2023 Approaching 60,000 reviews and more.. and still writing ...	Search MusicWeb Here

Searching Musicweb Monthly index Recordings of the Year Label index Masterwork index Series index Search engines Review Archive Classical Downloads Jazz Concerts Nostalgia Books Film music Resources Composer pages Tony Duggan's Mahler National Discographies Mark Morris's Guide to C20th Composers Ralph Moore's Surveys Online books Piano Trio Survey Cello Concerto Project Pot Pourri - Early MusicWeb Gerard Hoffnung Arthur Butterworth's columns Philip Scowcroft's British light music Interviews Programme notes MusicWeb Listening Studio Talking about Books Other material Articles Seen & Heard Message Board About Musicweb About Musicweb Contact Musicweb Contributors What they say about us Visitor stats Site Map

Founder: Len Mullenger                                    Editor in Chief:John Quinn

BUY NOW  Crotchet   AmazonUK   AmazonUS

Carl Maria von WEBER (1786-1826) Concertino in E flat, J109 Op 26 (1811) [9.16] Clarinet Concerto #1 in f, J114 Op 73 (1811) [21.02] Clarinet Concerto #2 in Eb, J118 Op 74 (1811) [22.16] Clarinet Quintet in Bb, J182 Op 34 (1815) [5.46] Sabine Meyer, clarinet Staatskapelle Dresden/Herbert Blomstedt (concertos) Württembergisches Kammerorchester, Heilbron/Jörg Faerber (quintet and concertino) Recorded at the Lukaskirche, Dresden, Germany, September 1985 (concertos) Recorded at Kirche auf der Karlshöhe, Ludwigsburg, Germany, November 1984 Notes in English, Deutsch, Français. 8-page catalogue of EMI GROTC recordings. EMI CLASSICS GREAT RECORDINGS OF THE CENTURY 7243 5 67988 2 3 [78.36]

Comparison recording: Eduard Brunner, clarinet; Bamberger Symphoniker/Oleg Caetani. Orfeo C067831 A (Opp 26, 73, 74) 1983 In these concertos Weber’s musical style strikes me as just about halfway between Beethoven and Verdi, and these concertos owe virtually nothing to Mozart; while the Quintet sounds at times like a collaboration between Mozart and Beethoven. The opening of the Second Concerto is reminiscent of Paganini, and the extreme jumps in range in the clarinet part certainly demand the greatest virtuosity from the player. The slow movements to the Quintet and the Second Concerto have some of the quality of operatic scenes — yearning, romantic solos. The final movements of both concertos have a jauntiness of phrase reminiscent of Telemann. That’s right, in spite of the opus numbers, all of these works were produced in the same year, 1811, the second two on commission from the King of Bavaria, and all were intended for the clarinettist Heinrich Bärman. Weber actually began work on the Quintet the same year, but it wasn’t completed until four years later. This artist’s command of the clarinet is stunning from the first notes of this disk. It takes skill and courage to utilise the clarinet’s "metallic" range as Ms. Meyer does, producing a thrillingly dramatic tonal, textural, and dynamic sound, as well as very many very sweet sounds when called for. Recording is excellent, orchestral backup is enthusiastic, and the result is almost great music. Certainly these works have never sounded so good, so important. The Brunner recording utilises faster tempi throughout which give more urgency, higher energy, more of a sense of sturm und drang, more high brass sound to the orchestral tuttis, contrasting with a slightly more mellow, less "metallic" approach to the solos. Orchestra is slightly more forward. Brunner observes a substantial cut in the slow movement of the Concerto #1. Both disks are excellent; the choice is on style not on quality, and the fact that on the Meyer disk you get the Clarinet Quintet — orchestrated — as a bonus, and a valuable bonus it is indeed, since some will find it the best music on the disk. Paul Shoemaker see also review by Christopher Howell Great Recordings of the Century   Gerard Hoffnung CDs Advertising on Musicweb Donate and get a free CD   New Releases Nimbus Podcast Obtain 10% discount Special offer 50% off Musicweb sells the following labels Acte Préalable (THE Polish label) Altus 10% off Atoll 10% off CRD 10% off Hallé 10% off Lyrita 10% off Nimbus 10% off Nimbus Alliance Prima voce 10% off Red Priest 10% off Retrospective 10% off Saydisc 10% off Sterling 10% off Follow us on Twitter Subscribe to our free weekly review listing sample Sample: See what you will get Editorial Board MusicWeb International Founding Editor    Rob Barnett Senior Editor John Quinn Seen & Heard Editor Emeritus    Bill Kenny Editor in Chief    Vacant MusicWeb Webmaster    David Barker MusicWeb Founder    Len Mullenger

Return to Index

Error processing SSI file