Fripp and Mozart

Today, the complete String Quartets (and Quintets) of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart made their way into my collection.

I had decided against buying these last week but was encouraged to do so today upon reading an interview Robert Fripp gave on the occasion of the release of the last King Crimson album “The Power to Believe”. In it he said:-

"In terms of music being easily available, I'm grateful. I have a wonderful music library on my computer. My little Japanese active speakers that I plug in the back of my Mac G4 Powerbook have transformed my miserable, wretched life on the road. Because now I go into this vacuum-with-a-bed-in-it (otherwise called a hotel room) and I set up my computer. My active speakers - oh! those wonderfully flat little Japanese speakers, just on the market in Tokyo last October when David (Singleton) and I were there - hah! and there it is. I have Bartók, Beethoven, Brahms, Haydn, Mozart, Schubert String Quartets, complete and total in my computer. And that is only partially what I have. Charlie Parker with Strings, ah! Bliss. And much, much more. "

This is much the same way I feel about my Creative Jukebox when I’m away from home. Already having Bartók and Beethoven’s complete String Quartets I decided to add Mozart’s (and no doubt will now be looking out for sets of Haydn, Schubert and Brahms).

Ironically, having spent many hours last week browsing in the classical department, I chose 5:55 this evening to approach the store only to have the security guard, who was ushering out customers, bar my way whilst mouthing the word “closed” to me through the glass door.

Undeterred, I pushed open the door and advised him that the store was supposed to be open till 6 and that he wouldn’t have to stay on any longer than necessary, as I knew exactly what I wanted to buy. He relented and let me in.

By 6:01 I was back on the street clutching my purchase and heading home. I’ve listened to the first eight of the seventeen quartets tonight as I've been working on the computer and it really is quite beautiful music indeed….even if the Heutling Quartet’s 1967/68 recordings aren’t included in the Good CD Guide and even if all the sleeve notes are written in French….

You can read the full Fripp interview here - it’s worth it
http://www.king-crimson.com/kcrfpc1f.html