Any number of star clarinetists have recordings of Brahms' two masterly late clarinet sonatas in their catalogs, and listeners have many versions from which to choose. There may even be a few whose tone is marginally more luxuriant than that of clarinetist Julian Bliss, heard here, but this Signum Classics release, recorded in 2019 and early 2020 in two different locations (nicely mastered together), is in the top rank of Brahms clarinet recordings for several reasons. One is the presence of Bliss' arrangement of the Vier ...
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Any number of star clarinetists have recordings of Brahms' two masterly late clarinet sonatas in their catalogs, and listeners have many versions from which to choose. There may even be a few whose tone is marginally more luxuriant than that of clarinetist Julian Bliss, heard here, but this Signum Classics release, recorded in 2019 and early 2020 in two different locations (nicely mastered together), is in the top rank of Brahms clarinet recordings for several reasons. One is the presence of Bliss' arrangement of the Vier ernste Gesänge, Op. 121 ("Four Serious Songs"), for clarinet and piano; these irregular, deeply philosophical melodies have been arranged for piano solo and for orchestra, but this is apparently the first version for clarinet, and they pair beautifully with the two clarinet sonatas of Op. 120. Pianist James Baillieu has accompanied other clarinetists in the sonatas in the past and has the kind of in-the-bone familiarity needed to join a clarinetist in a deeply detailed reading. That...
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