FANFARE MAGAZINE 4/2009:
MOZART Clarinet Quintet in A.1 SMETANA String Quartet
in e, “From My Life” • Hölderlin Str Qrt; Simon Löffelmann (cl)
• EDITION HERA 2122 (62:56)
What a perplexing release this is! These are 1990 recordings
from a quartet that I know little of, though the Web site www.hbdirect.com
does give this information: “Formed in 1989, three members of the Hölderlin
Quartet are also members of the Wurttembergischen Philharmonie Reutlingen
and one performs with the state opera in Stuttgart. The name Hölderlin
refers to the mission of the quartet, which is to uncover the poetic in
the string quartet repertoire.” The coupling is, well, odd to say the least,
and considering the number of fine Mozart Clarinet Quintets already in
my collection, I was almost hoping that this one was going to be a dud;
similar experiences in the past with unknown labels and ensembles would
seem to back up my thoughts on the subject.
Lo and behold, how wrong I was! The Mozart is simply wonderful,
about as good as any I have ever heard, with clarinetist Simon Löffelmann
(also difficult to pin down even with extensive Googling, though he is
a member of the Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen also, as
solo clarinet) displaying a phenomenally rich and satiny tone, smooth as
one could wish for. In fact, each member of this group plays with a tonal
luster surely the envy of more noted and accomplished ensembles elsewhere.
There are too many of the Mozart on the market to claim a “best ever,”
but this one ranks right up there with my personal favorites, among them
the Kell/Fine Arts (Boston Skyline), Wright/Marlboro (Sony), Steffens/Scharoun
Ensemble Berlin (Tudor), Ensemble 360 (ASV), Moraguès/Pra?ák
(Praga), and Portal/Ysaÿe (Aeon). Any one of the aforementioned is
guaranteed to give you enjoyment aplenty, and is among the finest recordings
of this work ever laid down. Note especially for audiophiles: the Tudor
and Praga releases are surround-sound DSD.
Now for the Smetana, the match in this odd couple. This
is a finely burnished old-world reading of this popular chestnut, as autobiographical
a work as you might find apart from Wagner or Strauss, and one completed
just two years after he lost his position as conductor due to hearing failure.
We tend to forget that Beethoven wasn’t the only musician so afflicted
by a devastating and potentially career-ending misery. Each movement is
dedicated to an incident “From my life”: (1) affection for art and life
in youth; (2) joyous life of youth, and a composer of some note in dance
works; (3) heavenly love of the girl who would become his wife; (4) discovery
of musical nationalism, onset of deafness, and a painful feeling at the
memory of the beginning of the life journey. Pretty comprehensive, when
you think about it—and Smetana does do a fine job of conveying much of
the intimacy of these topical considerations.
I have been attached to the Emerson Quartet reading of
this piece for a number of years, but the authenticity of the Eastern-European
flavor that the Hölderlin presents us with shows what may have been
missing in the DGG recording. I love unexpected surprises, and this unusual
disc will likely seduce you in the same way I was taken in. One caveat:
despite the 1990 recording date, this is going for full price.
FANFARE: Steven E. Ritter
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