If you like characterful music of the Classical era, this disc deserves your attention. Leopold Kozeluch’s music is very attractive–full of good tunes, formally shapely, and colorfully scored (mostly). The two concertos, aside from being grateful solo vehicles, feature some lovely scoring for the wind section, and Concerto No. 2’s “hunting” finale will bring to mind similar moments in Mozart and Haydn (and not to Kozeluch’s disadvantage). The Sonata concertante is in fact a four-movement symphony for clarinet and strings arranged from assorted string quartet movements. There’s no real reason why the solo part needs to be there at all, but if we ignore that detail the music itself is captivating. So are the performances. Dieter Klöcker always delivers dependable results, and the conductorless Prague Chamber Orchestra lives up to its name (that is, “chamber”) in providing a wealth of joyous interplay with the soloist. The sonics are as warm and inviting as the playing. In short, very enjoyable indeed! [1/30/2008]
