Clarinet Course

Brahms’s two sonatas for clarinet and piano, Op 120, composed in 1894, were followed only by the four Serious Songs and a set of organ chorale preludes (some of which may have been written at earlier times). His farewell to chamber music was also his farewell gift to the clarinet.

The three concerti on this disk are kind of ‘in between’. Bernard Crusell is not an unknown, many of his compositions having been recorded over the past decades, notably his clarinet concerti. However, music directors and concert managements usually prefer to schedule Mozart or Weber for the purpose of filling up the Hall. ‘Names’ are for public in general of overriding importance. Thus concert goers didn’t and still don’t get much chance to familiarize with Crusell.

As one goes along in their classical-music journey, you eventually start moving beyond the "safeness" of the major composers and exploring the lesser-known "minor" composers - and often discovering soon enough some of the "hidden treasures" of the classical repertoire. And among some of these treasures are the clarinet concertos and the featured quartets on this CD by the Finnish-born virtuoso/composer, Bernhard Crusell.

This CD is one of the hidden gems in the huge Naxos catalogue; three German musicians displaying consummate skill in a less well-known Beethoven work and the equally attractive Ries piece. Ries deserves the attention in my opinion as, although often described as a mere epignone of Beethoven, he is clearly his own man! Of course he was influenced by Beethoven, having served as Beethoven's factotum for some years, but Ries often has something interesting to say in his music. Ries' Op.28 is a lovely clarinet trio lasting 23 minutes, wonderfully played by Jurgen Demmler (clarinet), Markus Tillier (cello), and Peter Grabinger.