Clarinetist Ron Selka and pianist Aviram Reichert play Brahms

ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

Richard Mühlfeld, the principal clarinet of the Meiningen Orchestra and a virtuoso of his instrument, inspired Johannes Brahms to compose several chamber music works involving the clarinet, among them two sonatas. In these two final chamber music compositions Brahms, unencumbered by any thoughts of musical grandeur honored Mühlfeld’s artistry with music sublime in its delicacy and deceiving simplicity.

In their album of music for clarinet and piano clarinetist Ron Selka, and pianist Aviram Reichert take the listener on a musical journey that encompasses both of those late-career sonatas – the Clarinet Sonata in E-flat major, op. 120 no. 2 and the Clarinet Sonata in F minor, op. 120 no. 1, along with other music for clarinet and piano. Throughout the hour-long CD their playing is elegant and technically beyond reproach.

The TYXart compact disc, now available both as a hard copy and as a digital download (TXA20152)  includes four songs from Brahms’ op. 105: Wie Melodien Zieht es Mir, Immer Leiser wird mein Schlummer, Klage, and Auf dem Kirchhofe, along with another song without words: the Minnelied from op. 71.

For lovers of German Lieder, Selka’s clarinet and Reichert’s piano make felicitous substitutions for the poetic message of those songs by imbuing the music with the spirit of the words of several German poets, never more so than in the profoundly sad Immer Leiser wird mein Schlummer.  

In his album notes, Yoel Greenberg examines both the historical background for the composition of these delicate masterpieces and their musical structure.

Engineered, edited and mastered by Avi Elbaz, Yann Selka and Ben Bernfeld, and produced by Andreas Ziegler the sound is flawless, intimate and life-like, the packaging and photography first class.

Rafael de Acha        ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

 

 

Published by ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

Rafael de Acha has enjoyed a distinguished career in the arts as a performer, stage director, producer, and educator. He was born and grew up in Cuba. At the age of 17 he moved to the United States to study Drama at the University of Minnesota, and later Languages at L.A. City College, Music at the Juilliard School of Music, at the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music, and at the New England Conservatory of Music, from which he received the Master's degree. He has taught courses on the History of Music at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music and at Florida International University, and contributed writings and reviews to Seen and Heard International (www.seenandheard-international.com ) and to this blog. He co-founded the award-winning New Theatre in Coral Gables, Florida, where he produced and staged twenty seasons of classical and contemporary theater, including fifty world premieres of plays that went on to have international and national productions on and off Broadway, including Ana in the Tropics by Nilo Cruz (Pulitzer Prize for Drama 2002 and Tony Nomination 2003.) In 2006 he was presented with a citation from The Dade County Cultural Affairs Council for “trailblazing contributions to the arts in South Florida.”