Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
L’Aurore
Così fan tutte Overture
Sinfonia Concertante, K.364
Symphony No. 39, K. 543
Amihai Grosz (viola)
Le Concert de la Loge/Julien Chauvin (violin)
rec. 2023, Auditorium du Louvre, Paris; Cité de la musique et de la dance, Soissons, France
Alpha Classics 996 [61]

This is the final instalment of Le Concert de la Loge’s Mozart trilogy, featuring the three final symphonies, and it’s delightful. The Così overture is a great way to begin because it sets out its stall beautifully, laying out what you can expect in the rest of the disc: namely a salty twang to the tuttis, unexpected grace notes and sforzandi thrown in for the sheer hell of it, gorgeously fluid winds and precisely articulated strings; all against an irrepressible sense of energy that sets off like a rocket and rarely stops. It’s very winning, even (or especially) because of the gentle liberties that the musicians take with the score: here those sound like love rather than bad behaviour, and I was completely won over.

You get that in the symphony, too. The most graceful and refined of Mozart’s final trilogy, it needs to be played with sensitivity and poise to bring out its qualities, and Chauvin understands that very well. The introduction, which isn’t at all slow, crackles with anticipation, the E-flat chords bristling as they get ready for the party to start, and the strings are a model of supple elegance in the main subjects of both the first and second movements. Chauvin shapes those wonderful melodies with love and deep affection, lavishing such care on them that the Minuet sounds marvellously bullish and poorly behaved in comparison. The finale lacks the crackle of the earlier movements: here the elegance needs to sit alongside raffish insouciance, and this is a bit too polite for its own good. It’s still very strong, however. With no justification whatsoever, the musicians were consulted on what nickname they’d give this symphony and they came up with L’Aurore (the dawn), which is what gives the disc its title. And, if it’s important for you to know, in the outer movements Chauvin observes the exposition repeats but not the recapitulation ones.

Finer still, however, is the performance of the Sinfonia Concertante, and not just because it brings an artist of such skilful distinction as Amihai Grosz. Often in performances of this work the viola can come across as the poor country cousin of the violin, which soars and pirouettes in a way that leaves its partner behind. Not here: Grosz’s viola is definitely the co-equal partner of Chauvin’s violin, not least because of the gorgeous tone that it brings to his part. Here the dark depth is a complement to Chauvin’s quasi-bel-canto top line, and the recording helps by capturing them both in perfect balance with the orchestra. Grosz’s incisive counterpoint bears up the busy architecture of the outer movements, but also forms the emotional heart of the C-minor slow movement, singing with unashamedly lyrical vibrato that lends the music rare emotional depth. Next to him Chauvin’s violin playing is more conventional but gorgeously airy and pure, and the musicians of the orchestra play with just as much investment in the score. With its use of vibrato alongside period instruments, this performance could well be a top choice in this work for someone who’s looking for a best-of-both-worlds approach, combining the best of the old and the best of the new.

Either way, it sets the seal on a marvellous release, beautifully performed and recorded. Anyone who has collected their other Mozart releases won’t need persuading, but others should seek it out.

Simon Thompson

Buying this recording via the link below generates revenue for MWI, which helps the site remain free