Johannes Brahms
Clarinet Quintet (Op. 115)
in B Minor for Clarinet & Strings
Johannes Brahms, composer and pianist, was born on May 7, 1833 in Hamburg, Germany and died on April 3,1897 in Vienna, Austria. He is the last of the 3 B’s of music: Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) of the Baroque Period (1600-1750), Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) of the Classical Period (1750-1825) and Brahms of the Romantic Period (1825-1900).
He is probably most remembered for his instrumental works, especially his works for large orchestra: four symphonies, two symphonic overtures, a symphonic variation, two serenades, a violin concerto, a double concerto for violin and cello, and two piano concertos.
Most of the major works for the clarinet have been written for friends of the composers: Mozart wrote his Trio, K. 498 (for clarinet, viola & piano), Quintet, K. 581 (for clarinet & strings) and Concerto, K. 622, for clarinetist Anton Stadler (1753-1812); Ludwig Spohr (1784-1859) wrote 4 Concertos and various other solos for clarinetist Johann Hermstedt (1778-1846); and Carl Maria von Weber wrote his Concertino, Op. 26, Variations, Op. 33 (for clarinet & piano), Quintet, Op. 34 (for clarinet & strings) and 2 Concertos, Op. 73 & 74 for clarinetist Heinrich Baermann (1784-1847).
Johannes Brahms was no exception, he wrote his Trio, Op. 114 (for clarinet, cello & piano), Quintet, Op. 115 (for clarinet & strings) and Two Sonatas, Op. 120 (for clarinet & piano) for clarinetist Richard Mühlfeld (1856-1907).
Brahms had “retired” from composition at the end of 1890, sending his published Simrock a note: “With this note you can take leave of my music, because it is high time to stop”. The following year he heard Mühlfeld playing clarinet in the Meiningen Court Orchestra, which had been offered by conductor Hans von Bülow for testing any new works which Brahms might compose.
He was so moved by Mühlfeld’s playing that he wrote the Trio (Op. 114) and Quintet (Op. 115) during the summer of 1891; both works were premiered by Mühlfeld in Berlin in December, 1891.
By mere coincidence, Mozart had written his Clarinet Quintet (K. 581) a little over one century earlier - completed on September 29, 1789 and first performed on December 22, 1789 - one of the works which Mühlfeld played for Brahms in a private performance after their first meeting.
In the summer of 1894, he wrote the Two Sonatas (Op. 120), which were premiered in Vienna in January, 1895 by Mühlfeld, with Brahms playing the piano part. He and Mühlfeld performed the sonatas many times, in fact, he enjoyed performing with Mühlfeld so much that he actually gave Mühlfeld the original manuscripts of the sonatas and the performance rights fees for the two works.
The score included in this book shows the original version of the quintet using Clarinet in A; the MIDI accompaniment is for Bb Clarinet and Clarinet in A (which is contained in a folder - see inside back cover). The clarinet part is, of course, the same, regardless of which accompaniment is used.
Book - 44 pages - 9”X12” - $19.95
CD - 8 Audio tracks & 4 MIDI Files
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