Pleyel Clarinet Concertos

This is one of the best clarinet/flute concertos (concerti) recorded with Pleyel’s compositions. Pleyel demanded “virtuosic brilliance” and so the performers must be at the top of their game to play his works. Paul Meyer is known for a wide repertory and an interest in modern works for clarinet. He began studying clarinet as a child and made his solo debut with the Symphony Orchestra of the Rhine at the age of 13.

Haydn's student Ignace Joseph Pleyel was nearly as prolific as his Austrian parents (he was one of 38 children), and not all of the various attempts to revive his work have found music worth reviving. His music remains mostly unknown, and instrumentalists and ensembles haven't sorted through it to find the gems. This effort by virtuoso German clarinetist Dieter Klöcker, who also wrote the rather abstract but cogent booklet notes, is one of the best contributions yet. The clarinet was a new instrument in Pleyel's time, and was undergoing rapid change.

All praise to Hungaroton for their series of Pleyel string concertos. This first volume gives us the five extant cello concertos. A concerto in D (Ben 102) advertised by Breitkopf in 1782-4 is lost. A second volume with the violin concerto (both versions) is promised. Three works here are completely new. The other two have been recorded before: Ben 106 (1797) as a cello concerto or in Pleyel’s alternative versions for flute or clarinet; Ben 104 (c1788) as a clarinet concerto—possibly Gebauer’s adaptation. Ben 105 (1790) was also issued as a viola concerto.