Search - Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, Alban Berg :: The Art of the Clarinet

Classic Chamber Music with Clarinet

J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 05/23/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have often thought that if I took up a wind instrument, it would be the clarinet. It is possibly the most perfectly constructed and smoothly functioning of all the wind instruments. It has an almost four-octave range (by virtue of it being overblown at the twelfth, not the octave like all the other orchestral winds), a very wide dynamic range from the merest whisper to a clarion tone (in fact, the term 'clarion' and the term 'clarinet' come from the same root), incredible flexibility (closest of any wind to that of the violin), mimics the human voice in its range and sound and, finally, has the smoothest most ingratiating tone (as Mike Myers's 'Linda Richman' would say, 'Like buttah!'). [Please don't be mad at me, all you oboists, bassoonists and flutists out there!]Here we have core clarinet chamber music repertoire:Beethoven: Trio in B flat, Op. 11
Brahms: Trio in A minor, Op. 114
Berg: Four Pieces for Clarinet and Piano, Op. 5
Mendelssohn: Konzertstücke 1 & 2 for Clarinet, Basset-Horn and Piano, Opp. 113 & 114The clarinetist is one of the best - Peter Schmidl, principal clarinet of the Vienna Philharmonic. His colleagues - Madoka Inui, piano; Teodora Mileva, cello; and Pierre Pichler, basset-horn, are fully his equals. The playing is suave, the ensemble tightly coordinated and the recorded sound clear and life-like. This is 68 minutes of unalloyed beauty. Naxos has come up with another winner.The jewel box liner and booklet have the designation 'Philharmonic Soloists' emblazoned on them. Can we hope that various other of the Vienna Philharmonic's principals will have similar discs in the future? Recommended.Scott Morrison"

Chamber music at its best

J Scott Morrison | 05/21/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The sound of Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra has committed me like a guardian angel since I was a little child. Listening with my parents to the radio transmissions of Salzburg Festival (we were positively unable to buy tickets) I got my first idea of a better world. Now listening to the first CD of a new edition with soloists of VPO, I felt the same calm euphory. Peter Schmidl, VPO's first clarinet, has taught two generations of young musicians. His recording of Mozart's clarinet concert under Leonard Bernstein has become part of musical history. On this CD he performs with brilliant young partners chamber music by Beethoven, Brahms, Mendelssohn and Alban Berg. Warmth and sensuality of his tone are unbeatable even by other world champions like Meyer, de Payer or Leister. The piano part is admirably played by Madoka Inui - brilliance, elegance and intellectual analysis of her interpretaion are first class. So: Who ever calls himself a clarinet maniac - and this is not difficult, because no other wind instrument is closer to human voice - should listen into that recording. The price is a sensation and the booklet, written by Schmidl himself, too. Chamber music at its best."