Thursday 22 April 2010

Brahms - Clarinet Sonata 1 [Guyot/Guy]

Romain Guyot is a name new to me, i take it he's French, these Harmonia Mundi 'Les Nouveaux Interpretes' [The New Interpreters] series is wonderful, like the 'Debut' series that EMI does, this showcases some new talent in Classical music, that otherwise might not get a chance to make a recording, plus this booklet has a nice black & white shot by Eric Larrayadieu of the Artists.

I have a real 'thing' about the clarinet, it is a wonderful instrument, it's lovely as a solo instrument, as well as a group instrument, equally at home in Classical as well as in Jazz, portable and inexpensive, something that can be satisfyingly played on my own, at my own pace, i'm seriously thinking of getting one.

The First Clarinet Sonata has that 'autumn' feel about it, easy going chamber music, very lyrical indeed, even though the work is in a minor key, i loved listening to the third movement, a short-ish scherzo in a way, it opens with a lovely tune, showing off the creaminess of the clarinet, just beyond the introduction, the clarinet and piano play this delicious gentle section [0:38-1:02], quiet and refined, the opening is repeated at the end, and this little section satisfyingly closes this movement [3:55-4:22].

Here's the third movement Allegretto played by Robert Yaple on YouTube.