Patrick Messina

Ricardo Mutti

Mozart had a veritable passion for the clarinet, making it the protagonist of his "Kegelstatt" Trio, his "Quintet for clarinet and strings" K581 and, of course, the "Concerto" K622 of 1791.
In 2007, Riccardo Muti, conducting the Orchestre National de France at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris, called upon Patrick Messina to execute this work in an exceptional way, with a halo of introspective sadness. Public and critics were ecstatic. Alain Cochard wrote in Classiquenews.com:
"Rather than the solemnity of the work, Messina exalted its true nature, revealing its fascinating and ineffable ambiguity of emotion. No need to insist on the superior technical means that the soloist deployed, on his perfect sound control. The lyricism and refinement of his interpretation was transcendent. The Mozart of Messina breathed with great naturalness. Moreover, an overall equilibrium of the work was preserved throughout the Allegro finale by performers making a point of not rushing in, after the deeply moving but simple dignity of the "Adagio". The purity of
style, the subtle shadings of this conception seemed to belong to another world and will remain grafted in our memories for a long time to come. Just as Patrick Messina will surely remember the thunderous applause he received when Muti, hidden amid the ranks of the standing violins, allowed him to fully savour his triumph."

Cast :
Patrick Messina, clarinet
Orchestre National de France
Ricardo Mutti, conductor
Philharmonia Quartett Berlin
Daniel Strabawa, violin
Christian Stadelmann, violin
Neithard Resa, alto
Jan Diesselhorst, cello