The five string quintets and clarinet quintet Mozart composed in his final years gush with inexhaustible expressive and structural riches, which is not to slight the earlier, lighter-gaited K. 174 quintet. Of the various Mozart Quintet cycles crowding the catalogs, a 1995 set featuring the Talich Quartet and guest violist Karel Rehak has been reissued on three discs that sell for the cost of one full price disc. The playing is all one could wish for. Listen, for instance, to the perfectly dovetailed solo entrances at the outset of the K. 515 C major Quintet, supported by rock solid yet shapely chording. Notice, too how the ensemble shades the G minor quintet’s aching chromaticism with exquisite color and expressive economy, as well as the head-to-toe clarity of the inner parts. Clarinetist Bohuslav Zahradnik’s vivid phrasing and aromatic timbre achieves a blend with the darkly focused strings that might be akin to a splash of cilantro atop goose liver pâté. Add Calliope’s excellent engineering, and you have a Mozart Quintet cycle that takes its rightful place alongside memorable versions from the Budapest and Danish Quartets. A heavenly bargain, not to be passed up. [11/14/1999]
