Clarinet, Horn

Hindemith's writing combines the great contrapuntal sense of Bach with a mastery of modern harmony. These three pieces, with very unusual instrumental combinations, showcase some of his best writing with a fantastic performance from a world class ensemble.

French pianist Geoffroy Couteau moves with sovereign ease from one mood to another in these works, bringing out their vividly contrasting colours and emotions in perfect unison with his attentive partners. The clarinet sonatas mark the end of Brahms’s output of chamber music and perhaps its peak; their gentleness and tenderness combine gracefully with the twilight glow that emanates from these pieces, showing a disarming simplicity close to Mozart. The Horn Trio, on the other hand, expresses the ardour and energy of a composer in his early thirties and at the height of his artistic powers.

Deutsche Grammophon is releasing 16 new e-albums comprising Claudio Abbado’s Complete Recordings on the Yellow Label – the legacy of a legend. Together these digital releases include over 250 hours of first-rate recordings and feature an A-Z of composers. Volume 9 in the series presents a comprehensive set of Abbado’s Mozart interpretations.