Returning to London would see Mozart heavy encounters. What would I discover this time round? Would I learn something new or find a new favourite piece?

The Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin presented a Mozart heavy bill though the rest was filled with new composer’s unknown to me. Georg Druschetzky and his Oboe Quartet in G minor was the first of these discoveries. Xenia Löffler as the solo had great range, though does this vintage instrument sound as if it can go out of tune every so often? A lovely opening, sweet and impassioned. Paul Wranitzky followed with his String Quartet in G, another stupendous find. I realise there are so many more music makers out there from the past. The players had a sharp focus, and all the joy of the piece rang forth. Melodies were this eras bread and butter, as well as gentle dynamics and hushed listenability.

With Mozart in his first outing, the Horn Quintet in E flat, Erwin Wieringa had holistic flashes. This true horn which he plays, has charm and some warm, though it can be so muted and almost unruly leading to not so harmonious blends. After the break, Mozart’s Oboe Quartet in F had frilly moments, not the most outstanding work he ever did. There was panache for this quarter, thanks to Löffler as a soloist of high regard. Perhaps the most stimulating Mozart of the night goes to the Adagio & Fugue in C minor. This quartet from Mayumi Hirasaki, Georg Kallweit, Clemens-Maria Nuszbaumer and Katharina Litschig deliver a loving feel for the Baroque and Classical and what surrounds it.

The wrap up was another find, that of Carl Stamktz’s Quintet in E flat. It is the vigour I savoured most here, swoops and plunges all in a conventional but still adrenaline inducing all the same. Musically it owes to Mozart, though still has enough originality to stand out. The encore of Mozart’s Musical Joke finale got laughs and smiles abound. Those, at few notes of sheer discord are shocking and have always been highly amusing.