The Lindsays - Mozart: String Quartet No. 16; String Quintet No. 3 (1997)

Here's a fine performance of the great C major Quintet. The Lindsays take the first movement at a true Allegro, so that it bowls along in top gear, the details vivid and sharply etched. Much of this grandest and most spacious movement in Mozart's chamber output is marked to be played softly: in the Lindsays' hands the wonderful counterpoint in the development section can be heard with exceptional clarity as the tension builds up, but not the dynamic. The Andante sounds the more touching for never being overplayed, and it's a special pleasure to hear how the most florid passages for first violin and first viola fit effortlessly into the rhythmic scheme. In the finale, Peter Cropper introduces some beautifully played portamentos in the main theme, and the whole movement sounds delightfully witty and happy. The E flat Quartet, K428, is cool and stylish, which suits this enigmatic work rather well. The Lindsays' way of using Mozart's marks of expression and articulation to make the music speak feels absolutely right, especially in their delicate, refined Andante, and it's good to hear the quartet played with all its repeats. The recording has a nice intimate quality. — Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010