Brahms: The Hungarian Connection (2015)

Andreas Ottensamer, principal clarinetist of the Berlin Philharmonic, has released several innovatively programmed albums without resorting to common crossover formulas. Brahms: The Hungarian Connection is another. The title is perhaps a bit too strong in that the last part of the program does not consist of music by Brahms and, in fact, has no direct connection to Brahms. But as a recital juxtaposing Hungarian folk sounds with their ramifications in the concert repertoire, the program works well. Some may not have thought ... Read More

Andreas Ottensamer, principal clarinetist of the Berlin Philharmonic, has released several innovatively programmed albums without resorting to common crossover formulas. Brahms: The Hungarian Connection is another. The title is perhaps a bit too strong in that the last part of the program does not consist of music by Brahms and, in fact, has no direct connection to Brahms. But as a recital juxtaposing Hungarian folk sounds with their ramifications in the concert repertoire, the program works well. Some may not have thought of the Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115, as a Hungarian piece, but listen again to the slow movement passage where the string quartet conjures up a cimbalom. The extremely gentle performance of the quintet is worth the price of admission in itself; for a reading by an all-star group as opposed to an established ensemble, it breathes unusually well. The quartet's cellist, Stephan Koncz, arranged the rest of the music for clarinet and string quartet, and he certainly doesn't do... Read Less