Many of
Mozart's compositions have melodies that are haunting enough to stand up to even fairly ragged performances; his music is as close as it gets to universally pleasing. The Concerto in C major for flute, harp, and orchestra, K. 299, is an exception; it may be called a
Mozart work that is actually difficult to get right. It's not that it presents any special technical challenges for the soloists -- the solo parts frolic predictably around diatonic scales and harmonies. The difficulty lies rather in the work's peculiar mixture of lightness and ebullience. The music was in a pure French style that prized naturalness and ease, and it completely lacks profundity. It overflows, however, with imagination and sheer tunefulness, and the players have to be able to be charming; played stiffly it becomes just a mass of pointless C major. This 1987 recording, here reissued by the discriminating folks at Britain's Regis label, is as good as they come. Flutist
Philippa Davies and harpist
Rachel Masters take brisk but not breathless tempi, and they bring a sense of surprise to every new turn and an ingratiating languor to the slow movement. The original recording was no sonic masterpiece, and it gave a harsh tinge to the strings of the otherwise able
London Sinfonia, but one thing can be said in favor of the sound -- it makes the harp perfectly audible, which would not have been a problem in an eighteenth century drawing room but seems to be beyond the capabilities of a surprising number of modern engineers. The performance of the Clarinet Concerto in A major, K. 622, has more competition but benefits from an exceptionally detailed reading by soloist David Campbell, who constantly varies the articulation yet never crosses the work's basic boundaries. A fine reissue, especially for those in search of a recording of the Flute and Harp Concerto that captures the luminous charm the piece sometimes has in live performance.