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Conjured superbly

Malcolm Hayes, BBC Music Magazine
Five Stars

Mozart himself made these chamber adaptations of the first three piano concertos he composed soon after settling in Vienna in 1781 as a freelance composer-pianist. In each of them, the combination of an orchestral ‘feel’ with string-quartet reality requires a kind of circle-squaring from its performers that can be difficult to bring off – and is specially memorable when it succeeds to the wonderful degree that it does here.

“The Wihan Quartet’s collective sound has a rounded fullness and mellow, tawny-brown colouring which, besides being handsome in itself, also means that they never have to force any kind of would-be orchestral effect.”

The players’ collective delivery of the A major Concerto, K414, features more in the way of little tempo adjustments within each movement, but they always seem to work; and the grander, C major manner of K415 requires an implied expansion of the overall sound that’s conjured superbly.

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Perfectly blended ensemble

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Utter sincerity and conviction

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Crisp ensemble, rich textures

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Profoundly lyrical

Tim Homfray, The Strad Magazine

Tantalising expressive ambivalence

Julian Haylock, The Strad Magazine

This is the finest recorded performance I have encountered

Jan Smaczny, BBC Music Magazine
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The Wihans play most beautifully

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The quartet never put a foot wrong

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Intense and beautifully controlled

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Tight ensemble and vigour

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Exquisite shading

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Beautifully balanced

Paul Griffiths, New York Times

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06/05/2026