A perfectly delightful pair of performances of absolutely charming works, this recording of the
Nash Ensemble's March 2005 performance in London's Wigmore Hall of Beethoven's Clarinet Trio and Mendelssohn's Octet would certainly have enchanted audiences at the time. Whether those performances will equally enchant listeners who were not present at the concert is, however, questionable. As sunny as clarinetist Richard Hosford's tone is, as amiable as pianist
Ian Brown's technique is, and as cogent as the string's ensemble is, there's not much here that hasn't been done as well or better before. This doesn't mean that the
Nash's performances aren't entirely enjoyable. The whimsical variations that conclude Beethoven's Trio cannot fail to raise a smile and the vivacious Allegro moderato, ma con fuoco that opens Mendelssohn's Octet cannot fail to quicken a pulse. But it does mean that classic recordings of both works -- the
Leister,
Kempff, and
Fournier of the Trio and the Vienna Octet of the Octet -- will not be long displaced by the
Nash Ensemble's recording. Wigmore Hall Live's recording is close enough to put the players in the room with the listener, but evocative enough to bring some fidgety audience members along with them.