Mozart: String Quartets K458, 465; Adagio and Fugue K456

COMPOSERS: Mozart
LABELS: Somm
ALBUM TITLE: Mozart - String Quartets Vol 1
WORKS: String Quartets K458, 465; Adagio and Fugue K456
PERFORMER: Coull Quartet
CATALOGUE NO: SOMMCD 040

The Coull Quartet takes an



expansive view of these pieces,



playing both repeats in the outer



movements. In the case of the



Dissonance and the opening



movement of the Hunt, where



there’s a substantial coda following



the second-half repeat, that’s no bad



thing; but I’m not so sure about the



finale of the Hunt, which seems to



come to a firm conclusion before the



music unsettlingly starts up again.



The Coull players are just a shade



easy-going in the first movement of



the Hunt – an unusually swift Allegro



assai vivace in 6/8 time; and the



trotting inner-voice accompaniment



of the minuet’s lilting trio could



do with a lighter touch. But this is



otherwise a fine performance, with



a warm and expressive performance



of the slow movement and a dazzling



finale. Even better is the Dissonance,



which benefits greatly from a sombre



and atmospheric account of its slow



introduction – a passage that’s often



played too hurriedly. The same two



works are coupled on the recording



by the Leipzig Quartet, again with



all repeats, and although it doesn’t



communicate the same sense of



mystery in that famous introduction,



the performances otherwise have



a stylishness and elegance that the



Coull Quartet can’t quite match.



The Leipzig players also have the



advantage of greater richness of tone,



as well as a warmer recorded sound.



This new disc throws in the fine



Adagio and Fugue, K546, though



the performance of the austere fugue



itself is rather hasty and lightweight.



Misha Donat