note, curiously, mentions that for the horn. The set remains a satisfactory one on balance, if not an exciting one. If the programme suits, take a chance; for if the soloists vary, the orchestra under Bohm does not: it is always of the first class.
MM