COMPOSERS: Mozart
LABELS: DG
ALBUM TITLE: Mozart
WORKS: Concerto for Flute, Harp and Orchestra, K299; plus various arrangements
PERFORMER: Sinfonia Varsovia/James Galway (flute); with Jeanne Galway (flute), Catrin Finch (harp)
CATALOGUE NO: 477 6233
Afficianados of the James Galway sound will no doubt be delighted with this anthology of Mozartiana. The authentic Concerto for Flute and Harp, complete with some attractive if slightly overblown cadenzas by Reinecke and Thomas, is accompanied by a series of arrangements variously from the famous slow movement of the 21st Piano Concerto, the A major sonata K331 with its celebrated Turkish Rondo and the unfinished opera Zaide. There is also a kind of Mozartian medley by David Overton for two flutes and orchestra in which Galway is joined by his wife. I found this perky procession of Mozartiana something of a trial, but many may warm to its high spirits, guessing the sources of its quotations.
Galway plays with characteristic grace; some may find his vibrato a touch obtrusive at times, but he shows a keen engagement with this varied repertoire. The sound is clear, although occasionally in the concerto the orchestral accompaniment is not as alert as it might be. Jan Smaczny
Mozart: Concerto for Flute, Harp and Orchestra, K299; plus various arrangements
Afficianados of the James Galway sound will no doubt be delighted with this anthology of Mozartiana. The authentic Concerto for Flute and Harp, complete with some attractive if slightly overblown cadenzas by Reinecke and Thomas, is accompanied by a series of arrangements variously from the famous slow movement of the 21st Piano Concerto, the A major sonata K331 with its celebrated Turkish Rondo and the unfinished opera Zaide. There is also a kind of Mozartian medley by David Overton for two flutes and orchestra in which Galway is joined by his wife.
Published: January 20, 2012 at 4:02 pm