Brahms & Reger: Clarinet Quintets

Johannes Brahms wrote for the clarinet late in life. With his Clarinet Quintet, he created one of the most beautiful chamber music works of the 19th century. Similarly, Max Reger's Quintet, his last completed work, breathes the spirit of a composer who has led a fulfilled musical life.Robert Oberaigner and the Fritz Busch Quartet masterfully bring the "shine of old gold" of the Sachsische Staatskapelle to chamber music, as though these pieces were written for them especially. Reger is inspired by Brahms, of course, but even more so by Mozart, whose quintet set the standard for generations. Reger chooses the theme of his variation movement entirely in the style of Mozart - only to deconstruct it in typical Reger style. His sumptuous chromaticism shines brilliantly with the perfect intonation of the Dresdeners. The five musicians' years of experience performing together as members of the Sachsische Staatskapelle manifests wonderfully in the Brahms Quintet. The clarinet melts into the warm sound of the strings one moment and explores expressive stratospheres the next, at times ecstatic, at others filled with Weltschmerz. Brahms does not shy away from the extreme registers of the instrument - its wailing and purring enrapture the listener.

• Brahms: Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115
• Reger: Clarinet Quintet in A major, Op. 146