Johannes Brahms; Carl Maria von Weber - Clarinets Quintets (Richard Stoltzman; Tokyo String Quartet)

Information

Composer: Johannes Brahms; Carl Maria von Weber

1. Brahms - Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115: 1. Allegro
2. Brahms - Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115: 2. Adagio
3. Brahms - Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115: 3. Andantino
4. Brahms - Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115: 4. Con moto
5. Weber - Clarinet Quintet in B-flat major, Op. 34, J. 182: 1. Allegro
6. Weber - Clarinet Quintet in B-flat major, Op. 34, J. 182: 2. Fantasia (Adagio)
7. Weber - Clarinet Quintet in B-flat major, Op. 34, J. 182: 3. Menuetto
8. Weber - Clarinet Quintet in B-flat major, Op. 34, J. 182: 4. Rondo (Allegro)

Richard Stoltzman, clarinet
Tokyo String Quartet
Peter Oundjian, violin
Kikuei Ikeda, violin
Kazuhide Isomura, viola
Sadao Harada, cello

Date: 1993
Label: RCA

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Review

Common to both of these releases is Weber’s theatrically extrovert quintet of 1815. It was written as a vehicle for the skills of Munich-based virtuoso Heinrich Bärmann, just as the autumnal valediction of the Brahms quintet would honour the eloquent playing of Richard Mühlfeld 76 years later. Playing on period instruments, Neidich and L’Archibudelli strike a happy equilibrium between dramatic posturing and riotous, high-spirited buffoonery. Stoltzman’s account, with the Tokyo Quartet, is an enthralling tour de force – his technical control in mercurial passagework and elegant liquidity of tone and phrasing seem all but unsurpassable. But his Brahms, gilded and nobly expansive, is less idiomatically compelling than Neidich’s rapturously introspective rival version with the Juilliard (see opposite). The Sony disc also includes winning performances of Hummel’s Clarinet Quartet in E flat and, from Bohemian (later French) master of the Classical wind quintet, Antonín Reicha, a splendidly tuneful Clarinet Quintet in B flat, dating from c1810. L’Archibudelli plays with customary fire and imagination; Neidich’s instrument (modelled after a Grenser clarinet, c1810) has a breadth of sonority and distinctive timbre that will astonish, while the Sony engineering is in the demonstration bracket. Very strongly recommended.

-- Michael Jameson, BBC Music Magazine

More reviews:
http://www.amazon.com/Clarinet-Quintets-Johannes-Brahms/dp/B000003FTB

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Johannes Brahms (7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer and pianist. In his lifetime, Brahms's popularity and influence were considerable. Brahms composed for symphony orchestra, chamber ensembles, piano, organ, and voice and chorus. Many of his works have become staples of the modern concert repertoire. An uncompromising perfectionist, Brahms destroyed some of his works and left others unpublished. Brahms is often considered both a traditionalist and an innovator. His music is firmly rooted in the structures and compositional techniques of the Classical masters, with a highly romantic nature embedded within.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Brahms

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Carl Maria von Weber (18 or 19 November 1786 – 5 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, guitarist and critic, one of the first significant composers of the Romantic school. Weber's operas greatly influenced the development of the Romantic opera in Germany. A brilliant pianist himself, his composition for piano influenced composers such as Chopin, Liszt and Mendelssohn. Weber's compositions for woodwind instruments, and his contribution to vocal and choral music is significant. His orchestration has also been highly praised and emulated by later generations of composers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Maria_von_Weber

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Richard Stoltzman (born July 12, 1942 in Omaha, Nebraska) is an American clarinetist. Stoltzman is perhaps the best-known clarinetist who primarily plays classical music, having played with over 100 orchestras, as well as with many chamber groups and in many solo recitals. Stoltzman has received numerous awards and has produced an extensive discography. In addition to classical repertoire, Stoltzman also plays jazz. Some of his recordings feature both jazz and modern music. Today, Stoltzman is part of the faculty list at the New England Conservatory and Boston University.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Stoltzman

http://www.richardstoltzman.com/

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Tokyo String Quartet was an international string quartet that operated from 1969 to 2013. The group formed in 1969 at the Juilliard School of Music. The founding members attended the Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo, where they studied with Professor Hideo Saito. The quartet recorded over 40 albums for Deutsche Grammophon, RCA Victor Red Seal, Angel-EMI, CBS Masterworks, and Harmonia Mundi, covering a wide range of classical music. The quartet disbanded at the end of the 2013 season, following the decision by the violist Kazuhide Isomura and the 2nd violinist Kikuei Ikeda to retire.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_String_Quartet

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