Classic CD: Horn Concertos, Desperate Heroines

CD cover: Mozart Heroines.

[Sandrine Piau] points out she likes the realm of pretence in opera, together with its confusion of genres and genders. Two new Mozart recordings have me recalling the words of Samuel Johnson, quipping that anyone tired of London must be tired of life itself. As with the British capital, so it must be for the Austrian composer, especially with such persuasively delightful CDs as these.

Two new Mozart recordings have me recalling the words of Samuel Johnson, quipping that anyone tired of London must be tired of life itself. As with the British capital, so it must be for the Austrian composer, especially with such persuasively delightful CDs as these.

A new Hyperion release has Pip Eastop playing Mozart's Horn Concertos on a natural instrument -- a modern version of a period hunting horn.

Behind him, the stylish Hanover Band is conducted by Anthony Halstead, himself a noted horn player. And, as well as the four concertos, we have a Quintet K 407 which, although hardly top-drawer Mozart, is elegantly delivered by Eastop and the Eroica Quartet.

There are no quality complaints on the concerto front, with their rollicking Finales, offering all the fun of the chase without the blemish of animal cruelty. Then there are those unabashedly tuneful slow movements -- Joseph Leutgeb, for whom they were written, was celebrated for his warm, rich tone.

Eastop combines the incisive and the lyrical in perfect proportion; his archaic instrument sometimes gives the impression of Rousseau's wild child caught in an 18th century drawing room.

Here and there, a note seems to come from somewhere just beyond the microphone, due to the technical limitations of the instrument, and free-ranging cadenzas can sound startlingly of our times.

Many associate Sandrine Piau with Baroque music, even if the French soprano has recorded Offenbach and Richard Strauss, with a fruity Climb ev'ry mountain on the side.

In Desperate Heroines she gives us nine of Mozart's women, from a concerned Barbarina in Figaro to a distraught Giunia from Lucio Silla.

She points out, in a fascinating booklet essay, that she likes the realm of pretence in opera, together with its confusion of genres and genders. Not surprisingly, she is particularly affecting as the shepherd Aminta in an aria from Il Re Pastore, with the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg at its very best under Ivor Bolton.

As for Piau's Donna Anna turn, a heart-stopping, exquisitely sung Non mi dir makes one realise how short-changed we were in NZ Opera's 2014 production of Don Giovanni.
Verdict: Two superb recordings guarantee the pleasures only Mozart can deliver.