Quintets for Clarinet & Strings The Gaudier Ensemble

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791): Clarinet Quintet in A Major, K. 581:
• 1 Mozart: Clarinet Quintet in A Major, K. 581: I. Allegro 09:44
• 2 Mozart: Clarinet Quintet in A Major, K. 581: II. Larghetto 06:36
• 3 Mozart: Clarinet Quintet in A Major, K. 581: III. Menuetto - Trio 1 -Trio 2 07:10
• 4 Mozart: Clarinet Quintet in A Major, K. 581: IV. Allegretto con variazioni 10:16
• Gordon Jacob (1895 - 1984): Clarinet Quintet:
• 5 Jacob: Clarinet Quintet: I. Tempo moderato 07:38
• 6 Jacob: Clarinet Quintet: II. Allegro con brio 06:29
• 7 Jacob: Clarinet Quintet: III. Rhapsody: Poco lento 06:42
• 8 Jacob: Clarinet Quintet: IV. Introduction, Theme and Variations 10:08
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Clarinet Quintet Fragment in B-flat, K. 516c:
• 9 Mozart: Clarinet Quintet Fragment in B-flat, K. 516c (Completed by Duncan Druce) 08:26
• Total Runtime 01:13:09

Info zu Quintets for Clarinet & Strings

This recording brings together three closely related works for clarinet and strings, linking Classical elegance with 20th-century English lyricism. At it’s heart is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet in A major, K.581, written for Anton Stadler and one of the defining masterpieces of the clarinet repertoire. From the poised opening Allegro to the intimate, aria-like Larghetto and the finely judged closing variations, Mozart places the clarinet at the centre of a richly expressive chamber dialogue. Gordon Jacob’s Clarinet Quintet (1940), composed for Frederick Thurston, reflects a clear admiration for Mozart’s clarity of form while speaking in a distinctly English voice. Concise, lyrical and expertly balanced, the work moves from an autumnal opening through urgency and rhapsodic reflection to a characterful set of variations. The program concludes with a rarity: the unfinished Allegro of a second Mozart clarinet quintet, completed by Duncan Druce, offering an intriguing glimpse of a work Mozart never completed. Performed by the Gaudier Ensemble with clarinettist Richard Hosford, this recording combines stylistic authority with warm, natural chamber sound, the clarinet’s expressive range and it’s evolution across two centuries.

Richard Hosford, clarinet
The Gaudier Ensemble

Richard Hosford
is one of Britain's outstanding clarinetists. He has a busy career both as a soloist and as chamber musician, as well as being Principal Clarinet with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and the BBC Symphony.

As a founder member of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Richard Hosford has toured the world, performing as a soloist with conductors Claudio Abbado, Sir Colin Davis, Michael Tilson Thomas, Oscar Shumsky, Sir Roger Norrington, Gerard Korsten and Paavo Berglund. Richard has recorded the Mozart and Copland concertos with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and Alexander Schneider on ASV.

Richard was for several years Principal Clarinet with the London Philharmonic before taking up the same position with the BBC Symphony in 1994. This enables him to pursue his chamber music and solo career alongside his orchestral commitments.

Richard Hosford is a committed chamber musician and has recorded all the major repertoire for wind ensemble with the Wind Soloists of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and has toured with them throughout the world. He has recorded with the chamber ensemble Domus, and the Florestan Piano Trio. He is a leading member of the Gaudier Ensemble and has recorded many works for strings and wind with them including an outstanding Jean Françaix disc featuring the Clarinet Quintet. In 1998 he became a member of the Nash Ensemble and has recorded all the major chamber works of Poulenc with them.

Richard's recording of the Brahms Clarinet Quintet, with the Nash Ensemble on the Wigmore Hall Live label, was released in March 2006. It has received excellent reviews, being given the accolade of benchmark performance in the BBC Music Magazine. The disc also includes Schumann's Fairy Tales for clarinet, viola and piano.

In recent years his recordings of the Copland Concerto and the Brahms Trio have both been rated "First choice" by BBC Radio 3 CD Review.

Richard's recording of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's Clarinet Quintet, with the Nash Ensemble, was released in October 2007 on the Hyperion label. The disc also includes the composer's lovely Piano Quintet.

Richard Hosford has played Peter Eaton clarinets since 1984 and bought a new pair in 2013. "I feel that the warmth and flexible response of Peter Eaton Elite clarinets helps me to achieve as varied and expressive a sound as possible. They are made to a very high standard indeed."

The Gaudier Ensemble
is a group of outstanding European musicians who come together to perform and record the chamber music repertoire for wind, strings and piano, bringing with them an international outlook and style. Its members have distinguished themselves as soloists, chamber musicians, and orchestral principals now working with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, English Chamber Orchestra, The Philharmonia and Nordeutsche Rundfunk orchestra. A two-year residency at Kettle's Yard in the University of Cambridge enabled them to develop their repertoire and establish their distinctive musical identity, before going on to forge an international concert and recording career.

In June 1989 The Gaudier Ensemble made their London debut at the Wigmore Hall and Anthony Payne of The Independent concluded that theirs was 'chamber music playing of the very highest order'. In 1990, their first recording of the Schubert Octet was recommended as first choice by David Murray on the BBC Radio 3 feature Building a Library, and subsequently featured as a Record of the Week by both the BBC World Service and The Sunday Times. Their growing reputation was confirmed by Andrew Clements of the Financial Times who placed them firmly 'in the first rank of chamber groups', and in 1993 their recording of the Beethoven Septet and Sextet was hailed as 'first rate on all counts' by Gramophone.

The Gaudier Ensemble's regular tours include appearances in major concert halls and festivals throughout Europe. In the UK these have included the Cheltenham and Edinburgh International Festivals , the Wigmore Hall, and BBC Lunchtime Concerts from St John's Smith Square, the Wigmore Hall and St George's, Brandon Hill. In Holland they have played in the Rotterdam Schubertiade and the Chamber Music series of the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and in Germany in the Hannover Gesellschaft fur Neue Musikls Hommage fur Gubaidalina Festival (broadcast live by Nord Deutsche Rundfunk) and the Schleswig Holstein and Niedersachsen Festivals.

In July 1991 they inaugurated their own annual chamber music festival in Cerne Abbas, Dorset, and in 1997 started another annual Festival in Leersum, Holland. The Gaudier Ensemble's recordings for Hyperion include the Spohr Octet and Nonet, the Piano and String Quintets of Dvorak, two discs of works by Berwald and a recording of works by Jean Françaix.

Booklet für Quintets for Clarinet & Strings