Thea King's Hyperion recording of all three of Crusell's clarinet quartets, first issued on LP in 1983, was a pioneering piece of work, and there must be many collectors who were pleased to find themselves introduced to music of such charm, elegance and style. It remains a most enjoyable record, its chief drawback being a background roar which needs a bit of getting used to. The new version is cleaner in this respect, though that issue is not crucial. The performances are, in general, stronger but also heavier than King's with Kriikku emphasizing the romantic aspects of the music more strongly. The work which can best take this is the third, a piece which owes a good deal to the example of Weber's Quintet. The finale suggests the sincerest form of flattery; but it also has a verve and charm of its own, to which King responds with an easier lilt than the more self conscious Kriikku. On the other hand, Kriikku makes more of the first of the quartets, dramatizing more strongly the entry in which, after a portentous string introduction, the clarinet sets off gaily with a fresh, lively melody. King is charming here, but does not stress the same point. On the other hand, she has a quicker sensibility in the Rondo of the First Quartet, agreeably as Kriikku's warmth may be. He is, in turn, slower and more intense with the Pastorale of the Second Quartet where King is easier and more relaxed, as well as being nimbler and more acute with the finale.
Both sets are of high quality; if I slightly prefer King's perfommances, it is out of a feeling that a lighter manner actually makes more of the music. It is interesting to learn from Fabian Dahlstrom's note to the new set that the dedicatee of Crusell's Third Quartet, Count Gustav Lowenhjelm, was the man who assisted the mortally wounded Gustav III from the ballo in maschera that is the climax of Verdi's opera.'