Clarinet Quintet (Brahms)

Johannes Brahms's Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115 was written in 1891 for the clarinettist Richard Mühlfeld. It is scored for a clarinet in A with a string quartet and has a duration of approximately thirty-five minutes.

Background

Clarinet quintets

At the time Brahms started composing his Clarinet Quintet, only a few works had been composed for this type of ensemble and even now there are not many. Examples include those by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Anton Reicha, Carl Maria von Weber, Franz Krommer, Alexander Glazunov, Heinrich Baermann, and Thomas Täglichsbeck. Brahms modeled his composition after Mozart's.

Brahms and Mühlfeld

Brahms had retired from composing prior to listening to Richard Mühlfeld play. Brahms may have met Mühlfeld already when Hans von Bülow was directing the Meiningen orchestra. But it was Fritz Steinbach, von Bülow's successor, who brought Mühlfeld's playing to the attention of Brahms in March 1891. Brahms was very enthusiastic about Mühlfeld.^[1] That summer at Bad Ischl, he composed the Clarinet Quintet and his Clarinet Trio Op. 114, both of them for Mühlfeld. He later also composed two Clarinet Sonatas.

Performances

The quintet received its first private performance on 24 November 1891 in Meiningen,^[2]^[3] with Richard Mühlfeld and the Joachim Quartet, led by Joseph Joachim who often collaborated with Brahms. The public premiere was on 12 December 1891 in Berlin.^[2]^[4]^[5]

It soon received performances across Europe, including London and Vienna both with the original and other ensembles.

Structure

The piece consists of four movements.

Allegro in B minor, in 6/8 time
Adagio in B major, in 3/4 time modulating into B minor and then B-flat minor and back to B major
Andantino in D major, in common time evolving into Presto non assai, ma con sentimento in B minor in 2/4 time
Con moto in B minor, in 2/4 with a key transition to B major returning to B minor into a meter of 3/8 and then transforming into 6/8 time

First movement

	Clarinet Quintet - 1. Allegro Performed by William McColl and the Orford String Quartet
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Like the quintet by Mozart, the strings begin the piece. Only several bars after the clarinet's entry is it finally made clear that the key of the music is B minor rather than D major (the latter being the key in which the exposition ends, leading smoothly into the repeat of the clarinet's opening). This movement sets an autumnal mood for the rest of the composition.

One phrase, towards the middle played by the clarinet, sounds closely related to one in the first movement of Carl Maria von Weber's Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in F minor. This was possibly inserted because when Brahms listened to Richard Mühlfeld at his recital, he was playing this concerto.

Second movement

Clarinet Quintet - 2. Adagio

Performed by William McColl and the Orford String Quartet

The reflective melody is first introduced by the clarinet. Later, the mood changes back to the gloomy atmosphere of the first movement. The clarinet performs technical runs playing from all ranges. It returns to the beginning theme and then subsides.

Third movement

Clarinet Quintet - 3. Andantino

Performed by William McColl and the Orford String Quartet

The shortest of all four, the movement begins sweetly being one of the composition's few uplifting passages. In measure twenty-three, the clarinet and violin play as if they were talking in a conversation. It modulates back from its heart-warming D major into the darker B minor. This section is highly influenced by the first part and even ends the same except being in a 2/4 meter.

Fourth movement

Clarinet Quintet - 4. Con Moto

Performed by William McColl and the Orford String Quartet

This movement is titled "With Motion" and contains a theme and five variations as do the final movements of Mozart's Clarinet Quintet and Brahms's Clarinet Sonata No. 2. Tempo varies according to the musician. Another sweet melody which resembles the second movement is in this part and is in the same B major key. Later, it brings back the theme from the Allegro and ends with a loud chord which eventually fades away.

Notes

↑ Lawson, Colin Brahms: Clarinet Quintet, pp.31-32
1 2 Rodda, Richard E. "Quintet for Clarinet and String Quartet in B minor, Op. 115". Retrieved 2008-07-21.
↑ Toenes, George. "Richard Mühlfeld". Retrieved 2010-04-01. from The Clarinet, No. 23 (Summer, 1956)
↑ Freed, Richard. "Clarinet Trio, Op. 114". Retrieved 2008-07-21.
↑ Bromberger,Eric. "Clarinet Trio in A Minor, Opus 114". Retrieved 2008-07-21.

References

Lawson, Colin (1998). Brahms: Clarinet Quintet. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-58831-6.

External links

Clarinet Quintet: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
Portnoy,Bernard. "Brahms' Prima Donna". Retrieved 2010-04-01. , originally published in Woodwind Magazine 1, No. 5 (March, 1949)
Program notes and links about Brahms' Clarinet Quintet at the Wayback Machine (archived February 17, 2007)

Chamber music by Johannes Brahms

Duos	Cello Sonata No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38 Cello Sonata No. 2 in F major, Op. 99 Clarinet Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 120, No. 1 Clarinet Sonata No. 2 in E-flat major, Op. 120, No. 2 Violin Sonata No. 1 in G major, Op. 78 Violin Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 100 Violin Sonata No. 3 in D minor, Op. 108

Trios	Clarinet Trio in A minor, Op. 114 Horn Trio in E-flat major, Op. 40 Piano Trio No. 1 in B major, Op. 8 Piano Trio No. 2 in C major, Op. 87 Piano Trio No. 3 in C minor, Op. 101 Piano Trio in A major, Anh. 4/5, attributed to Brahms

Quartets	Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25 Piano Quartet No. 2 in A major, Op. 26 Piano Quartet No. 3 in C minor, Op. 60 String Quartet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 51 No. 1 String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 51 No. 2 String Quartet No. 3 in B-flat major, Op. 67

Quintets & Sextets	Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115 Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34 String Quintet No. 1 in F major, Op. 88 String Quintet No. 2 in G major, Op. 111 String Sextet No. 1 in B-flat major, Op. 18 String Sextet No. 2 in G major, Op. 36

List of compositions by Johannes Brahms by genre List of compositions by Johannes Brahms by opus number

Johannes Brahms

Orchestral works	Academic Festival Overture Serenades Symphony No. 1 Symphony No. 2 Symphony No. 3 Symphony No. 4 Tragic Overture Variations on a Theme by Haydn

Concertante	Double Concerto Piano Concerto No. 1 Piano Concerto No. 2 Violin Concerto

Vocal/Choral works with orchestra	A German Requiem Alto Rhapsody Gesang der Parzen Nänie Rinaldo Schicksalslied Triumphlied

Chamber music	Cello Sonata No. 1 Cello Sonata No. 2 Clarinet Quintet Clarinet Sonatas Clarinet Trio Horn Trio Piano Quartet No. 1 Piano Quartet No. 2 Piano Quartet No. 3 Piano Quintet Piano Trio No. 1 Piano Trio No. 2 Piano Trio No. 3 String Quartet No. 3 String Quintet No. 1 String Quintet No. 2 String Sextet No. 1 String Sextet No. 2 Two String Quartets, Op. 51 Violin Sonata No. 1 Violin Sonata No. 2 Violin Sonata No. 3

Piano works	Ballades, Op. 10 Four Pieces for Piano, Op. 119 Piano Sonata No. 1 Piano Sonata No. 2 Piano Sonata No. 3 Rhapsodies, Op. 79 Six Pieces for Piano, Op. 118 Sixteen Waltzes, Op. 39 Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel Variations on a Theme of Paganini

Other compositions	Brahms' Lullaby Eleven Chorale Preludes Fünf Gesänge, Op.104 Liebeslieder Walzer, Op. 52 Neue Liebeslieder Vier ernste Gesänge Zigeunerlieder

Named for Brahms	1818 Brahms Brahms (crater) Brahms Inlet

Related articles	List of compositions by genre List of compositions by opus number Brahms guitar Brahms-Institut Brahms-Preis German Romanticism International Johannes Brahms Competition Musical cryptogram Three Bs

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