Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

[Brahmsian]

My chamber music sequencing has brought me to the Clarinet Trio, op.114. As performed by Pressler, Greenhouse, Pieterson.

[asin]B00000416K[/asin]

Crazily, it's been over 4 years since I listened to this, but it might as well have been yesterday. Because this is one of those pieces I fell totally in love with. In fact, one of the reasons I started developing spreadsheets and some kind of listening plan is so that I didn't just keep going back to the same works over and over - for example, so that every time I thought "Brahms chamber music" I didn't just head for the Clarinet Trio.

That special Brahmsian reticence, combined with the mellowness of clarinet and cello, is just perfect for me. Every one of the movements works. I don't even know which one I'd nominate as a favourite if pressed, I could probably narrow it down to the 1st and 2nd but between those it would be a toss-up.

I know general opinion seems to favour the Clarinet Quintet over the Clarinet Trio, and I do thoroughly enjoy the Quintet, but personally the Trio has a very special magic.

Same here.  Absolutely adore the beautiful Clarinet Quintet, but I find the Trio even more compelling.  Along with the two clarinet sonatas. 

[San Antone]

Same here.  Absolutely adore the beautiful Clarinet Quintet, but I find the Trio even more compelling.  Along with the two clarinet sonatas. 

A few days ago I was listening to this recording which has all those works on one disc in excellent recordings.

[asin]B000C847KO[/asin]

[Brahmsian]

A few days ago I was listening to this recording which has all those works on one disc in excellent recordings.

[asin]B000C847KO[/asin]

Very nice.  That set receives a lot of praise. 

[Pretorious]

I just recently heard the Frost recording of the sonatas and trio and was completely impressed. Excellent playing and feeling, and that was a little unexpected by me for some reason I can't quite put my finger on. However, the Philips set with Pressler is also excellent; can't go wrong with either.

[Madiel]

No surprise that I've moved on to the charms of the Clarinet Quintet.

I love the lyrical grace with which the 1st movement opens. For some reason that opening theme sounds a little French to me when the clarinet gets involved! The movement does have its more forceful moments, but lyricism is the dominant impression.

The 2nd movement gives similar impressions of melodies unfolding, although it does some dramatic things in the middle section I can't quite get a handle on (no listening guide for this one! curses!). The 3rd movement is somewhat similar, an easygoing section followed by the 'real' scherzo, more agitated.

Then the theme and variations finale shifts in mood as it goes, but it's always lyrical melody unfolding. It should be obvious by now that this is the overwhelming impression I get from the whole piece.

I do like it, but at least in the performance I have (Berlin Philharmonic Octet members), it just doesn't hit me in the same way as the Clarinet Trio. The brighter sound, though yearning and still autumnal, doesn't make me respond in quite the same way. I somehow wish I liked it more than I do.

The very opening of the piece is probably my favourite part!

[Madiel]

A guide to my listening pace... I started this survey of 24 Brahms chamber works on 28 July, 2014.

And now I'm up to the 23rd work, the Clarinet Sonata No.1

[asin]B0001B0A8K[/asin]

Another sign of my often leisurely place... I feel like I want to say the clarinet sonatas are a relatively recent purchase, only thing is my initial listen to them was in March/April 2014. 

The 1st movement allegro appassionato doesn't feel all that 'allegro' initially, at least in this recording, but it certainly feel like a very dense work, full of different ideas and moods, and some of it most certainly is passionate. It's also got plenty of moments with that special Brahmsian autumnal reticence. I ended up listening to this movement several times in a row and using one of those listening guides I've previously mentioned (http://www.kellydeanhansen.com/opus120-1.html) not because I wasn't getting enjoyment out of the movement but because it was even better once I had more of a grasp of the form. It is indeed a sonata form, but the 'joins' are very well hidden.

The 2nd movement is warm and sweet-natured and untroubled in comparison. The 3rd movement is also mild, more a mid-paced waltz than a scherzo. It's rather lovely actually.

And then the finale is positively bouncy! Well, okay, it's late Brahms so it's not just a complete perpetual motion or anything, but the mood is most definitely bright, with only one episode that suggests darker moods. Really, it feels like the 1st movement has set you up to expect a certain kind of work, and the 3rd/4th movements don't fulfil that expectation.

But the piece isn't any less satisfying for subverting expectations. Another fine work that I'll have to try and put in rotation a little more often! But then the queue is always so long...

[North Star]

And now I'm up to the 23rd work, the Clarinet Sonata No.1

Another sign of my often leisurely place... I feel like I want to say the clarinet sonatas are a relatively recent purchase, only thing is my initial listen to them was in March/April 2014. 
...
But the piece isn't any less satisfying for subverting expectations. Another fine work that I'll have to try and put in rotation a little more often! But then the queue is always so long...

Gosh, I see it's time I revisited Brahms's chamber works, too - they feel like old friends to me, but I've managed to neglect them for a while.
Listening to Op. 120 no. 1 now, (King/Benson for me as well). It's true that the mood of the first movement might make one expect that the rest of the work is more stormy as well, but - as you say - the road it takes isn't any less satisfying. And surely anyone would want to eventually find relief from the tempestuousness of the first movement in real life, too.

[Jo498]

Don't postpone op.120/2; it's probably my favorite Brahms sonata!
The f minor I am not so sure about; I am not too fond of the "bubbling", happy finale.

[Brahmsian]

A guide to my listening pace... I started this survey of 24 Brahms chamber works on 28 July, 2014.

And now I'm up to the 23rd work, the Clarinet Sonata No.1

[asin]B0001B0A8K[/asin]

Another sign of my often leisurely place... I feel like I want to say the clarinet sonatas are a relatively recent purchase, only thing is my initial listen to them was in March/April 2014. 

The 1st movement allegro appassionato doesn't feel all that 'allegro' initially, at least in this recording, but it certainly feel like a very dense work, full of different ideas and moods, and some of it most certainly is passionate. It's also got plenty of moments with that special Brahmsian autumnal reticence. I ended up listening to this movement several times in a row and using one of those listening guides I've previously mentioned (http://www.kellydeanhansen.com/opus120-1.html) not because I wasn't getting enjoyment out of the movement but because it was even better once I had more of a grasp of the form. It is indeed a sonata form, but the 'joins' are very well hidden.

The 2nd movement is warm and sweet-natured and untroubled in comparison. The 3rd movement is also mild, more a mid-paced waltz than a scherzo. It's rather lovely actually.

And then the finale is positively bouncy! Well, okay, it's late Brahms so it's not just a complete perpetual motion or anything, but the mood is most definitely bright, with only one episode that suggests darker moods. Really, it feels like the 1st movement has set you up to expect a certain kind of work, and the 3rd/4th movements don't fulfil that expectation.

But the piece isn't any less satisfying for subverting expectations. Another fine work that I'll have to try and put in rotation a little more often! But then the queue is always so long...

Love, love, love the Op. 120 sonatas, especially the # 1 F minor.  A top 5 favourite Brahms' chamber work of mine, to be sure!    Please, do check out the viola transcriptions of the sonatas as well.  I hope you will find them equally satisfying, as I do.

[Madiel]

Don't postpone op.120/2; it's probably my favorite Brahms sonata!

I'm actually kind of glad that I did hold off a while, so that I could hear it as an entirely 'separate' piece.

Because I am loving it. It's got this wonderful balance between relaxation and energy. It's basically sunny, but every and now then it swings into something more intense. But it never goes too far. The shifts are never jarring.

I think perhaps the final theme and variations isn't quite on the same level for me as the rest, a little more static than I'd like for a finale, but it's still pretty enjoyable.

[jlaurson]

This probably belongs here more than in the WAYLN thread.

Hm, I think I've got enough for the next few years ... put this list together so I know what's around:

#1-4
1939/40 - Weingartner, LPO/LSO
1948-52 - Furtwängler, BP
1951/52 - Toscanini, NBC
1951-56 - Jochum, BP
1956/57 - Klemperer, Phil
1957-63 - Dorati, LSO/MSO
1959/60 - Walter, ColSO
1959-63 - Sawallisch, WS
1960-64 - Bernstein, NYPhil
1963 - Ansermet, OSR
1975 - Böhm, WP
1976 - Jochum, LPO
1977/78 - Karajan, BP
1982/83 - Wand, NDR
1988-91 - Abbado, BP
2007/08 - Gardiner, ORR
2010 - Zinman, Tonhalle

You show me yours, I'll show you mine. 




Abbado, BPh, DG


Berglund, COE, Ondine


Chailly, LGW, Decca


Eschenbach, Houston, Virgin-Erato
★★★(★)


Furtwaengler, WPh & BPh, EMI


Gielen, SWR SO BB&F, Hänssler


Giulini, Philharmonia, EMI-Warner


Haitink, RCO, Decca


Janowski, Pittsburgh, Pentatone
★★★(★)


Levine, WPh, DG


Rattle, BPh, EMI
★★★★★ (Review)


Thielemann, WPh, DG


Wand, NDR, RCA
★★★★★


Wand, NDR live, RCA

Elsewhere I am rather certain that I have a few more -- HvK 70s, Mackerras & Celi.

[Jo498]

I think I have too many already, but - not surprisingly - less than you guys:

Toscanini/NBC (RCA)
Furtwängler/BPO (Music & Arts)
Walter/NYPO (Sony)
Jochum/BPO (DG)
Klemperer/Philharmonia (EMI)
Sanderling/Dresden (RCA)
Wand/NDR (RCA)
Karajan/DG (I think a mix of 1980s and 70s, one of the latest twofers)
Giulini/VPO (Newton/DG)

Earlier this year I decided that I should weed out some CDs and the Brahms symphonies would be a major candidate. But so far I have only sorted out an earlier single disc Karajan #1 (60s DG) and Toscanini 2nd that became obsolete with the complete set (and I do not need the coupled Haydn variations, I think).

And I have another 6 or 7 singles of #1...

[Scion7]

I will never let go of the Karajan 1960's DG LP's (or CD's if I had them) - those were award-winners and they sound great.
Also have the Brahms' symphonies with Solti/Chicago SO.

[Sergeant Rock]

Complete Cycles

JOCHUM/LPO
MACKERRAS/SCOTTISH CHAMBER
KLEMPERER/PHILH
BARENBOIM/CHICAGO
MAAZEL/CLEVELAND
DOHNÁNYI/CLEVELAND
SZELL/CLEVELAND
FURTWÄNGLER(M&A)
FURTWÄNGLER (ARCHIPEL)
SANDERLING/STAATSKAPELLE DRESDEN
WAND/SONDR
CELIBIDACHE/MUNICH PHIL
GIELEN/SWR SO BADEN BADEN
ESCHENBACH/HOUSTON
BERNSTEIN/VIENNA PHIL

Single Symphonies

No.1

SOLTI/CHICAGO
PAITA   /NATIONAL PO
IVAN FISCHER/BUDAPEST FEST
GIULINI/LOS ANGELES

No.2

NORRINGTON/LONDON CLASS
GIULINI/LOS ANGELES
GIULINI/VIENNA PHIL

No.3

ABENDROTH/RSO LEIPZIG
NORRINGTON/LONDON CLASS
BOULT/BBC SO
KARAJAN/VIENNA PHIL

No.4

ABENDROTH/RSO LEIPZIG
ESCHENBACH/SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN
NAGANO/DSO BERLIN
KLEIBER/VIENNA PHIL
NORRINGTON/LONDON CLASS
GIULINI/CHICAGO
STEINBERG/PITTSBURGH
LOUGHRAN/HALLÉ
FISCHER-DIESKAU/CZECH PHIL
STOKOWSKI/NEW PHILHARMONIA



Sarge

[Dancing Divertimentian]

NAGANO/DSO BERLIN

That there is a mighty fine sleeper.

[kishnevi]

Complete Cycles

JOCHUM/LPO
MACKERRAS/SCOTTISH CHAMBER
KLEMPERER/PHILH
BARENBOIM/CHICAGO
MAAZEL/CLEVELAND
DOHNÁNYI/CLEVELAND
SZELL/CLEVELAND
FURTWÄNGLER(M&A)
FURTWÄNGLER (ARCHIPEL)
SANDERLING/STAATSKAPELLE DRESDEN
WAND/SONDR
CELIBIDACHE/MUNICH PHIL
GIELEN/SWR SO BADEN BADEN
ESCHENBACH/HOUSTON
BERNSTEIN/VIENNA PHIL

Single Symphonies

No.1

SOLTI/CHICAGO
PAITA   /NATIONAL PO
IVAN FISCHER/BUDAPEST FEST
GIULINI/LOS ANGELES

No.2

NORRINGTON/LONDON CLASS
GIULINI/LOS ANGELES
GIULINI/VIENNA PHIL

No.3

ABENDROTH/RSO LEIPZIG
NORRINGTON/LONDON CLASS
BOULT/BBC SO
KARAJAN/VIENNA PHIL

No.4

ABENDROTH/RSO LEIPZIG
ESCHENBACH/SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN
NAGANO/DSO BERLIN
KLEIBER/VIENNA PHIL
NORRINGTON/LONDON CLASS
GIULINI/CHICAGO
STEINBERG/PITTSBURGH
LOUGHRAN/HALLÉ
FISCHER-DIESKAU/CZECH PHIL
STOKOWSKI/NEW PHILHARMONIA



Sarge

Not anything from Gardiner? Nor Haitink? And only 1 from Karajan?

As best I recall  I have
Eschenbach
Solti
Gardiner
Haitink
Karajan
Bernstein/VPO on DVD

[Brian]

Okay, fine, I'll play!

Levine/Chicago
Bernstein/Columbia
Wand
Dohnanyi/Cleveland
Harnoncourt
Kertesz
Janowski/Pittsburgh (2-4; missing No. 1)
[EDIT:] Abbado/BPO
Van Zweden (Brilliant)
the individual volumes of Ivan Fischer that have been released so far

Plus I've streamed a number of others, notably Chailly/Concertgebouw, Gielen, Alsop, Rattle. And individual symphony recordings like Kleiber's.

That there is a mighty fine sleeper.

Mighty fine sleeper is a term you can apply to almost any/every Kent Nagano recording. Few conductors I know are as reliable and as little-known, and when I got to see him live in Montreal last year, he had the band in truly great shape.

[PerfectWagnerite]

Not anything from Gardiner? Nor Haitink? And only 1 from Karajan?

As best I recall  I have
Eschenbach
Solti
Gardiner
Haitink
Karajan
Bernstein/VPO on DVD

Other than Lenny all the others are snoozers. Not sure which HVK cycle you have but they are all gluey and ponderous. Almost anything from the extensive list above are better renditions of these works. If it was me I would vote for Walter/CSO or Sanderling/Dresden for two very different but equally persuasive readings.

[Dancing Divertimentian]

Janowski/Pittsburgh (2-4; missing No. 1)

Janowski's Pittsburgh 2nd is a huge fave of mine.

Mighty fine sleeper is a term you can apply to almost any/every Kent Nagano recording. Few conductors I know are as reliable and as little-known, and when I got to see him live in Montreal last year, he had the band in truly great shape.

Yes, Nagano is one of those conductors who I've always admired. I might not have as large a collection of his work as I'd like but I'm always on the lookout for his discs.
 

[Dancing Divertimentian]

Not anything from Gardiner? Nor Haitink? And only 1 from Karajan?

The Haitink that does it for me is his OOP Boston cycle. Sleeper of all sleepers right there.