Clarinet Quintets by Mozart & Brahms

 OSLO PHILHARMONIC CHAMBER GROUP

Lawo Classics is proud to present the Oslo Philharmonic Chamber Group, here with solo clarinettist Leif Arne Pedersen, concertmaster Elise Båtnes, alternate concertmaster Pauls Ezergailis, violist Ida Bryhn, and alternate solo cellist Bjørn Solum. A number of major composers have written works for clarinet with certain famous clarinettists in mind. This new CD from Lawo Classics presents two of the foremost chamber works for clarinet found in musical literature, the quintets by Mozart and Brahms. A good hundred years separate the works, and the musicians for whom they were written were born a good hundred years apart. The clarinettist Anton Stadler convinced Mozart of the clarinet’s inherent qualities. Mozart’s quintet is a perfect example of how the fusion of musical substance and instrumental technique can produce a synthesis of a higher order. Moreover, the sound of the clarinet and the string quartet are perfectly balanced. The quintet utilizes the clarinet’s full range, from the deep, plaintive, and resonant chalumeau register to the highest silvery treble.

Brahms had serious thoughts about retiring as a composer. But then he was inspired to compose for the clarinet, after having heard Richard Mühlfeld’s warm tone. In a relatively short period of time he composed his chamber works for clarinet, including the clarinet quintet. Few works are as personal, meditative, serious, and melancholy as this one. Both works bear witness to an exceptional understanding of the clarinet’s distinctive character, an insight gained only through knowing musicians with total mastery of the instrument.