Wonderful music
D. Eaton | Tacoma, WA | 11/10/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Our quintet had learned the Mozzrt Clarinet Quintet, so we were moving on to
Brahms- I was not too familiar with the piece and found this recording of
both the Mozart and Brahms quintet! Brahms is a powerful piece of music, very well done by this group. They were recommended by my violin instructor.
Very well done."
A dark-horse winner in both quintets
Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 10/09/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This invigorating account of the Mozart and Brahms clarinet quintets immediately goes to the top of my list, but perhaps for an eccentric reason. I've grown to find both works cloying, even if they are masterpieces. The fault is that one acclaimed clarinetist after another uses the music as a vehicle for solo stardom. I cringe at the gooey sensitivity that hangs over both works, but the eminent Berlin Soloists, first-desk players in the Philharmonic, play as an ensemble without stars. The clarinet isn't reticent; it blends in with the overall interpretation. Secondly, tempos throughout tend to be brisk and urgent. This helps greatly in lowering the sugar content of the Mozart and the lachrymose melancholy of the Brahms -- qualities I'm sure neither composer intended but which have crept into so many interpretations. Here, there's a blessed absence of earnestness.
Add to these virtues impeccable playing and balances, and the result is a dark-horse contender that, for me, leaves Gervase de Peyer, Richrd Stoltzman, Jack Brymer, and Harold Wright far behind, not because those great clarinetists are inferior but because they hog the limelight too much. The only real flaw in these performances, which are so unaffected and direct, is that the recorded sound is a bit thin. Not to the point, however, of spoiling a very satisfying disc."
Track Listings (2) - Disc #1