Divertimento in D, K136 - Mozart

Clarinet Concerto - Mozart

Divertimento in D, K334 - Mozart

Few chamber orchestras are as accomplished as the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra. These Hungarian musicians presented an all-Mozart programme at the National Concert Hall last Thursday night, to open their seventh visit here since their first tour, in 1980.

The playing's unanimity jumped out in the concert's opening seconds. Everyone listens and watches as Janos Rolla directs from the first desk; and everyone obviously enjoys what is being achieved.

This was Mozart for our time - high-tech and polished. In the Divertimentos in D, K136 for strings and K334 for strings and two horns, rhythmic verve and technical flair were everywhere. Phrasing was emphasised via strong dynamic swells and decisive articulation. Joins between sections were pointed; and every opportunity was taken to relish an unexpected turn. Each movement was sustained by an impeccable sense of timing and characterisation.

The impression that these qualities derived more from the orchestra's personality than from a specific view of Mozart was endorsed by their reappearance in a scintillating encore - a Kodaly-like Hungarian dance from Leo Weiner's First Divertimento.

I found that the most profound music-making of the evening came via the partnership with Michael Collins in Mozart's Clarinet Concerto. This concerto was the best piece on the programme. However, it presented the added satisfaction of hearing the orchestra's exceptional abilities working in tandem with Collins's eloquent playing. The solo line was all the more absorbing for being played on a modern version of the low-pitched basset-clarinet for which Mozart wrote the concerto.