Someone told me a long time ago that the appreciation of Mozart during one’s life it is going up and down. You start liking it immediately, because it feels easy. Then comes the time you hate it because it is too simple. Finally you appreciate it because it is not and you hear the complexity.
So I bought this record because I hoped I had proceeded further in this theoretical chain. After listening to the first notes I found out I was still firmly in phase 2. Listening to these three records was a chore. It became painfully clear I’m not a fan of the powdered wigs. Not even the superb players of the Juilliard can distract me from that.
Should you find yourself in the earlier phase of the curve, enjoy! If in the latter, you’ve also earned my respect. Please explain to me how I can reach that state of enlightenment.
All anti-Viennese remarks aside, these are string quintets, and I don’t have them that much. The extra instrument, in Mozart’s case a viola, adds more depth and complexity to the compositions. Not all composers chose the viola, Schubert for instance added a cello, Dvořák a double bass. Boccherini did the same, and he is considered the inventor.