I don't listen to these works a great deal, they're what i call 'sweet' Mozart, easy on the ear, and Concertos of not great depth, not like his Piano Concertos, but it's good to bring together a collection of three congenial woodwind / brass works under one disc, and to keep myself familiar with these works, again this is a disc that finds its very first outing, and this is the first time i've mentioned a Flute Concerto in my Blog, i enjoyed this today.
Sarah Brooke is English i take it, i can't find much about her, this disc was recorded in 1989, on the now defunct Collins Classical label, but the company has left behind a lovely bunch of recordings that are still available from second-hand sources, the front booklet cover is very lovely indeed, showing a flute, bassoon, and oboe horizontal and lying next to each other, gives a lovely impression of keys and stops, and the lettering above is well placed, really love the colours it gives off.
The first movement is brilliant fun, full of sparkle and ideas, and a great virtuoso workout for the soloist, it also has some great tunes too, sounding like one of Mozart's upbeat Opera Arias, on this performance it lasts just over 9 minutes, the almost direct quote of a familiar but yet can't put my finger on it Aria is in the orchestral introduction [0:47-0:55], and also comes later with the Soloist [2:48-2:57 & 7:04-7:13], it meanders all over the place, without truly becoming distinctive, at the end there's a cadenza [7:47-8:59], a lovely sunny piece.
Here's Emmanuel Pahud playing the first movement on YouTube.
