Andreas Langenbuch, the clarinetist on this album, holds a clarinet professorship at the Robert Schumann University of Music and Media in Düsseldorf and is the principal clarinetist of the Cologne Chamber Orchestra.
Composition History
Johannes Brahms, the composer, was inspired to write his late clarinet chamber works, including the Clarinet Trio and Clarinet Quintet on this album, after hearing clarinetist Richard Mühlfeld play in 1891.
Notable Performances
The premiere of Brahms's Clarinet Trio and Clarinet Quintet in December 1891 in Berlin was a great success, with Brahms himself playing the piano part and Richard Mühlfeld on clarinet.
Critical Reception
During the acclaimed first performances of the Clarinet Quintet in Berlin and Vienna in 1891 and 1892, audiences frequently demanded a repeat of the second movement, the Adagio.
Recording & Production
This album was recorded at the Klaus-von-Bismarck-Saal, WDR, Cologne, Germany, across two sessions in April 2017 and December 2019.
Composer Biography
Before composing the works on this album, Johannes Brahms had considered his life's work complete with the String Quintet, Op. 111, and had even drafted his will.
Compositional Technique
The Clarinet Trio, Op. 114, is characterized by its dark, warm coloring and motivic-thematic density, achieved by restricting the material to a small amount of initial ideas and connecting movements with hidden motivic references.
Brahms: Clarinet Quintet in B Minor, Op. 115 - Krehl: Clarinet Quintet in A Major, Op. 19
Carter: Sonata For Flute, Oboe, Violoncello And Harpsichord / Ives: Largo For Violin, Clarinet And Piano / Porter: Quintet For Oboe And String Quartet / Dvorák: String Quintet No.2 In G Major, Op.77, B.49
Weber: Trio in G Minor, Op. 63, J. 259, III. Schäfers Klage. Andante espressivo
Brahms: Clarinet Trio in A Minor, Op. 114: I. Allegro
Max Bruch: 8 Pieces, Op. 83
Gassenhauer
Reinecke: Trios in A Minor / A Major / B-Flat Major
