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Brahms & Carter: Clarinet Quintets / Lieb, Phoenix Ensemble
Navona

Brahms & Carter: Clarinet Quintets / Lieb, Phoenix Ensemble

$8.49
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Details

Composer
BRAHMS CARTER
Artist
Lieb
Format
CD
Label
Navona
Released
Nov 09, 2018
Catalog #
NV6193
UPC
896931004930

About

The Phoenix Ensemble’s latest album Johannes Brahms / Elliott Carter: Clarinet Quintets is, of course, masterful. The Phoenix Ensemble now looks back on almost three decades of being a fixture in the national chamber music scene, focusing on performances and recordings of 20th- and 21st-century music. Indeed, it may be this particular specialization in complex musical structures that allows the musicians to explore Brahms' late quintet with the previously unheard thoroughness and careful reconnaissance displayed on this album. Strikingly, both faster movements in the work – the opening “I. Allegro” and the closing “IV. Con moto” – are examined more slowly, with deep profundity. Contrary to what one may expect, the work is enriched by reining in the tempo, enlarging the underlying thought process of Brahms' compositional technique as if viewed through a magnifying glass. But there's yet another artistic merit to this measure – unifying all four movements of Brahms’ quintet in terms of speed also makes them fit perfectly with the otherwise vastly different Clarinet Quintet (2007) by Elliott Carter, a work that consists of movements which blend into one another. The ensemble's previously restrained rhythmic energy is fully unleashed in this structurally dense contemporary composition, culminating in an enigmatic finale. In between, the listener finds the most delightful intermezzo in Carter's standalone piece Esprit Rude/Esprit Doux (1985), in itself, as the title suggests, a work of contrasts, thus bridging the gap between the centuries. But the work, and indeed this album, accomplishes more than that. In fact, with Phoenix Ensemble's two-fold skill of navigating of dissimilar musical languages, yet finding the common denominator between them, this record might just open up the eyes of Brahms lovers to the music by Carter – and vice versa.

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REVIEW:

The playing in the Carter quintet is assured and confident, as one would expect from contemporary music specialists. This is also a slightly different team from that in the Brahms. I have no complaints about the recording. The disc is housed in a cardboard sleeve rather than a jewel case and the booklet notes, in English only, are printed reversed out (white lettering on a dark ground), which does not make for easy reading. If the programme suits, don’t hesitate.

– MusicWeb International

Tracklist 10 tracks

  1. 1 I. Allegro 14:12
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Allegro
    Duration
    14:12
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Ensemble
    Phoenix Ensemble
  2. 2 II. Adagio - Più lento 11:46
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Adagio - Più lento
    Duration
    11:46
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Ensemble
    Phoenix Ensemble
  3. 3 III. Andantino - Presto non assai, ma con sentimento 04:52
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Andantino - Presto non assai, ma con sentimento
    Duration
    04:52
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Ensemble
    Phoenix Ensemble
  4. 4 IV. Con moto 10:10
    Track
    4
    Title
    IV. Con moto
    Duration
    10:10
    Composer
    Johannes Brahms
    Ensemble
    Phoenix Ensemble
  5. 5 Esprit rude/esprit doux 05:07
    Track
    5
    Title
    Esprit rude/esprit doux
    Duration
    05:07
    Composer
    Elliott Carter
    Performer
    Anna Urrey, Mark Lieb
  6. 6 I. Allegro non troppo 02:10
    Track
    6
    Title
    I. Allegro non troppo
    Duration
    02:10
    Composer
    Elliott Carter
    Ensemble
    Phoenix Ensemble
  7. 7 II. Meno mosso 04:36
    Track
    7
    Title
    II. Meno mosso
    Duration
    04:36
    Composer
    Elliott Carter
    Ensemble
    Phoenix Ensemble
  8. 8 III. Adagio 03:16
    Track
    8
    Title
    III. Adagio
    Duration
    03:16
    Composer
    Elliott Carter
    Ensemble
    Phoenix Ensemble
  9. 9 IV. Presto 01:07
    Track
    9
    Title
    IV. Presto
    Duration
    01:07
    Composer
    Elliott Carter
    Ensemble
    Phoenix Ensemble
  10. 10 V. Meno mosso 01:59
    Track
    10
    Title
    V. Meno mosso
    Duration
    01:59
    Composer
    Elliott Carter
    Ensemble
    Phoenix Ensemble