Louis Spohr: Klarinettenkonzerte Nr.3 & 4 auf CD

Ludwig Spohr (1784-1859) zählt zu den bedeutendsten Persönlichkeiten im musikalischen Leben Deutschlands in der ersten Hälfte des 19. Jahrhunderts. Der führende Vertreter der frühen Romantik hinterließ ein umfangreiches musikalisches Oeuvre, das alle Gattungen umfasst, u. a. auch vier Klarinettenkonzerte, die Spohr für den Klarinettenvirtuosen Johann Simon Hermstedt schrieb. Die Werke zählen auch heute noch zu den schwierigsten Stücken der Klarinettenliteratur und sind nur sehr selten im Konzertsaal zu hören. Nach der hoch gelobten Einspielung der Konzerte Nr. 1 und 2 meistert Michael Collins mit Bravour und stupendem Können auch die technisch anspruchsvollen und hoch virtuosen Konzerte Nr. 3 und 4.

Product-Information:

This disc is a long-awaited sequel to Hyperion’s disc of Spohr’s Clarinet Concertos Nos 1 & 2, recorded by the same forces. It was at Gotha in the autumn of 1808 that Spohr met the clarinet virtuoso Johann Simon Hermstedt, and the two men hit it off straight away. Spohr immediately began work on his first clarinet concerto. Hermstedt was so taken by the work that—rather than insisting on the composer modifying some of his more outlandish, and unplayable, demands—he adapted and expanded his instrument to suit the music, thus bringing about important developments in the range and flexibility of the clarinet, expanding it from five keys to thirteen. Of the four concertos Spohr wrote for Hermstedt, the Third is the most overtly virtuosic, with a fiery restless energy supporting grand, sweeping themes of real distinction. The Fourth ranks among Spohr’s finest compositions.

Rezensionen

'Collins completes his recordings of these delightful concertos with the contrasting works presented here … Collins dazzles like a bel canto diva in the pyrotechnic leaps, trills and runs, while he lavishes his rich tone, phenomenal breath control and deeply satisfying expressive insights on the E minor' (Sunday Times)

'This oustanding disc is the counterpart of Michael Collins's coupling of Spohr's first two Clarinet Concertos with the same forces. It is thanks to Collins's artistry that relatively prosaic ideas are transformed, with magical echo effects, subtle pointing of rhythm to make the music sparkle in shaping of phrases that is magnetic … An exceptionally attractive disc' (Gramophone)

'Michael Collins … repeats the success of his disc of Nos 1 and 2 with elegantly phrased melodies, immaculate passagework and wondurously even trills. The Swedish Chamber Orchestra and Robin O'Neill again provide alert support, and the recording is outstanding, with a pleasant sense of intimacy embracing wind, strings and soloist' (BBC Music Magazine)

'Michael Collins brings off the more spectacular passages with stylish relish. He's even better in the long, lyrical lines of the slow movement - a lovely Adagio that has real expressive intensity here, thanks to the quiet eloquence and subtle shading of Collins and the Swedish Chamber Orchestra in this performance' (International Record Review)