Sonata for clarinet (or viola) & piano No. 1 in F minor, Op. 120/1
Nachtigall ("O Nachtigall, dein süsser Schall"), song for voice & piano, Op. 97/1
Sonata for clarinet (or viola) & piano No. 2 in E flat major, Op. 120/2
Wiegenlied ("Guten Abend, gut Nacht"), song for voice & piano, Op. 49/4
Songs (2) for alto, viola & piano, Op. 91
Although it is not conceived of or billed as such, these readings of Brahms' clarinet sonatas, in their viola-and-piano versions, might be considered historically oriented performances. The instrumental sound is unusual, largely due to the 1899 Bechstein piano played by Cédric Tiberghien. The contrast with a percussive modern Steinway is fundamental. The instrument has a warm, quiet sound with fantasy-like resonance; backing the Stradivarius viola of Antoine Tamestit, it has a quite uncanny effect of suggesting the hidden ...
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Although it is not conceived of or billed as such, these readings of Brahms' clarinet sonatas, in their viola-and-piano versions, might be considered historically oriented performances. The instrumental sound is unusual, largely due to the 1899 Bechstein piano played by Cédric Tiberghien. The contrast with a percussive modern Steinway is fundamental. The instrument has a warm, quiet sound with fantasy-like resonance; backing the Stradivarius viola of Antoine Tamestit, it has a quite uncanny effect of suggesting the hidden realms into which the viola melodies might lead. Furthermore, the program, featuring baritone Matthias Goerne on a couple of lovely Brahms songs for voice, viola, and piano, plus viola arrangements of other songs, is one that might have been heard in Brahms' time. However, beyond these factors, the most important thing is that Tamestit is a talented Brahms player, with a feeling for the structural pregnancy of movements' opening material and a sense for how it is spun out. The only...
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