Klarinet Archive - Posting 000242.txt from 1996/05

From: niethamer@-----.EDU
Subj: Re: clarinet quintet recommendations?
Date: Fri, 10 May 1996 21:20:16 -0400

On Fri, 10 May 1996, Arthur Ness wrote:

> To the list I would include Max Reger, Clarinet Quintet in A, Op. 146. It is
> surely to be counted among Reger's finest works. Mitchell Lurie recently
> performed it here in the Boston area.

This is indeed a fine piece. I first heard the scherzo mvt on a recording
by Gervase DePeyer/Melos Ensemble of the Mozart Quintet K.581. The
scherzo from the Reger was added as "filler" on side two after the Mozart
4th mvt.

Op. 146 - another instance of writing for the clarinet and dying! except
that in Reger's case, he was so acerbic that it too 3 sonatas *and* a
Quintet before the effect took hold!

One practical note - in Reger, each note has some sort of marking, making
reading the part and playing the music a real chore until you've sorted
it all out. Evidently Reger wanted to leave nothing to chance, and felt
that mere players wouldn't be able to figure it out! A conductor friend
suggested that one should ignore all
the markings and play with all the usual Romantic era conventions, and
everything would be much more clear! Overly simplified, but a useful
approach, I found.

> There is also a nice clarinet quintet by American composer Douglas Moore.

Does anyone know whether this work is back in print? It was published by
Carl Fischer, and was out of print the lat time I tried to get it. No
copies at Yesterday Service or Eble then (5-6 years ago).

David Niethamer