Reger: Clarinet Quintet in A Major, Op. 146 & String Sextet in F Major, Op. 118
7/10/2020, 8 Tracks, 1:14:29
Featuring
Thorsten Johanns
Stefan Kirpal
Gundula Kirpal
Alba González i Becerra
Stephen Ristau
Roland Glassl
Wen-Sinn Yang
Diogenes Quartett
Max Reger
Did you know?
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Composer Biography
The study score of Reger's String Sextet, Op. 118, was walled into the pedestal of his funeral monument in Munich's Waldfriedhof on May 11, 1930, as a posthumous honor.
Composition History
Reger's Clarinet Quintet, Op. 146, was completed in December 1915, but editing and corrections continued until April 1916, just ten days before his death.
Compositional Technique
In his Clarinet Quintet, Reger integrates the clarinet much more deeply into the ensemble than Mozart did, focusing on its cantabile quality, dynamic flexibility, and blending character.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Max Reger's work uniquely bridges centuries, combining advanced compositional techniques with a deep affinity for Bach and roots in Romanticism, revering Beethoven and Brahms.
Critical Reception
Contemporary critics found Reger's String Sextet, Op. 118, complex, accusing it of "unbridled modulations" and "chaotic rummaging," suggesting it couldn't be understood in a single listening.
Composition History
Reger discarded an entire finished first movement of his String Sextet, Op. 118, except for four measures that touched all twelve half-tones of the chromatic scale.
Critical Reception
The Clarinet Quintet, Op. 146, was immediately hailed as an "opus ultimum" by critics, with one describing it as having "the deep, holy peace of a mild autumn evening."
