Ensemble Villa Musica is a group that expands and contracts according to repertoire demands; all players are retired principals from the major German orchestras. (For this recording, the players are violinists Rainer Kussmaul and Aki Sunahara; violists Enrique Santiago and Hariolf Schlichtig; and cellist Martin Ostertag.) Their Mittel-European feel for and fluency in this music is a definite plus, as is their sense of breadth and ease. And don’t think that these musicians’ dexterity or acuity is in any way diminished; not at all. In fact, their sprightliness, such as in the sweet and light Rondo that concludes the C major quintet, is one of the joys of this recording. But the players also have the wisdom to linger ever so slightly when the material warrants, such as in K. 406’s delicate Andante.
The sound of this MDG release is both clear and spacious without being overly reverberant, qualities particularly desirable in the string quintets with their characteristic warmth and dark, woody sound. The strengths of both performers and engineering makes this a solid recommendation, but for its price and zesty performances, the Talich Quartet’s versions still edge out the competition.
