Search - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Eder Quartet :: Mozart: String Quintets (Complete), Vol. 2

Excellent value

Steve Kessell | Western Australia | 05/16/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It seems that Mozart felt more at home writing string quintets than quartets - possibly because the viola was his string instrument of choice.This recording of K 406 and 516 is warm and technically proficient. The harmonies and melodic style of K 516 are really excellent. [K 406 is Mozart's arrangement of one of his wind serenades for string quintet, and I think it loses something in the translation.]While this Naxos / Eder Quartet CD may not be the definitive recording of these two quintets, it is extremely good value for money."

Mozart's Dark String Quintets in a Scintillating Performance

Christopher McKoy | La Canada Flintridge, CA United States | 02/01/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Of the three minor keys favored most by Mozart, d, c, and g, it is arguably g minor that brought forth his greatest pathos. This is on fully display in the two g minor symphonies. But Mozart may in fact have achieved his most powerful and poignant use of this dark key in his String Quintet, an excellent recording of which is on offer on this disk. The first movement rivals even the Commendatore scene of Don Giovanni for intense emotional catharsis, an almost visceral catharsis that is achieved by few other composers aside from Wagner. The height of the movement's emotional intensity is reached at about seven minutes into this recording and it provokes chills every time I listen to it. If you are a fan of Mozart's `dark' works, this is a disk not to be missed. (See my listmania list, "The 'Other' Mozart: The Dark Pathos of the Incomparable Austrian Genius.""