Concert: Mozart and Reicha
With his Quartet K. 370 for oboe, violin, viola and cello, Mozart surprises... as usual! The piece stands out from the other quartets by its shape in three movements instead of the four expected: the first movement is an allegro that follows the form of the sonata; the second - an adagio - highlights the elegiac sonorities of the oboe that holds the soloist part here; the third movement is a particularly virtuoso rondo. Anton Reicha, contemporary of Haydn and Beethoven, composed his Octet opus 96 during his Viennese period. Less known today than other great names of his time, he nevertheless met a good success in his lifetime thanks to his chamber music. As such, his Octet for oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, two violins, viola and cello is significant of Reicha’s work: his play on stamps and effects, which made his fame, as well as the neat arrangement of the different melodic lines characterize this elegant and brilliant page.