Johannes Brahms – Complete Clarinet Works
Runar Oskarsson; Helga Bryndis Magnusdottir; Sigurdur Bjarki Gunnarsson; Siggi String Quartet
Sono Luminus SLE-70048 (sonoluminus.com/sonoluminus/brahms-clarinet-works)
In 1891, despite having felt burnt-out as a composer, Johannes Brahms abruptly ended his self-imposed “retirement” after hearing Richard Mühlfeld play Weber’s Clarinet Concerto and Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet. Brahms’ final, autumnal chamber works, written for Mühlfeld, provide, says Icelandic clarinetist Rúnar Óskarsson, “an escape from the speed and noise of modern life.”
This two-CD set begins with the longest and greatest of these compositions, the Quintet in B Minor, Op.115, in which Óskarsson is joined by the Siggi String Quartet. Their unhurried tempi in the opening Allegro spotlights Brahms’ intricate instrumental interactions. The hushed Adagio is filled with nostalgic yearning, its slowly drawn-out ending suggesting a reluctance to wake from a beautiful dream. The third movement is treated less like a scherzo than as a fondly remembered echo of the Adagio. In the final Con moto, the “moto” is restrained, closing with a deep, contented sigh.
The Trio in A Minor, Op.114 finds Óskarsson, Siggi Quartet cellist Sigurđur Bjarki Gunnarsson and pianist Helga Bryndía Magnúsdóttir adopting slower-than usual tempi, the opening and closing Allegros sounding more like Andantes, the entire work glowing as if receiving a wonderfully warm, tender caress.
On Disc Two, Óskarsson and Magnúsdóttir bring generous expressivity to the Sonatas, Op.120 - No.1 in F Minor and especially No.2 in E-Flat Major, with its Molto appassionato central movement.
These CDs are ideal accompaniments to late-night, wine-infused introspective reflections, but they offer profoundly rewarding listening at any time of day.
