Composer: Johannes Brahms
Performer: Laura Ruiz Ferreres
Number of Discs: 2
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Audite
Catalogue: AUDITE91662
Release: 2013
Size: 428 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: cover
CD 01
Clarinet Trio in A minor, Op. 114
01. I. Allegro
02. II. Adagio
03. III. Andante grazioso
04. IV. Allegro
Clarinet Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 120 No. 1
05. I. Allegro appassionato
06. II. Andante un poco adagio
07. III. Allegretto grazioso
08. IV. Vivace
CD 02
Clarinet Sonata No. 2 in E flat major, Op. 120 No. 2
01. I. Allegro amabile
02. II. Allegro, molto appassionato
03. III. Andante con moto – Allegro
Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115
04. I. Allegro
05. II. Adagio – Più lento
06. III. Andantino – Presto non assai, ma con sentimento
07. IV. Con moto
This recording of the complete chamber music works for clarinet by Johannes Brahms is presented with first-rate interpreters: Laura Ruiz Ferreres, one of the most gifted clarinettists of her generation, and pianist Christoph Berner.
Internationally renowned cellist Danjulo Ishizaka and the Mandelring Quartet complete the superb line-up of instrumentalists for this recording.
At the end of his career, when he had already made his will, Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) was enthused by an instrument which was mainly familiar as an indispensable component of the romantic orchestra: the clarinet. However, since Mozart and Weber, chamber music for clarinet had been somewhat neglected. If it had not been for Richard Mühlfeld, the exceptionally gifted virtuoso of the Meiningen Court Orchestra, who was the source of inspiration for four chamber music works for clarinet between 1891 and 1894, Brahms might never again have written any music. However, the melancholy North German had a predilection for the noble middle register and expressive ‘speaking’ tone of the clarinet, of which he makes full use in all four works. Whilst the Trio Op. 114 with piano and cello has always been regarded as a subtly constructed work for connoisseurs, the Quintet Op. 115 with the accompaniment of a string quartet is a miraculous blend of sound and passionate lyricism. Alongside the Clarinet Sonatas Op.120, these late chamber works with clarinet constituted a veritable renaissance which continues to the present day.
Audite’s 2013 double-SACD of Johannes Brahms’ complete works for clarinet is an attractive presentation of the artistry of Laura Ruiz Ferreres, one of the Europe’s leading clarinetists. Ruiz Ferreres is accompanied by pianist Christoph Berner in the Clarinet Sonatas No. 1 and No. 2, Op. 120, and she also joins Berner and cellist Danjulo Ishizaka in the Trio in A minor, Op. 114; for the Quintet in B minor, Op. 115, she performs with the Mandelring Quartet. Ruiz Ferreres’ polished technique and limpid tone are brilliantly showcased in these audiophile recordings, and while she naturally comes to the foreground as the soloist in the two sonatas, she is on equal terms with her partners in the trio and the quintet. Shifting easily between carrying the melodic line and being one voice among others, Ruiz Ferreres always puts herself at the service of the music and never forces her presence. Thanks to the remarkable details, textures, and dimensions of the super audio format, there’s no need for her to compete with the other musicians, because the reproduction captures all the instruments with credible tone colors and a good sense of their placement, though some passages seem to be a bit soft and recessed. Fans of Brahms’ late chamber music will appreciate the clarinet’s warmth, the burnished tone of the strings, and the introspective mood of the interpretations.