Johannes Brahms: Clarinet Sonatas (2020)

performed by András Schiff (piano), Jörg Widmann (clarinet)
composed by Johannes Brahms, Jörg Widmann

Clarinetist Jörg Widmann and pianist András Schiff have performed together for some years, but this ECM release is their recording debut. The history of cooperation stands them in good stead, for these are the kinds of performances that require small adjustments on the part of both players as the music proceeds. Brahms' two late clarinet sonatas are taken in a relaxed way, with each musician giving the other room to bring out small details. This is ideal for these two sonatas, whose nostalgic quality is illusory. They are ... Read More

Clarinetist Jörg Widmann and pianist András Schiff have performed together for some years, but this ECM release is their recording debut. The history of cooperation stands them in good stead, for these are the kinds of performances that require small adjustments on the part of both players as the music proceeds. Brahms' two late clarinet sonatas are taken in a relaxed way, with each musician giving the other room to bring out small details. This is ideal for these two sonatas, whose nostalgic quality is illusory. They are breathtakingly complex, with every turn of the melody, even every voicing of a chord, having deep structural implications, and for the listener, they have an uncanny quality of inviting one into rounds of analysis that will never end. One can be sure that the serialists pored over every note of these pieces, for Brahms is almost in their league. The bankable Schiff gets top billing in the graphics here, but it is Widmann who controls the flow of events, keeping the temperature... Read Less