MOZART: QUARTETS AND QUINTETS - Guarneri Quartet (6 CDs)

"There is some pretty powerful playing here too, and though some listeners might prefer a more intimate approach to the quintets, I rather enjoyed the Guarneri's big, bold Mozart. In the comparatively small-scale K174 there is some restraint, with delicacy and charm in the Adagio, but it is still early Mozart without frills, directly and boldly presented. Steven Tenenbom seems to have a bigger tone as 'guest' viola than Ida Kavafian, which encourages the group to play Out more in K516. In this work there is warmth but a fairly tough, energetic response to the music: perhaps some of the accents in the Minuet and Trio are too brusque. The players attack the first note of K406 with some force too, and this movement's minor key drama is played to the full. But there is a degree of tenderness, if not any really soft playing in the Andante. In K593 the Adagio is nicely shaped, and there are some neatly phrased passages in the finale, but strength of attack is again very evident in the first movement and in the Minuet and Trio. Nowhere throughout all four works is there a dull movement, or even a dull moment."

Mozart: Six Quartets dedicated to Haydn (Quartets 14-19); String Quintets Nos. 1-6 (Complete)

Guarneri Quartet, Kim Kashkashian, Steven Tenenbom, Ida Kavafian (violas)