BaL 3.12.11 Brahms Clarinet Quintet (merged threads)

[vinteuil]

Surprised nobody has commented yet on the big news of the programme; Mike

... as in my #22 above...

[verismissimo]

I have the Schatzberger / Fitzwilliam and enjoy it very much indeed!
I was a bit disappointed that Prof Lawson said ( I can't remember the exact words) that the performance had the 'aura of a laboratory'.
Ms Schatzberger's tone (range of tones) is unique and the overall musicality, integration and interaction with the superb quartet is admirable.

Totally agree, wh. Also the way Ms Schatzberger handles vibrato.
Professor Lawson seemed to imply that Kell was close to the sound (and vibrato) that Mulhfeld would have produced, whereas IMO Kell would have been part of the post-Kreisler school - wider, more continuous vibrato.

[aeolium]

I think Lawson was suggesting (and he has indicated this in his book on the Brahms Clarinet Quintet) that Mühlfeld did indeed use considerable vibrato, though the surviving evidence about his playing is not extensive. Here is an extract fom that book.

Although the future use of unavailable recordings in BaLs is to be welcomed, I don't think this will make it more like Interpretations on Record. It will be interesting to see if a BaL reviewer clearly favours an unavailable recording and has to go for a 'second best' for his recommendation.

[Mr Pee]

Totally agree, wh. Also the way Ms Schatzberger handles vibrato.
Professor Lawson seemed to imply that Kell was close to the sound (and vibrato) that Mulhfeld would have produced, whereas IMO Kell would have been part of the post-Kreisler school - wider, more continuous vibrato.

So if it's accepted that Wind players of this era used vibrato, presumably if this programme had been hosted by Roger Norrington, he would choose a Clarinet with extensive Vibrato playing alongside string players not using any vibrato.

I wonder what that would sound like.....

[aeolium]

I liked the extract from the Schatzberger/Fitzwilliam that was played. I don't think today's clarinettists should be bound by the style of the clarinettist for whom the work was written, any more than, say, interpreters of Peter Grimes should be bound by the style of Peter Pears. There is scope for many different interpretative styles and that is what makes the work so interesting.

[Nick Armstrong]

Sorry, I now see it listed in the OP:
Jozsef Balogh (clarinet), Danubius Quartet.

It was pretty dull, though.

But not quite a load of dubious b*ll*cks though...

Sorry to hear about the tinnitus issues, waldhorn! Hope it disappears...

[Nick Armstrong]

Surprised nobody has commented yet on the big news of the programme; they are now comparing performances that may not be available due to the vagaries of the catalogues

vinteuil and amateur51 seemed to have done quite a good job of commenting thereon... and having listened to the programme this morning, I'll add mine. Good news, pity it's taken so long. There's many a BAL been skewed by the 'unavailable' policy which since amazon etc has largely been illusory.

Very good review by the Prof. As a clarinet lover but not knowing much technically, I found the 'vibrato' issue plus illustrations very interesting, as well as the historical perspective in terms of what Mühlfeld's playing would have been like. Was tempted by the Hosford and also the Danish player whose name escapes me. However waldhorn's remark gives me pause: wally, is that a general feeling about the Nash, or a reaction to that CD / recital in particular? It's presumably got Laurence Power on viola, can't be bas, surely? (I saw them do a Fauré piano quartet around the same time, it was one of the most gripping performances of anything I've ever been to)

[Nick Armstrong]

... an excellent BAL, I thought. There seems to be gap in the market for a convincing HIPP version - Colin spoke respectfully of the Schatzberger/Fitzw'm - but clearly thought it was 'interesting' rather than compelling...

Did he mention this one, Wolfgang Meyer (brother of Sabine who indeed got a polite brush-off from the reviewer). It's with the Mosaïques, presumably it's HIPP... http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mozart-Clari...3010969&sr=8-3

I think I will listen to this BAL again.

[vinteuil]

Did he mention this one, Wolfgang Meyer (brother of Sabine who indeed got a polite brush-off from the reviewer). It's with the Mosaïques, presumably it's HIPP... http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mozart-Clari...3010969&sr=8-3

Calibration - i think the problem with the Wolfgang - is that he is playing Wolfgang and not Johannes...

[Ferretfancy]

An interesting BAL, slightly spoilt for me by the usual inconsistencies in level between the extracts played. If a reviewer is commenting on two different interpretations of a particular passage, surely we should be able to follow his argument better if they sound at the same level? This is a besetting sin of BAL, and it would be interesting to find out how the editing process is conducted. I suspect that the reviewers record their contributions separately, and somebody else mixes the pre-recorded comments without much attention to balance. At one point we were told that a particular recording suffered due to its distant and over reverberant balance, but the music crashed in at pretty well maximum level. This really won't do.

Just a couple of oddities, the famous Vienna Octet recording with Alfred Boskovsky got an admiring mention, but was then completely ignored, while the winning Hosford version was also only mentioned once quite early on. We then had some fascinating comparisons of numerous fine versions, and the Hosford version was suddenly announced as top recommendation almost as an afterthought The best aspect of the programme for me lay in the anecdotal material about Muhlfeld, but if I was a newcomer in the market for a recommended version I think I would be a little puzzled at the result.

[visualnickmos]

An enjoyable BaL, but a little too much dwelling on Brahms' clarinet-playing buddy - (of whom nobody knows what he really sounded like!). Very informative regarding technique, style, etc.

But after hearing the programme, my favourite clarinetist of all-time, Gervase de Peyer (coupled with the Mozart) will always be the 'winner'. Jack Brymer runs a nanosecond - second! in the Mozart.

[Chris Newman]

An interesting contrast between the styles of Gervase de Peyer and his two ensembles (the Melos and the Amadeus) when compared with Richard Hosford and the Nash Ensemble. The older versions favour mellow sweetness in the strings almost mocked and played about with by the exuberant clarinet whilst the Nash Ensemble are almost brazen in their playing and Hosford appears to be calming them down. Both methods work; better a contrast than everything being smoothed out.

I do wish Waldhorn a speedy recovery.

[PaulT]

Anyone after this BAL recommendation should note that Wigmore Hall online are currently selling this CD for £3 in their Christmas sale!

[Nick Armstrong]

Anyone after this BAL recommendation should note that Wigmore Hall online are currently selling this CD for £3 in their Christmas sale!

[BBMmk2]

A recording of Brahms's Clarinet Quintet(please!)

I was talking to a friend of mine about rather sublime, or even melancholic music, withy a friend of min, recently an ofcourse Brahms's clarinet Quintet came up. I then had a look at my own cds and found shock, horror(!!), I havn't a recording of it! So9 I( thought, ah,you guys be able to help me out, p0erhaps? (I don't mind if it's c/w Mozart, btw!! :)