First Pick: Brahms Clarinet Quintet

[Corlyss_D]

Stoltzman and the Cleveland

[herman]

You may have been too busy at the Pub to remember we had a similar enquiry only a couple of months back.

http://www.classicalmusicguide.com/view ... ht=leister

There's also a Stoltzman recording with the Tokyo Qt. BTW I don't think Stoltzman's tone is really ideally suited to Brahms. I have both the Quintet and the clarinet sonatas by Stoltzman (and many others) and I prefer clarinettists more grounded in the German-Austrian style of playing.

[Peter Schenkman]

That’s easy, Kell with the Busch Quartet recorded in 1937 (available at one time on EMI 7 64932 2), no other performance I’ve experienced comes close.

Peter Schenkman

[MaestroDJS]

I'm well pleased with my recording by clarinettist Gervase de Peyer with the Melos Ensemble. It seems to be a very sympathetic and integrated performance. In many other performances the clarinettist seems to stand out from the string quartet, but this sounds like a real group effort.

Dave

David Stybr
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[Dickson]

I'll agree with Peter here. The Kell/Busch is definitely my favorite in a very crowded field. And yes, we've had discussions about the Brahms quintet many times, but I'll keep putting my opinion whenever the subject is brought up.

The Stoltzman/Cleveland is excellent as well. The idea that Stoltzman's sound (especially from that time) doesn't suit Brahms is a little strange. The Tokyo recording is nowhere near the level of the much earlier Cleveland, so if you've only heard the Tokyo (which is a pretty flat reading), try the Cleveland.

The DePeyer/Melos is surprisingly good. I really dislike DePeyer's playing and his awful attempt to recreate Reginald Kell's style, but it works somehow on the Melos recording more than it did anywhere else.

A more recent recording that I really like is Alessandro Carbonare with a quartet that I can't remember. The quartet is nowhere near as good as the Busch or Cleveland, but Carbonare's sound and style are really wonderful.

There are really a lot of great Brahms clarinet quintet recordings, but my two favorites are Kell (the EMI, not the A&M live version) and the Stoltzman/Cleveland.

[Corlyss_D]

The Stoltzman/Cleveland is excellent as well. The idea that Stoltzman's sound (especially from that time) doesn't suit Brahms is a little strange. The Tokyo recording is nowhere near the level of the much earlier Cleveland, so if you've only heard the Tokyo (which is a pretty flat reading), try the Cleveland.

I heard the Tokyo last night and agree that the reading was flat. I understand that Stoltzman's style is somewhat controversial but the Kell and DePeyer were nla when I developed an interest in the quintet and Stoltzman/Cleveland was new. It's still my fav.

A more recent recording that I really like is Alessandro Carbonare with a quartet that I can't remember.

I've heard this guy somewhere, probably on XM, and was impressed. Can't recall what, any more than I can recall we've had this discussion before.