Krommer, F.: Divertimento in F Major, Op. 96 / Piano Quarte

Classical Music

Classical Music

Czech composer Franz Krommer, a contemporary of Mozart and Haydn, did not gain the fame in Vienna that his fellow composers achieved. For this recording, Tudor has gathered three of Krommer’s flute quartets. These works contrast the string quartets of Haydn and Mozart in that the virtuosity required of the flute in Krommer’s works is far beyond that required of the violin in the string works. Renowned flutist Andreas Blau has taken on this challenge, joined by violinist Christoph Streuli, violist Ulrich Knorzer, and cellist David Riniker.

One of the least explored and potentially most rewarding musical niches of the Classical period is the extensive repertoire of wind ensemble music composed by innumerable fine composers, most of them Czech. Franz Krommer is certainly one of the most successful of this great school. His wind Partitas are genuine symphonies scored for pairs of oboes, clarinets, bassoons, and horns, with a double bass or contrabassoon added to firm up the bass line. Actually, Op. 45 No. 2 tosses a trumpet into the mix as well, while the early Partita in E-flat (which may or may not be by Krommer) is a true double horn concerto with wind accompaniment. Krommer's music, like Haydn's, artfully mixes formal ingenuity with folk-influenced melodies (particularly in the minuets and finales), and demonstrates the exceptionally high standard of performance typical of contemporary players, horns in particular. The Michael Thompson Wind Ensemble has been working its way through this repertoire in a series of excellent Naxos recordings, of which this is certainly one. The players attack each piece with enthusiasm and the superb technique necessary to sustain such lengthy and complex music as the First Partita's second movement Romance. Charm, wit, sophistication--Krommer has all of these qualities, and these performances will delight you.

--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

He is perhaps best known now for his clarinet concertos, to which his quartets including the instrument form a not insubstantial pendant: they, too, are full of virtuosic writing for the instrument, who placed forward in a soloistic position, with the string parts mostly moving together to accompany it. In the late Clarinet Quintet, however, the instruments enjoy a more equal balance of the kind familiar from Brahms's chamber music for the instrument: indeed, in the opening movement's fugue, the clarinet is the last voice to enter. Here the harmonies are cloudier, more Romantically inclined, and a more reflective spirit presides even in the quick outer movements: there is a rapt and melancholic Andante which deserves far greater popularity. These new recordings come from Dutch instrumentalists who have specialized in this repertoire. As principal clarinettist of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra for many years, Henk de Graaf has recorded Mozart's Clarinet Concerto (as soloist) and much chamber music from the late-Classical/Early Romantic period by Crusell, Weber, Spohr and others.

Classical Music

When Franz Krommer wrote the three wind partitas presented on this recording (between 1808 and 1810) the Harmonie-Musik tradition was waning, making these some of the last examples of this once widely-practiced genre. Scored for pairs of oboes, clarinets, horns, and bassoons, they gain added ceremonial nobility with the addition of contra-bassoon. Listeners new to this music also will note the high, penetrating clarinet parts in C for the Op. 76 Partita and the many flamboyant arpeggio passages for second horn throughout Op. 69. Both techniques recall outdoor styles of the late 1700s.


These new performances by the Michael Thompson Wind Ensemble are of very high order and have been pleasingly recorded in a bright-sounding church acoustic that suits this extrovert music particularly well. This account of Op. 79 supplants an older analog version by the Nash Ensemble, with well-focused if quite closely miked sound and playing that's more technically refined and better blended. Op. 76 has been recorded previously by the Meyer Wind Ensemble for EMI, but that performance is outclassed here by superior playing and a brilliant sense of comedy. For an enticing sample, try the final Rondo! Highly recommended.
--Michael Jameson, ClassicsToday.com

Includes work(s) by Franz Krommer. Soloists: Nancy Ambrose-King, Solomia Soroka, Natalia Khoma, Eva Stern, Joseph Kam.

KROMMER: Clarinet Concertos Opp. 35, 36 and 91

KROMMER: Partitas for Wind Ensemble Op. 57, 71 and 78