Brahms: Sonatas Op. 120 Nos. 1 & 2 for Clarinet and Piano

Featuring

Jon Manasse
Jon Nakamatsu
Johannes Brahms

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Compositional Technique

The two Clarinet Sonatas, Opus 120, are a complementary pair, with their differing temperaments indicated by the opening movement designations: 'Allegro appassionato' for the F minor and 'Allegro amabile' for the E-flat major.

Performer Biography

Jon Nakamatsu, the pianist on this recording, won the Gold Medal at the Tenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 1997.

Interpretation

Muehlfeld's playing style was individualistic, featuring a pronounced vibrato and a fiery, extroverted approach, possibly due to his background as a violinist.

Instruments

Richard Muehlfeld, the clarinetist who inspired Brahms, favored a boxwood clarinet built by Georg Ottensteiner on a system devised by Carl Baermann, which had a sweet, clear, and compact sound.

Composer Biography

Brahms was so moved by Richard Muehlfeld's playing that he spent hours listening to him and studying the clarinet's potential.

Composer Biography

Brahms initially decided to stop composing after his Opus 111 String Quintet in 1890, believing he was too old.

Composition History

The Clarinet Sonatas, Opus 120, were among Brahms's very last works, composed in 1894 after he had met and been inspired by clarinetist Richard Muehlfeld.