Search - Max Reger, Ensemble Villa Musica :: Reger: Clarinet Quintet; String Sextet

Excellent performances of two late chamber works by Reger

Robert Coulter | Delaware, USA | 12/21/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Max Reger was a somewhat prolific composer whose vast output is somewhat surprising when you consider he was an undeniably busy man (teacher, performer, music director at the university in Leipzig and more) throughout his rather short life -- he died of a heart attack at age 43. His education was based heavily on Bach and Brahms, and his mature style is often described as an extension of the language of Brahms. While he is most remembered for his organ works, his contribution to chamber music is also significant. On this disk we get great performances of two of Reger's last works -- the clarinet quintet (which is, in fact, the very last work he completed) and the string sextet.



Reger quite deliberately wrote his clarinet quintet along similar lines to the two great pieces of the genre -- those of Mozart and Brahms. It is at times lyrical, melodic, sombre, relaxed, rhythmic, and a little cheerful. Above all, it is undeniably well-crafted and a major work; it is certainly not shamed when compared to its two significant predecessors.



While the clarinet quintet is, for many, Reger's best work, I have to admit to siding with the other work on this disk. The string sextet is full and lush, blending dramatic climaxes with beautiful, longingly phrased slow passages. The theme that opens the 3rd movement is especially gorgeous. (As an aside, am I the only one who finds a similarity between the sextet of Reger and the fantastic octet of Enescu?)



Finally, a word about the artists. Ensemble Villa Musica is a chamber group consisting, in the main, of principal players from some of Germany's major orchestras. Consequently, it should be no surprise that their performances are invariably top notch. The recordings on this disk are certainly no exception.



As an introduction to Reger's music one could hardly do better than this disk. Both the string clarinet and the string sextet are wonderfully performed by Ensemble Villa Musica in first-class sound. If you're tempted, well... you really should just give in to your instincts and buy it. Once again, your instincts will be proved right."

The Best of the Best?

T. Beers | Arlington, Virginia United States | 09/19/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I rarely do this, but I'm going to go out on the proverbial limb and declare this CD to contain the best recordings of both Reger's String Sextet and his last completed composition, the marvelous Clarinet Quintet. In the case of the Sextet that may not be so very controversial a statement. Previous recordings include creditable but under-characterized performances by Germany's Wuehrer Sextet and by Switzerland's Zurich ensemble, the latter praised by the other reviewer. I own both those CDs as well as a German EMI disc recorded in the 1990s by the Vienna Sextet -- yes, I love the piece enough to own four recordings of it! -- but none of those performances matches the mastery of texture and line evidenced by the Villa Musica group. All previous groups, IMHO, at times fail to un-clot Reger's extremely dense polyphonic writing when performing what is nevertheless one of his true masterpieces. The situation is much more complicated as regards recordings of the Clarinet Quintet. After all, the great German clarinetist Karl Leister has produced at least three magnificent recordings of Reger's sublime quintet, while the German EMI disc of Reger's Sextet that I previously mentioned also boasts a lovely performance of the Clarinet Quintet by the great Sabine Meyer. Plus, there have been quite a few other estimable to superb recordings of the piece over the years. Nevertheless, I find that the searching qualities that the Villa Musica ensemble bring to their performance of the String Sextet also are brought to bear on the Clarinet Quintet, and with similar results: textures and polyphonic lines are so strikingly realized that (to stoop to a cliche) I really do feel like I am hearing this glorious work for the first time. Recorded sound is absolutely first-rate, as is typical with MDG's chamber music recordings. Without doubt, this CD represents a stunning success for MDG, the Ensemble Villa Musica, and Max Reger!"

Reger's Sextet! !! !!! !!!!

Sébastien Melmoth | Hôtel d'Alsace, PARIS | 05/30/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

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Max Reger's String Sextet in F-major Op. 118 of 1910: rare, long out of print, most awesome--indeed, Reger's masterpiece.

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See:

Max Reger: String Sextet in F



(This disc will be difficult to obtain, as it's a 1988 issue on the small Swiss label Jecklin. It's also available on another small Austrian label Da Camera Magna, Vol. 18 of Max Reger Kammermusik Gesamtaufnahme.)

Brahms, Strauss, Glier, Schönberg, Gade, Raff, Rimsky, Dvorak, and Tchaikovsky all produced essays in the genre of String Sextet.

Reger's string Sextet in F, Op. 118 of 1910: a late masterpiece, in the company of his Fifth string Quartet (f#, Op. 121) and clarinet Quintet (A, Op. 146).

Large-boned, sometimes forceful and tense, sometimes sublime and lyrical, this monstrous four-movement work is quintessential Reger.

Features his calling-card polyphony; contrapntal density; extended chromaticism; fine filigree work; and energetic multiplicity of climaxes--multi-orgasmic, at it were. Some melodic charm with catchy, sometimes humourous tunes: in fact, the work has a bumptously bodacious boisterous buoyancy--not to say bombastic...

All except for the sublime and magnificent Largo con gran expressione which Reger himself called "Gebet mit dem lieben Gott--[Prayer with the Beloved God]." It is unsurpassed in the entire Reger literature. It is mystical, with great passion, yet serene, approaching Beethovenian heights. It is related to the Largo of his great piano Concerto.

(The Jecklin disc features Die Kammermusiker Zürich; the Da Camera disc, the Wührer-Streichsextett--which some old-timers [like myself] will remember on the old Musical Heritage Society LP from the '70s, as this is a re-issue of that performance.)

Absolutely recommended.

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Compartaive Timings:

Quintet, Op. 146



Ensembel Villa Musica (2008)

i. 10'10

ii. 05'47

iii. 07'44

iv. 09'49



Drolc Quartet w/Karl Leister (1972)

i. 09'23

ii. 05'54

iii. 08'55

iv. 10'09



Wilanow-Quartett w/Eduard Brunner (1989)

i. 09'47

ii. 06'06

iii. 09'33

iv. 09'54



Heutling-Quartett w/Franz Klein (1984)

i. 09'43

ii. 05'42

iii. 10'41

iv. 10'31

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Sextet, Op. 118



Ensemble villa Musica (2008)

i. 11'25

ii. 05'50

iii. 13'28

iv. 07'20



Die Kammermusiker Zürich (1977)

i. 13'45

ii. 06'02

iii. 13'17

iv. 08'15



Wührer-Streichsextett (1970)

i. 12'37

ii. 06'16

iii. 11'13

iv. 08'22

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Reger: The String Quartets; Clarinet Quintet

Max Reger: Sonatas for Violin & Piano Op. 122 & Op. 139

Reger: Cello Sonatas

Reger: Complete Works for 2 Pianos

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