Reinecke & Brahms - Eric Le Sage - Audio CD (Arrives in 50 days)

Eric Le Sage and Paul Meyer have been playing together since they were 17. Brahms' sonatas are the perfect setting to celebrate these years of shared music! Five years before Brahms' sonatas, Reinecke, a great romantic composer inspired by Schumann, reissues his famous flute and piano sonata 'Undine' in a revised version for the clarinet.

“Paul and I have long wanted to record Reinecke’s work, it is another aspect of Romanticism, less austere than the last works of Brahms, easier to access. Rarely recorded on the clarinet, this sonata could be the link between Schumann’s or Mendelssohn’s early masterpieces and Brahms' mature pieces. Heroic, lyrical and varied, rich in rebound and storytelling, as one would say nowadays, the four movements that make up the ‘Undine’ Sonata are a masterful introduction to musical romanticism that we are very pleased to present in a new recording to celebrate these forty years of collaboration.” - Eric Le Sage

Carl Reinecke’s ‘Undine’ sonata, famous in the romantic repertoire for flute and piano, is now available in a clarinet version thanks to a recent edition by Dr. Irmlind Capelle (Wiener Urtext Edition), published in 1885 by the composer himself. Like Brahms and Schumann, who, at the time, transcribed their clarinet works for other instruments, Reinecke made significant adjustments to adapt this piece to the characteristics of the clarinet, notably by octaving certain passages, changing the nuances and adding elements to the mid-register of the instrument. This little-known version of the ‘Undine’ sonata is a valuable contribution to the Romantic repertoire for clarinet and piano, alongside Reinecke’s other works for this instrument. In 1891, during a stay at the Meiningen court with his friend Widmann, Brahms had an unexpected encounter that revived his creativity. This meeting led to the composition of four new chamber music works for clarinet, marking the summit of his artistic serenity. Brahms found inspiration by befriending clarinetist Richard von Mühlfeld, whom he admired for his technical mastery and exceptional playfulness. This encouraged him to compose a Trio (op. 114) and a Quintet (op. 115) highlighting the qualities of the clarinet.

Three years later, Brahms, after a trying period marked by the deaths of close friends, composed two sonatas for clarinet and piano, expressing his melancholy and poetry through the sonority of the clarinet. The Sonata op. 120 n°1 in F minor features contrasting movements rich in themes, while the Sonata op. 120 n°2 in E flat major follows a similar treatment with varied emotions, ranging from dark melancholy to pastoral spirit. These works illustrate Brahms' expressive and meditative style, with thematic abundance, emotional variations, and elements of scherzo and rhapsody. The composer concluded his contribution to chamber music by using the genre of variations, a recurring feature of his musical career since its beginning.

Tracklist

1. Reinecke: Undine, Sonate Pour Piano Et Clarinette Op.167 I.
2. Reinecke: Undine, Sonate Pour Piano Et Clarinette Op.167 Ii.
3. Reinecke: Undine, Sonate Pour Piano Et Clarinette Op.167 Iii
4. Reinecke: Undine, Sonate Pour Piano Et Clarinette Op.167 Iv.
5. Brahms: Sonate Pour Clarinette Et Piano Op.120 No.1 I.
6. Brahms: Sonate Pour Clarinette Et Piano Op.120 No.1 Ii.
7. Brahms: Sonate Pour Clarinette Et Piano Op.120 No.1 Iv.
8. Brahms: Sonate Pour Clarinette Et Piano Op.120 No.2 I.
9. Brahms: Sonate Pour Clarinette Et Piano Op.120 No.2 Ii.
10. Brahms: Sonate Pour Clarinette Et Piano Op.120 No.2 Iii.

Label: Sony Classical | Origin: Holland