Mozart: Clarinet Works

Born from the frustration of COVID lockdowns, French clarinetist Raphaël Sévère’s album of two Mozart masterpieces marks a return from what he calls artistic solitary confinement. A sense of sunniness and gratitude suffuses Sévère’s account of the *Clarinet Concerto*’s opening movement, while the finale has an upbeat perkiness that can’t fail to lift the spirits. In the “Adagio,” Sévère’s mellow, velvety tone suits the beauty and poignancy of the music perfectly, as it does in the equivalent movement of the *Clarinet Quintet*. In the variations of the *Quintet*’s finale, Sévère and the Quatuor Modigliani radiate a contented relaxation, capping an irresistibly life-enhancing recital.