Beloved of the Gods

01/10/2009
Michael Southern
Pittwater Life (Australia)

More Mozart and Mendelssohn. The Mendelssohn quartet Ist es wahr is played by the brilliant young quartet who made this their centrepiece of their winning performance at the Banff International Chamber Music Competition in 2007.

The quartet is now recognised around the globe for its talent. The playing here is nothing short of brilliant, displaying a depth of understanding and a brilliant relationship between the players and their deep understanding of the music. With compositions like this it is no wonder there has been such a rise in the number of string quartets around the world.

The Dean Emmerson Dean trio, clarinettist Paul Dean, his brother violist Brett Dean and pianist Stephen Emmerson perform Mozart’s Trio for Clarinet, Viola and Piano in E flat major, K498 Kegelstatt written by Mozart while playing skittles and has some references to his Masonic music.

This is a very spirited performance, very much reflecting the Mozart concept that this was music to be played between friends. Stephen Emmerson’s Papamina Suite (from The Magic Flute), is a spirited piece of music that goes from sublime Mozart to the ridiculous. Beautiful sound from this SACD disc.