Search - Mozart, Michaels, Endres Quartet :: Clarinet Concerto / Clarinet Quintet

Both the Clarinet Quintet and the Clarinet Concertos are, of course, major Mozart, among the greatest of his late masterpieces. We're lucky that this long-lived, low-priced CD remains in the catalog. Originally an early stereo Vox LP, this disc preserves the playing of Jost Michaels, a wonderful German clarinetist who made a handful of LPs. His Mozart playing is so mellow it almost sounds like "easy listening," but he is attentive to every detail and expresses all of Mozart's subtle changes of emotion as quickly as they flicker by. The Endres Quartet, an underrated ensemble, plays very well; the orchestra, which usually made miserable recordings, also plays well. --Leslie Gerber