You won’t hear a more perfect performance of this perennially fresh piece than this one. Tempos sound invariably right, ensemble balances are perfect, and every player characterizes his or her part with affection, charm, and taste. Klaus Stoll’s double bass lends the necessary extra weight to the general sonority, and the playing of clarinetist Pascal Moraguès is beyond praise. In the central variation movement his dialogue with horn player Guido Corti is so beautiful, so elegant, that it might well bring tears to your eyes.
But the performance isn’t all exquisite sonorities and rounded edges. There’s plenty of rhythmic verve, both in the first movement as well as the scherzo. Nor has the dark introduction to the finale ever been caught so fearlessly. The work’s 63 minutes pass by with nary a dead spot, and the interpretation is supported at every turn by ideally balanced, warmly natural sonics that put the players right before you in a spacious but not too reverberant acoustic. The music itself is so disarming that it’s tempting to just sit back and wallow in its sheer euphony, but this really is an interpretation that lives up to the very highest standards of taste and musicianship. Buy it, and enjoy. [4/17/2006]
