Mozart and Brahms who adopted Vienna as their home were motivated to write
works for the clarinet by noted virtuosi, namely Anton Stadler in Mozart’s
case and Richard Mühlfeld who inspired Brahms.
Earlier this year in March I reported from a recital given by the Pacifica
Quartet at Herkulessaal, Munich. An engaging programme of Mendelssohn,
Shostakovich and Beethoven was stunningly performed by the Pacifica and I
wrote, “string quartet playing doesn’t get any better than this.” Their
excellence continues here and in collaboration with Anthony McGill this
release can certainly rub shoulders with the finest accounts in the
catalogue.
Where references to Mozart’s
Quintet in A major for clarinet, two
violins, viola and cello, K581 are concerned the description
‘masterwork’ is extremely apt. In 1977 for a BBC Radio 4 programme, the
English tenor Peter Pears selected Mozart’s
Clarinet Quintet as one
of his all-time favourite classical music works. Pears waxed lyrical about
the
Clarinet Quintet stating that there was to be found in it “a
serenity of the most extraordinary order, heavenly we call it (‘we’ probably
a reference to Pears and his lifelong partner Benjamin Britten), but it’s
not a dull heaven, it’s a wonderful, a reassuring heaven which one can’t
have enough of … The world and heaven, where do they join? They join in
music.” (Peter Pears: A Biography by Christopher Headington, Faber and
Faber, 1993 edition).
Known to be particularly fond of the clarinet, Mozart wrote his
Clarinet Quintet in 1789 for the clarinet virtuoso and fellow
freemason Anton Stadler. The score is sometimes referred to as the
Stadler Quintet a title that has been used less frequently in
recent years. Stadler also provided Mozart with the inspiration for his
famous
Clarinet Concerto, K622; the
Clarinet Trio, K498
Kegelstatt and probably also the unfinished
Quintet for
clarinet, basset-horn and string trio, K90 (580b). The
Clarinet Quintet was composed at a time of remarkable artistic
productivity. He had recently completed
Don Giovanni, the
D
major Piano Concerto ‘
Coronation’, K537; his
Symphonies
39, 40 and
41 ‘
Jupiter’ and was engaged on his three
Prussian String Quartets and
Cosi Fan Tutte.
In Mozart’s
Clarinet Quintet the refined and engaging playing
from the Pacifica and McGill is moody and emotional. The opening
Allegro is devotedly interpreted and especially attractive is the
lively playing and noticeable warmth of McGill’s clarinet. In the famous
Larghetto with its gloriously Romantic song there is a gratifying
sense of contentment with a level of warmth rarely encountered. The third
movement
Menuetto with its two
Trios and sunny disposition
is confidently performed. It is hard to imagine better playing than this
affectionate performance of the final
Allegretto con Variazioni.
The depth of mood is developed convincingly and I especially admired the
concluding variation/
Coda played here with agile and gleaming
expression.
My benchmark recording of the Mozart the vibrant and stylish 1975 Munich
performance from the Amadeus Quartet with distinguished clarinetist Gervase
de Peyer on Deutsche Grammophon. Worthy of note is the multi-award winning
1999 recording from the Talich Quartet and Bohuslav Zahradnik on Calliope.
Also satisfying is the 2003 Bad Arolsen account from the Ensemble Villa
Musica with Ulf Rodenhauser on MDG Gold.
In an Indian summer of creativity towards the end of his career in 1891
Brahms composed the
Trio for clarinet, cello and piano, Op. 114 and
the
Quintet for clarinet and strings, Op. 115. Three years later
followed the two
Clarinet (
Viola)
Sonatas, Op.
120. All these were especially composed for Richard Mühlfeld, the admired
virtuoso clarinetist and principal of the Meiningen Orchestra, whose playing
had been an inspiration to the ageing Brahms. The legacy of Brahms’
association with Mühlfeld is that all four works rank among the foremost in
the clarinet repertoire. The substantial four movement
Clarinet
Quintet is the final expansive piece that Brahms composed; often
described as a work of autumnal beauty. Here we find the serene
contemplations of a man whose life is behind him; a score suffused with
introspection and gentle reminiscence.
In the Brahms
Clarinet Quintet the Pacifica and McGill are
outstanding in a performance that reveals an underlying dark and sombre
undertow. With the brooding moods of the opening
Allegro McGill
appealingly demonstrates his proficiency. The magnificent
Adagio is
given an achingly passionate reading that feels like a soothing balm washing
over the listener. Admirable too is the agreeable and blithe mood of the
Intermezzo-like
Andantino movement. The players provide an
exceptional interpretation that pervades the
Con moto:
Finale with yearning nostalgia.
My first choice account of the Brahms
Clarinet Quintet is for the
satisfying and refined playing of members of the Berlin Philharmonic Octet
and clarinetist Herbert Stähr. This was recorded in Germany in 1975 and can
be heard on Philips Duo. I also admire the warm and characterful 2003/04
Oslo performance from Hans Christian Bræin and his string quartet on Simax
Classics. Also well worth hearing is the naturally expressive 1990 recording
from the Melos Quartet with Michel Portalon on Harmonia Mundi. There is a
rewarding 1996 account from the Leipziger Streichquartett with clarinettist
Karl Leister on MDG Gold.
This CD is eminently satisfying and a credit to all concerned. Striking
throughout is the impeccable ensemble and unblemished intonation of the
players who could have been breathing as a single entity. They find a
combination of warmth and grace which is completely convincing. This is
accomplished musicianship indeed. The warm sound of these recordings is
pleasingly clear, well balanced between clarinet and strings, and not too
resonant.
Michael Cookson
