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