Weber - Clarinet Concertos, Concertino - Neidich, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra

 

Release Date: 03/16/1993 Label: Deutsche Grammophon Number of discs: 1 Composer: Carl Maria von Weber Performer: Charles Neidich, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra cd info/ buy

Review:

"If you want these concertos on modern instruments, Charles Neidlich meets every need. His tone is beautiful, his phrasing warmly musical..." (The Penguin Guide) Charles Neidich has gained worldwide recognition as one of the most mesmerizing virtuosos on his instrument. With a tone of hypnotic beauty and a dazzling technique, Mr. Neidich has received unanimous accolades from critics and fellow musicians both in the United States and abroad; but it is his musical intelligence in scores as diverse as Mozart and Elliott Carter that have earned for Mr. Neidich a unique place among clarinetists.  In the words of The New Yorker, "He's an artist of uncommon merit—a master of his instrument and, beyond that, an interpreter who keeps listeners hanging on each phrase."

 

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Krommer and Spohr - Clarinet Concertos – Sabine Meyer, Julian Bliss, ASMF

Release Date: July 17, 2007 Label: EMI Number of discs: 1 Composer: Krommer, Spohr Performer: Sabine Meyer, Julian Bliss, ASMF cd info/ buy

Review:

Things begin in the lightest possible mood with Franz Krommer's Concerto for Two Clarinets (1815). Krommer (1759-1831) was the Czech (or, more precisely, Moravian) composer who did the bulk of his writing in Hungary and Austria, which at the time were among the music capitals of the world. Most of his hundred-odd works were symphonies, concertos, partitas (instrumental suites of variations), chamber music, and marches. The opening movement of the Concerto is as frothy and cheerful as it could be, the two young clarinetists, Sabine Meyer and Julian Bliss, seeming to have a good time in the give-and-take communication of their instruments. The second movement Adagio, however, seems to belong to a different work altogether, Don Giovanni perhaps, heavy and ponderous. Still, things lighten up again in the Finale, and in every case Kenneth Sillito and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields provide elegant support, if lacking a little of the gusto they used to produce under Marriner. Then we move on to the most serious piece on the disc, Louis Spohr's Clarinet Concerto No. 4, with Ms. Meyer as soloist. Spohr (1784-1859) was the German violinist, conductor, and composer who briefly lit up the European musical skies as a figure almost as well known as Beethoven. Although today we remember him mainly for his oratorios and the work he did to develop the music drama, in his day critics considered his orchestral pieces as fine as Mozart's. How things change with the years. Slightly gloomy, sonorous, yet elevated, not only is the mood of the Clarinet Concerto No. 4 serious, but the orchestration is the most weighty of the three pieces in the collection, too, especially compared to the Krommer concerto. The program concludes with the music that strikes me as having the best balance between earnestness and lightheartedness, Spohr's Clarinet Concerto No. 2, lively and melodic. EMI's sound is lovely, radiating a sweet, natural, ambient bloom. The orchestra appears well spread out across the sound stage, the soloists are nicely centered when necessary, and the imaging conveys a realistic sense of depth and presence. It's all a most-pleasant experience.--JJP

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Weber - Overtures & Clarinet Concerto No.1 - R. Kubelik

Weber - Overtures & Clarinet Concerto No.1 - R. Kubelik
Orchestral | Eac, flac, cue | log, cover | 1 CD, 311 MB
April 13, 2004 | DG | RapidShare

Rafael Kubelik recorded with many orchestras. As a matter of fact, his set of Beethoven symphonies has 9 different orchestras. His longest tenure with any single orchestra was with the Bavarian Radio Symphony (Munich). He had a very special relationship with this orchestra. There is an enormous amount of warmth in the Weber overtures performed here but there is also plenty of brilliance, especially in Oberon. If you do not have a CD of Weber overtures, this is the set to get.


CD Content

# Der Freischütz, overture to the opera
Composed by Carl Maria von Weber
Performed by Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Rafael Kubelik

# Oberon, overture to the opera
Composed by Carl Maria von Weber
Performed by Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Rafael Kubelik

# Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in F minor, J. 114 (Op. 73)
Composed by Carl Maria von Weber
Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
with Karl Leister
Conducted by Rafael Kubelik

# Euryanthe, opera, J. 291, (Op. 81) Overture
Composed by Carl Maria von Weber
Performed by Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Rafael Kubelik

# Abu Hassan, overture to the opera
Composed by Carl Maria von Weber
Performed by Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Rafael Kubelik

# Preciosa, incidental music for soloist, chorus & orchestra, J. 279 (Op. 78) Overture
Composed by Carl Maria von Weber
Performed by Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Rafael Kubelik

# Jubel-Ouvertüre for orchestra in E major, J. 245 (Op. 59)
Composed by Carl Maria von Weber
Performed by Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Rafael Kubelik