brahms & mozart clarinet quintets
ALEXANDER STRING QUARTET
ELI EBAN, CLARINET
FCL 2021
Nominated as a MusicWeb International Recording of the Year
“Two of the great clarinet quintets in exemplary performances, full of subtle nuance, but tempered by a clear desire to communicate the quality of the music rather than the performers’ skills. The differences between the two works are similarly tempered by recognition of how important the Mozart quintet was to Brahms in the composition of his quintet. The recorded sound is exemplary too — the balance of the five instruments being perfectly presented.”
— Glyn Pursglove, MusicWeb International Recordings of the Year 2020, FCL 2021 Brahms and Mozart — Clarinet Quintets (Full review)
Music Notes “Best of Year”
“There are times – either times of day or times in which we live — when music can provide healing, induce calm, soothe our troubled hearts, allay our fears, and for a moment dispel our cares. As I sat late one night, and let this music so exquisitely played and shared with us by five formidable artists create its magic, time stopped and all that mattered in that moment was Mozart and Brahms and the Alexander String Quartet and Eli Eban. ...insightful liner notes by Eric Bromberger provide all the musicological background needed to accompany this music.”
— Rafael Acha, Music Notes (Aug. 2020), FCL 2021 Brahms and Mozart — Clarinet Quintets (Full review)
Four-Star Performance and 4.5-Star Sonics rating
“Set down with a matched quartet of instruments… the performances were recorded last year in hi-rez at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Belvedere, California, with an ideal mix of direct sound and natural reverberation. … The ASQ’s Mozart is sublime, Eban’s exceptionally warm and smooth sound blending with Paul Yarbrough’s viola and Sandy Wilson’s cello… ASQ and Eban’s rendition of the heavenly Larghetto, the wonderful Viennese lilt of their third movement, and the perfectly paced pullback to the surprise adagio toward the end of the finale make this a great modern performance. …this Brahms is seductive and…the sound is a joy.”
— Jason Victor Serinus, Stereophile Magazine (Sept. 2020), FCL 2021 Brahms and Mozart — Clarinet Quintets
"The first recording of these works I will reach for…"
"Immediately apparent in this new recording is the warmth and sweetness of Eban’s tone. … Where the clarinet needs to soar over the strings, Eban also accomplishes that in an unforced and natural-sounding manner that preserves his instrument’s integration with the strings. In other words, these performances never sound like the clarinet is an interloper that wandered by accident into a string quartet. … [The] heartfelt singing of phrases by Eban in alliance with the Alexander’s uncommonly sensitive, responsive, and sinuous shaping of the line makes for the most meltingly beautiful readings of these works I can recall ever hearing. ... And all of this can be heard on an extraordinarily detailed and transparent recording made in June of 2019 at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Belvedere, California by recording maestro Matt Carr. …
Without hesitation, this will now be the first recording of these works I will reach for on my shelf. Bravos all around!”
— Jerry Dubins, Fanfare, FCL 2021 Brahms and Mozart — Clarinet Quintets
Mozart, Brahms, and the Clarinet
Liner notes by Eric Bromberger
Composers have been drawn to the combination of clarinet and string quartet ever since the clarinet began to take shape in the eighteenth century. The mellow sound and agility of the clarinet make it an ideal complement to the resonant warmth and harmonic richness of the string quartet, and the range of composers who have written for this pairing is extraordinarily diverse, including Weber, Meyerbeer, Reger, Busoni, Hindemith, and — more recently — Carter and Widmann. Yet all these compositions, varied as they are, exist within the shadow of the two towering masterpieces composed for clarinet and string quartet, the quintets of Mozart and Brahms. Those two quintets are invariably paired in recordings, as they are on this disc.
And it is quite right that they should be. They are two of the finest chamber works by two of the greatest composers, and there are many parallels between them: both were written late in their creators’ lives, both were inspired by contact with a particular clarinetist, and both beautifully integrate the quite different sonorities of clarinet and string quartet. Neither work is in any way valedictory, yet — coming near the end of each composer’s life — they represent some of the most refined and expressive music of Mozart and Brahms.
MOZART
Quintet in A Major for Clarinet and Strings, K.581
Mozart first heard an early version of the clarinet at age 8 while on a visit to London, and he first composed for it when he wrote the Divertimento in D Major, K.113 at age fifteen. Seven years later, after hearing the excellent orchestra in Mannheim, which included clarinets, he wrote home to his father lamenting that they did not have clarinets in the Salzburg orchestra. His fascination with the clarinet’s mellow sonority and wide range stayed with him throughout his life (what Mozart heard in Mannheim was probably the basset horn, an early form of the clarinet as it was developing late in the eighteenth century). Mozart was one of the first composers to use the clarinet in a symphony, and as he moved into his thirties, he began to compose more often for that instrument.
Much of Mozart’s growing interest in the clarinet came from his friendship with the Austrian clarinet virtuoso Anton Stadler (1753–1812). Mozart apparently met Stadler soon after arriving in Vienna in 1781. Stadler was part of the ensemble that gave the first performance of Mozart’s great Serenade in D Major, K.361, in 1784, and the two soon became friends and colleagues — they were both Freemasons in the same lodge in Vienna, and Mozart is known to have lent Stadler money during these years.
Not surprisingly, Mozart began to write for Stadler and for the clarinet. In the summer of 1786, shortly after the premiere of Le Nozze de Figaro, Mozart wrote his Trio for Clarinet, Viola, and Piano, presumably for Stadler, and the instrument figures prominently in his Symphony No. 39, composed two years later. It is a measure of the composer’s respect for Stadler’s artistry that in the final year of his life Mozart would compose the obbligato clarinet parts in La clemenza di Tito and the Clarinet Concerto specifically for Stadler, and he revised his Symphony No. 40 to include clarinet parts, almost certainly for Stadler. Two years earlier, during the summer of 1789, Mozart composed his Clarinet Quintet, completing it on September 29. The premiere had to wait until December 22, when it was performed at a concert of the Tonkünstler Societät in Vienna. On that occasion Stadler was the clarinetist, and Mozart played the viola. Mozart made clear the connection between this music and the artist for whom it was written the following year when he referred to it as “Stadler’s quintet.”
Stadler played the basset clarinet, an instrument of his own invention, which could play four semitones lower than the standard clarinet of that era. This unfortunately resulted in a number of corrupt editions of Mozart’s works for Stadler, as editors rewrote them to suit the range of the contemporary clarinet. Subsequent modifications have given the A clarinet those four low pitches, and today we hear these works in the keys for which Mozart originally wrote them.
Simple verbal description cannot begin to suggest the glories of Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet — this is truly sovereign music, full of the complete technical mastery of Mozart’s final years and replete with the emotional depth that marks his music from that period. The strings present the chorale-like first theme of the sonata-form opening Allegro, and the clarinet quickly enters to embellish this noble opening statement. The expressive second subject, sung by the first violin, flows with a long-breathed smoothness that itself seems shaped for the fluid sound of the clarinet.
The Larghetto, in D major, belongs very much to the clarinet, which weaves a long cantilena above the accompanying strings; new material arrives in the first violin, and the development section is Mozart at his finest. Particularly impressive here is Mozart’s careful attention to sonority, with the silky sound of muted strings set against the warm murmur of the clarinet. After the subdued conclusion of the second movement, the Menuetto bursts to life with a perky freshness — off come the strings’ mutes, and Mozart moves back to the home key of A major. This minuet is unusual in that it has two trio sections: the first — in A minor — is entirely for strings, while in the second the clarinet has a ländler-like freshness.
In place of the expected rondo-finale, Mozart offers a variation movement based on the opening theme, sung as a duet for the violins. The five variations are sharply differentiated: the first introduces an entirely new theme, full of wide skips, played by the clarinet as the quartet repeats the opening theme, several feature virtuosic parts for the clarinet and first violin, and the third opens with a plaintive episode for viola over rich accompaniment from the other voices. And now Mozart springs a surprise: the stirring conclusion of the fourth variation gives way to an expressive Adagio that is really a fifth variation. This long and moving variation complete, the music jumps back to its opening tempo, and the Clarinet Quintet concludes with a jaunty coda derived from the first half of the original theme.
BRAHMS
Quintet in B Minor for Clarinet and Strings, Opus 115
Brahms intended that his Viola Quintet in G Major of 1890 should be his last work. At age 57, he felt that he was done composing. In December of that year he sent his publisher some corrections to that quintet with a brief message: “With this note you can take leave of my music, because it is high time to stop.” But it was not to be. In March 1891 Brahms traveled to Meiningen to hear that orchestra under the direction of Fritz Steinbach, one of the leading interpreters of Brahms’ music. And then something entirely unexpected happened: Brahms heard the orchestra’s principal clarinetist Richard Mühlfeld perform Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet and Weber’s Clarinet Concerto. He was so impressed by Mühlfeld’s playing that he came out of retirement and wrote four works for Mühlfeld that have become the heart of the clarinet literature.
Mühlfeld (1856 –1907) was an interesting musician. He joined the Meiningen orchestra at age 17 as a violinist but taught himself to play clarinet and became the orchestra’s principal clarinetist at age 23, later serving as principal of the Bayreuth orchestra. So impressed was Brahms by his playing that he sat for hours listening to him practice and gave Mühlfeld several pet nicknames, including “Fraulein Klarinette,” “my dear nightingale,” and “my primadonna.” In the summer of 1891, six months after he had officially announced his retirement, Brahms retreated to his favorite summer vacation spot — Bad Ischl, high in the Alpine lake district — and wrote the Clarinet Trio, Opus 114 and the Quintet, Opus 115; two sonatas for clarinet followed in the summer of 1894. These four pieces, all written for Mühlfeld, were Brahms’ final instrumental works.
The Clarinet Quintet has been universally acclaimed one of Brahms’ late masterpieces. Rather than writing a display piece to spotlight Mühlfeld’s playing, Brahms — newly sensitive to the sound and possibilities of the clarinet — carefully integrates it into the texture of the music. This is extremely concentrated music, with materials extended and combined in ingenious ways. Is the very beginning Brahms’ act of homage to Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet? Both quintets begin with the opening idea fully stated by the quartet, and only then does the clarinet rise from the depths, climb into its upper register, and assume its central role. Brahms opens this Allegro with a violin duet that hovers uncertainly between D major and B minor — this tonal ambiguity will mark the entire quintet. Brahms introduces all his thematic material in the first moments of this movement: the undulating theme of the first two bars gives way to the slightly swung shape of the third and fourth bars, followed by the clarinet’s rising entry in the fifth. These three theme-shapes will appear in some form throughout the entire movement. At the stormy climax, the theme of the first two bars is heard over fierce swirls in the clarinet, and the movement dies away to conclude with the quiet of the beginning.
The Adagio is in ABA form, beginning with a simple clarinet theme over quiet accompaniment from the strings. Yet this subdued opening brings extraordinarily complex rhythmic textures. The clarinet sings its simple song in quarter-notes, the first violin (also in quarter-notes) is syncopated against this, the second violin and viola trade the collision of triple and duple pulses, and beneath all this the cello has a complex line all its own — simply holding this music together presents all sorts of challenges for the performers. The middle section brings a sound that is, by Brahmsian standards, exotic. Brahms was very fond of Hungarian gypsy music, and this section, marked più lento, shows that influence: the clarinet leaps and swirls while the accompanying strings whir beneath it (in imitation of the Hungarian cimbalom?) before the opening material returns.
The principal themes of the final two movements are closely related, giving the Quintet an even greater feeling of unity. The Andantino opens with a breezy, intermezzo-like tune for clarinet, but at the center section — Presto non assai, con sentimento — the music rushes ahead impetuously and never returns to the easy flow of the opening material. The finale, like the finale of Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet, is a set of variations. Marked only Con moto, it offers five variations on the opening theme, stated in turn by the violins and clarinet. Of particular interest is the very end, where the final variation gives way to the theme that opened the first movement, and Brahms’ Clarinet Quintet winds its immensely concentrated way to the quiet unison B that concludes this moving music.
The Clarinet Quintet was given its public premiere in Berlin by Mühlfeld and Joseph Joachim’s quartet on December 12, 1891, almost a century to the day after Mozart’s death. There is no record of the public reactions to the premiere of Mozart’s Quintet in 1789, but the response to Brahms’ was ecstatic, both from critics and the public, and today many consider it the finest of his late works. Brahms was usually the fiercest critic of his own music, but in the face of this glowing reception he relaxed a little and was willing to concede that his Clarinet Quintet was a “very decent” piece of music.
MORE BRAHMS:
Brahms String Quartets
Brahms String Quintets and Sextets
Brahms & Schumann Piano Quintets
In Friendship
The Brahms Project
MORE MOZART:
Mozart Final Quartets (Apotheosis 1)
Mozart Piano Quartets (Apotheosis 2)
Homage (”Haydn Quartets”)
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TRACK LISTING
MOZART Quintet in A Major for Clarinet and Strings, K.581
1. Allegro
2. Larghetto
3. Menuetto – Trio I – Trio II
4. Allegretto con Variazioni
BRAHMS Quintet in B Minor for Clarinet and Strings, Opus 115
5. Allegro
6. Adagio
7. Andantino – Presto non assai, ma con sentimento
8. Con moto
• • •
More Brahms:
Brahms String Quartets
Brahms String Quintets and Sextets
Brahms & Schumann Piano Quintets
In Friendship
The Brahms Project
More Mozart:
Mozart Final Quartets (Apotheosis 1)
Mozart Piano Quartets (Apotheosis 2)
Homage (”Haydn Quartets”)
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"Clearly one of the Alexander Quartet’s finest releases."
(Mozart) “Eban’s variety of tone helps make the entire quintet sound wonderful...[and how the ASQ] manages to create a sound that is blended while still retaining an individuality of sound in each of the four voices is a miracle I have not yet figured out…”
(Brahms) “Eban’s wonderfully nuanced clarinet playing brings a wealth of color to the proceedings, as does the Alexander Quartet’s sense of rhythm. In fact, the rhythmic elements of this work are brought off better than in any other recording I’ve heard, as is their penchant for nuance. In the first movement alone, the quintet creates an entire world of sound and feeling without ever overdoing it or trying to bring attention to themselves. This was a feature of their Brahms Piano Quintets with Joyce Yang, and they equal their playing in that recording here. […]
In toto, this is clearly one of the Alexander Quartet’s finest releases.”
— Lynn René Bayley, Art Music Lounge (June 2020), FCL 2021 Brahms and Mozart — Clarinet Quintets
"Lyric warmth predicated on scrupulous and nuanced musicianship"
“…if it’s Mozart and Brahms you want, then you will find that the Alexander Quartet and Eban provide readings of lyric warmth predicated on scrupulous and nuanced musicianship. …eloquently phrased qualities held in just balance by the musicians, who are always phrasally generous but never prepared to sacrifice musical good manners to force the issue, emotively speaking. …the clarinetist maintains full body of tone across his range and his warmly aerated vibrato is under excellent control. …Eban’s subtle variation in usage, not least in the slow movement, ensures a refined sense of colour, warmly vibrated, and is always audible. And the sonority of the accompanying figures, top to bottom, remains admirable. …To add to the pleasure there are fine booklet notes and an excellently judged recording.”
— Jonathan Woolf, MusicWeb International, FCL 2021 Brahms and Mozart — Clarinet Quintets