Customer Reviews

Mozart / Brahms: Clarinet Quintets

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This CD is one of the better recordings of the Mozart and Brahms Clarinet Quintets that I have heard. Shifrin is one of the most amazing clarinetists of our time today. He combines clarity of sound with true artistic ability. His interpretation of the Brahms is second to none. To have this great of a performer combined with the Emerson String Quartet is the making of an excellent recording that I highly recommend. You will treasure this recording for years to come!

Shifrin and the Emerson Quartet demonstrated an outstanding artistic interpretation of both the Mozart and Brahms quintets. The ensemble performance is unified and expressive. The technical quality of the recording also is excellent. After hearing the CD, I purchased a copy for each member of my own quintet. Highest compliments are due to these players.

Emerson and Shifrin make these two already perfect pieces even more spectacular than they already are. Emerson's sound is so rich and lush which lends a spectacular quality to quintets. They really get the ideal Mozartian and Bramsian qualities across in their playing. The music is subtle in it's qualities and the quintet emphasizes this. David Shifrin is flawless in his playing. He gets a rich dark sound and interprets the music perfectly. He and Emerson are a great match....they understood these two pieces and brought them out in their performance. It is just excellent all around!

This is an outstanding recording of these superb works. The Mozart Clarinet Quintet is simply a masterpiece. The Emerson and the clarinetist, David Shifrin, are wonderful. The Brahms quintet is performed just as well.

The old clarinetist in me naturally gravitates toward recordings such as this, and the chance to hear clarinetist extraordinaire David Shifrin (my collection already included his Delos recording of the Brahms with Chamber Music Northwest, an all-star aggregation, in a program that also includes Brahms's String Quintet No. 2) with the eminent Emerson String Quartet led me to slap down my $15 without a moment's hesitation (actually, I did hesitate when I first saw this CD, which was at a store where I would have had to slap down $17, so I stopped at another store on my way home that very evening, not wanting to wind blowing the $2 savings on gasoline). My enthusiasm was well worth it, as this CD contains two fine performances of two fine pieces in simply sterling stereo sound. For my money, these are two of the most beautiful pieces of music ever composed, and I never tire of hearing them. I only wish I had the skill to play the clarinet part...

For a couple years, I have been reviewing recordings of classical music from the point of view of the average person, who knows nothing of classical music. Now I've learned a bit, but I'm certainly still ignorant enough to speak for "Joe the Plumber." This review is not for experts, but it is for you if you know nothing or next to nothing about classical music, and are wondering if this recording is for you.

It is! Satisfaction guaranteed!

This is music that you can listen to very closely with great enjoyment (this is how we are supposed to get the most out of it), but it also sets a wonderful mood for romantic dinners, quiet conversations, reading or housework (which is what most people actually want classical music for).

What makes these two pieces of music so extraordinary, in my opinion, is the prettiness of the sound of the clarinet added to the string quartet. If you listen closely, throughout both you will be amazed by the beauty of the tones of the music. (Incidently, you can hear something very similar in Brahms' trio for clarinet, violin and cello, available on Brahms: Complete Trios, which I also like very much, though I haven't listened to it enough to feel ready to review it.)

Now the Brahms is the reason I bought this album, because I already have two recordings of Mozart's clarinet quintet, and it is the reason you should as well. I know we're all supposed to bow at the feet of Mozart, and I don't mind doing so, but honestly I love the Brahms quintet a little more than the Mozart one. Like Mozart, Brahms was also one hell of a composer, and you will love his symphonies, especially his first and fourth. (Brahms: The Complete Symphonies / Karajan, Berlin PO is my favorite recording of his symphonies, but there are several good ones.)

But I have two other recordings of Mozart's clarinet quintet to compare this to, and none of Brahms'. An Amazon friend introduced me to Mozart: Clarinet Concerto; Clarinet Quintet, which includes a recording of the clarinet quintet that is every bit as good as this one. They are both excellent. It also has the clarinet concerto, which is a very nice piece of music as well, though I like the Brahms quintet enough to tell you to buy this album before that one. (Other people will disagree, perhaps even strongly. There's no accounting for taste. But no one can really disparage either album.)

My other recording is part of Mozart Edition: Complete Works (170 CD Box Set), and is not as nice as the other two. The tone of the recording is a little thinner.

It doesn't get better than this. Expressive and lyrical, the Emerson quartet and David Shifrin create chemistry that is magic to the ears. The musicians are superb, the music engaging, and Mozart was a genius! I agree with the others and it bears repeating, this CD is very worth having.

Brahms Clarinet Quintet is one of his most emotionally engaging works. The slow movement is almost Italian in its intensity-- certain moments even seem to anticipate "Tosca," so much so that I imagine Puccini must have studied the earlier work. This is music to study, to savor, and then-- and only then-- to finally let into your soul. The Emersons have clearly done much of the work for us. Thank you!

This CD is simply wonderful!

I bought thinking about the sensational Quintet of Brahms, which I consider one of the best songs in the history of art.

The performance by the Emerson is great!

Clarity, dynamics, lyricism, it all together!

I strongly recommend

This cd is absolutely amazing. The Emerson String Quartet's Mozart playing is absolutely thrilling. Simply the best quartets around and is reflected through their work on this CD.
Also with the Brahms clarinet quintet on this recording, it shows that the quartet is extremely agile in their ability to switch styles and play it with such passion, something Brahms requires much of.