Mozart always had a special affinity with wind instruments: for him they were essential components of his musical expression, claims French clarinettist Nicolas Baldeyrou, a globally renowned soloist who has performed with some of the greatest conductors and virtuosi: this album is the first volume of a complete set of Mozart's chamber and concertante music involving the clarinet, which he has chosen to record on period instruments, "an authentic and revelatory experience, despite the technical challenges it presents". He has enlisted the help of his musical friends, all of whom are recognised as adept practitioners of modern instruments, but sustain a strong passion for period instruments... The programme of this first release includes the Serenades KV 375 and 388 as well as Mozart's Gran Partita KV 361, a work on an exceptionally grand scale, with it's line-up of thirteen players, it's expansive duration, and it's supreme musical quality, "rising to the level of Mozart's greatest symphonies and operas".

Hardly any combination of instruments is more appealing than a string quartet and a clarinet; together they make a magical melange. The Hagen Quartet and Jörg Widmann have recorded Mozart's Clarinet Quintet, a 'work among friends', in this irresistible blend. Jörg Widmann, clarinettist and composer in equal measure, picks up on the omnipresent themes of 'floating, love, and chant' in Mozart's notes and creates a weighty counterpart to Mozart's popular work with his own clarinet quintet, which is available here in a world premiere recording.