- Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 -- 5 December 1791)
- Performers: Alfred Brendel (piano), Heinz Holliger (oboe), Eduard Brunner (clarinet), Hermann Baumann (horn), Klaus Thunemann (bassoon)
- Year of recording: 1986
Quintet for piano, oboe, clarinet, horn & bassoon in E flat major, K. 452, written in 1784.
00:00 - I. Largo - Allegro moderato
10:11 - II. Larghetto
19:47 - III. Rondo. Allegretto
By 1784, Mozart's career and indeed his life were in full bloom and he was as happy and wealthy as he would ever be. His next successful opera -- Figaro -- and his next great symphony -- the 38th -- were still at least two years off and he had turned instead in this period to the piano concerto. In 1784 alone he wrote six of these and in 1785 three more. His four horn concertos were also products of this period. In the midst of all this large scale writing he crafted this quintet and upon performing in it himself on April Fool's Day, he pronounced it "the best thing I have so far written in my life" in a letter to Leopold. In three movements and lasting only 25 minutes, it would seem an unlikely candidate for such an appellation. An unexpected but powerful vote of confidence for it came in during 1797 when another well known resident of Vienna produced a similar work which aped it in key signature, instrumentation, and general design. The younger man was Beethoven and his quintet, Op. 16, is high tribute indeed.
In some respects, Mozart's quintet reflects his ongoing preoccupation with the piano concerto as the piano's role in the piece is at times disproportionate. It is also unabashedly a chamber work, Mozart having at last washed his hands of writing dinner music for the archbishop.
- Opening with an extended largo, the first movement in particular is concerto-like with the piano either in charge or very near the surface virtually throughout. The writing is open and insistent rather than forceful, and charm prevails.
- The second movement is a gentle and lightly textured larghetto in which the wind instruments at last emerge with passages of their own and the balance of the piece is here more chamber-like.
- The five-minute allegretto finale once again appears to be a sort of miniature piano concerto although cadenza-like passages for the various wind instruments appear at several points. The work ends with a flourish from the piano and tonic chords in the winds -- a concerto-like coda ending.
The piece is superbly crafted and effective, but one would wonder at Mozart's exuberance in describing it as "the best thing I have so far written"...