This is the kind of music that damaged Mozart"s popularity in his era but makes us love him. The publisher Hoffmeister originally commissioned six Piano Quartets from Mozart but the first sold poorly and the series was discontinued. These are deeply serious works, the first downright tragic in its first movement. They make lousy dinner music--which was what Mozart"s audiences wanted--but great, rewarding concentrated listening. Steven Lubin and his string-playing colleagues, all on period instruments, give completely satisfying performances of these masterpieces. With the aid of their softer-toned instruments, they provide very clear balances so you can hear everything Mozart put into these scores. The playing is intensely expressive and involving but never exaggerated; the tragedy of the first Quartet is not exaggerated and thus even more affecting. With Harmonia Mundi"s realistic sound and the new super-bargain price, this is an extremely appealing disc. --Leslie Gerber