Mozart: Clarinet Quintet K581 / K421 Arcanto Quartett & Jörg Widmann

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791): Clarinet Quintet in A major K581
• 1I. Allegro09:10
• 2II. Larghetto06:07
• 3III. Menuetto07:04
• 4IV. Allegretto con Variazioni09:23
• String Quartet in D minor K421
• 5I. Allegro moderato08:02
• 6II. Andante06:09
• 7III. Menuetto03:48
• 8IV. Allegretto ma non troppo09:01
• Total Runtime58:44

Info zu Mozart: Clarinet Quintet K581 / K421

We owe these two masterpieces to the musical friendships Mozart made during his years in Vienna. The celestial beauties of the Quintet K581 were tailor-made for the great clarinettist Anton Stadler, while the Quartet K421, more severe in tone, is one of the six Mozart dedicated to his ‘caro amico’ Joseph Haydn. Here then is the ideal programme for the four friends of the Arcanto Quartett to show their affinities with the Mozartian repertoire – for the very first time on HighResAudio.

Talk about a dream line-up! Let's start with the Arcanto Quartett. Four of the most celebrated soloists in the world have, for over ten years, been playing together as the ultimate 'super quartet'. Then add Jörg Widmann to the mix. This clarinet wizard has already won our hearts and minds in numerous ways. And now let's get them to play what many people believe to be the most beautiful chamber music that Mozart ever wrote. The Clarinet Quintet, with its gloriously long, spun out, lyrical melodies. Can anything better this? As an appetiser, Arcanto will get things started with Schumann's First String Quartet. Surprisingly enough, this is less frequently performed than his Third. However brilliant the Third may be, the First Quartet really grabs the listener. In it, the composer eagerly contrasts warm themes with thorny rhythms. There are impulsive twists galore, which always feel natural. The music itself is like a living organism, swelling and contracting with the breaths of the performers. One minute it's a whirling tornado; the next it's a peaceful sea of calm. Halfway through the climax there's a ghostly appearance. Schumann makes all this incongruity seem quite natural. Allow yourself to be carried away by this unbridled genius!

“The dry, almost flute-like tone achieved by Jörg Widmann brings perfect poise to the delicate trills and languid undulations of the Allegro, before the exquisite interplay of clarinet and violin in the Larghetto.” (The Independent)

Jörg Widmann, clarinet

Arcanto Quartett:
Antje Weithaas, violin
Daniel Sepec, violin
Tabea Zimmermann, viola
Jean-Guihen Queyras, violoncello

Keine Biografie vorhanden.

Booklet für Mozart: Clarinet Quintet K581 / K421