Search - Ferdinand Ries, Dieter Klocker, Fromm :: Ries: Clarinet Chamber Music

Very Nice Ries Clarinet Chamber Music

J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 04/17/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This CD contains three chamber works for clarinet by Ferdinand Ries (1784-1838) who is best known for his association with Beethoven. He was Beethoven's piano student and gave the premiere of his Third Piano Concerto. He was also a composer well-known in his day; his composition teacher was not Beethoven, but Johann Albrechtsberger. His music sounds a bit like Spohr or Hummel, a bit like Carl Maria von Weber. (On this CD the latter association is possibly because of Weber's penchant for composing for the clarinet.) At any rate, his chamber music is delightful if not particularly profound. It is no surprise that it was well-liked by professional and amateur musicians alike during his era.



This CD has the Clarinet Trio from 1810, and two clarinet and piano sonatas from 1809 and 1814 respectively. The trio is a bit unusual in that it is in four movements -- the usual classical format is for three movements -- and has a scherzo in second position. It is extremely virtuosic for both the clarinetist and the pianist; the cellist's part is a bit less obviously so although the cellists gets some nice solo passages. Particularly effective is the adagio; it has a long-limbed cantabile melody (principally for cello) that sticks in the mind's ear. Actually, though, this movement simply serves as a long introduction for the sprightly rondo finale which follows it without pause.



The two clarinet sonatas are rather more dramatic than one might have expected and, again, they are extremely virtuosic for both players. Kl?cker, long a well-regarded clarinet soloist who seems to have recorded just about everything written for clarinet solo and increasingly familiar as conductor of his own group, the Consortium Classicum, is his usual suave self. For me the big surprise (and a pleasant one) is the playing of pianist Thomas Duis with whom I was not heretofore familiar. His technique is spectacular and it is coupled with superb musicianship.



This recording may not be for everyone; for many a little solo clarinet goes a long way. But for those who love the instrument in chamber settings, as I do, this CD is quite a find.



Scott Morrison"