Biographies

Program Notes

Johannes Brahms’s Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115

it was written in 1891 for the clarinettist Richard Mühlfeld. At the time Brahms started composing his Clarinet Quintet, only a few works had been composed for this unique type of ensemble- a string quartet (2 violins, viola and cello) with clarinet. Today there are still not a lot of compositions with this combination of instruments and other than the Mozart Clarinet Quintet, the Brahms remains the best and most loved works in the chamber music repertoire.

Brahms had retired from composing when he heard Richard Mühlfeld play and he was so inspired by the clarinet sounds that he composed the Clarinet Quintet and his Clarinet Trio Op. 114, both of them for Mühlfeld. He later also composed his two Clarinet Sonatas Op. 120.

The quintet received its first private performance on 24 November 1891 in Meiningen, Germany with Richard Mühlfeld and the Joachim Quartet, led by Joseph Joachim who often collaborated with Brahms. The public premiere was on 12 December 1891 in Berlin.

It soon received performances across Europe, including London and Vienna both with the original and other ensembles. The work consists of four movements, all with different tempi and characters but ending surprisingly soft.

Rondo, allegro giocoso from Carl Maria von Weber’s Clarinet Quintet in B flat Major

Carl Maria von Weber was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and critic who was one of the first significant composers of the Romantic era. Carl was born to a musical family- his father was a gifted violinist and had high hopes that Carl could be a prodigy like Mozart. Although not exactly a prodigy, he was extremely accomplished and was a capable singer and pianist in his earliest years, despite being born with a congenital hip disorder and unable to walk until he was four.

Best known for his operas, he was a crucial figure in the development of German Romantic opera. He did however have a modest output of non-operatic compositions., among them several significant works for the clarinet, usually written for the virtuoso clarinetist Heinrich Baermann. The complete work consists of four movements but tonight we will play just the final movement which is lively and playful.

Carol of the Bells/God Rest You Merry Gentlemen

Composed in 1916 by Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych and titled “Shchedryk”, which is the Ukrainian word for “bountiful”, the song Carol of the Bells, tells the tale of a swallow flying into a household to proclaim the plentiful year that the family will have. The piece is based on a four note folk chant and was commissioned by the Ukrainian Republic Choir. The arrangement performed this evening is one for solo violin and strings (the second violin played by the clarinet) and combines the work with the traditional English Christmas carol, God Rest You Merry Gentlemen creating a fun and virtuosic rendition of both.