Classical Music | Clarinet Music

Recorded on 03/09/2011, uploaded on 08/22/2011

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Allegro amabile -- Allegro appassionato -- Andante con moto

Brahms had not paid much attention to the possibilities of the clarinet as a solo instrument until near the end of his life when he became friends with virtuoso clarinetist Richard Mühlfeld.  After producing his marvelously energetic String Quintet No. 2 in 1890, Johannes Brahms announced his retirement from composition.  Less than a year later, however, Brahms found his creativity stirred by the eloquent clarinet playing of Richard Mühlfeld. The clarinetist introduced Brahms to the clarinet’s capabilities–its beauty of sound, extended range, and the almost endless possibilities of virtuosity.

Some of the richest 19th century repertoire utilizing the clarinet was the result of the collaboration between Mühlfeld and Brahms.  In 1894, while summering at Bad Ischl, Brahms wrote the two sonatas of Opus 120 – the first significant full-blown sonatas for clarinet and piano.  Mϋhlfeld premiered both, with Brahms at the piano, on January 7, 1895, in Vienna.

The Sonata in Eb major Op 120 no. 2 with its three movements, captures the mastery of Brahms’s composition technique. His ability in this sonata to interweave his harmonic language and melodic line is considered one of the finest and purest moments in chamber music literature. This sonata was the last chamber piece Brahms wrote before his death and is considered one of the great masterpieces in the clarinet repertoire.    Guy Yehuda

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.