Strange Trio

I was listening to CBC Radio 2 in the car. They play classical music all day. Tonight, they played an odd sounding piece: Mozart's Kegelstatt Trio in E-flat Major for - get this - a clarinet, a viola and a piano.

I love the viola. Violas have the ability to sound like either a cello or a violin whenever and wherever it wants. It has this wonderfully warm depth and character to it.

A clarinet is smooth and flowing. It sounds like melted milk chocolate to me.

But the two of them together is a different story. The sounds don't mix well, but they don't contrast well together either. I just don't know what it does. And the piano thrown in just adds to the weirdness. It shouldn't be the wind and stringed sounds that don't mix, I've heard violin and flute duets that sound okay. Maybe it's the tune.

*shrug* I suppose if Mozart scrawled something for an armpit, a foghorn and a bicycle bell, it would still be considered a masterpiece.