 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: ruben
Date: 2020-06-18 11:53
Max Reger wrote quite a few major pieces for the clarinet, but it would seem that they are seldom played. I practised and rehearsed his Clarinet Quintet very hard about 20 years ago. We performed it...and put everybody to sleep. Do you find Reger stodgy? -an inferior Brahms?
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
Post Edited (2020-06-18 12:02)
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2020-06-18 13:54
There is a wonderful recording of the quintet by Karl Leister that I have always loved.
What other works by Max Reger are there for clarinet?
.................Paul Aviles
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Author: cigleris
Date: 2020-06-18 15:14
Three sonatas Paul.
I personally think the magic in Reger is his harmonic language. A rather inventive use of chromaticism.
Peter Cigleris
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Author: ruben
Date: 2020-06-18 18:07
Peter: I think he was overshadowed by the real modenists of his age: Debussy, Stravinsky, de Falla, etc. The musical capitals of the world became Paris and Vienna rather than any German town. I think Reger is more interesting to play than to listen to.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: donald
Date: 2020-06-19 06:40
The Reger Quintet is a piece that has been the victim of quite a few poor recordings. The piece is difficult- it really NEEDS a lot of attention to detail, and really suffers if it's not played/interpreted artfully. This takes a LOT of time and energy, and most of the recordings of this piece sound like "music minus one", or that they are playing to a metronome. I have 4 recordings, and can barely bring myself to listen to three of them.
I'd recommend the recording Franz Klein made with the Amadeus quartet (paired with a fairly humdrum version of the Mozart, I imagine the Reger took up all their preparation time). I also did have many years ago a cassette tape of an early recording of this piece that I liked, but can no longer remember who the performers were- but I recall the album cover saying that it was the first recording made (I made a tape copy from an LP many years before the library catalogue became digital).
Another problem with this piece is that the opening of the first movement is often a little challenging for the audience (I like it, and can see what he's trying to achieve musically), to the point that you might describe it as unattractive. I've found this to discourage listeners, however those who made the effort to keep listening discovered a good deal of very rewarding music.
In my opinion an underrated piece that suffers badly from a lack of attention from both the audience and performers (who underestimate the commitment required).
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Author: ruben
Date: 2020-06-19 14:26
Thank you, Donald, for your thoughts on the subject. I was actually only being a bit provacative when I implied Reger was boring. I agree the Clarinet Quintet is a major work; a challenging one at that. It may be just a bit too Teutonic for my French ears, both so was Bruckner for a long time.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2020-06-19 16:20
Just for the sake of completeness, in addition to the quintet and the three sonatas, Reger also composed two short "salon" pieces for clarinet and piano, Albumblatt and Tarantella.
Best regards,
jnk
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Author: ruben
Date: 2020-06-19 17:10
Jack; that just about covers it. That's a lot of works for clarinet for just one composer, who didn't live all that long. Does anybody know whom he wrote all of these pieces for? He must have had his Mühlfeldt or Stadler.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: Jarmo Hyvakko
Date: 2020-06-22 11:24
Have performed the quintet and the sonatas. They are all masterpieces, especially the quintet and the huge Bb major sonata. One has to be well aware what happens in the piano part of the sonatas and both players must be able to find and show the audience the form of the pieces and the delicious moments in the harmony. I could say that both times i have performed the quintet it has been a surprisingly huge success. Usually the positive remark from a listener is something like "getting swallowed deep into some strange, timeless world".
I wouldn't say that Reger were shadowed by the new Vienna School Composers, Schönberg, Webern and Berg. Actually Reger's music makes it comprehensible, why those guys just had to take that step to atonal, and later serial music. I used to play recitals where i combined Reger's sonatas on the other hand with Brahms and then with 20th century "classics" Berg, Debussy etc. Just think how Reger walks us through an universe of emotions in 35 minutes in his Bb major sonata, whereas Berg storms through that same area in just about 4 minutes in his Vier Stücke!
Oui! J'aime Reger!!!
(How about that on a T-shirt?)
Jarmo Hyvakko, Principal Clarinet, Tampere Philharmonic, Finland
Post Edited (2020-06-22 11:28)
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Author: ruben
Date: 2020-06-22 12:39
Jarmo: thank you for your eloquent and impassioned defense of Reger! I do find that Latin listeners tend to be less patient with him than Germans, British, etc. Latins seem to prefer brevity: shorter pieces, shorter phrases (but longer meals!)
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: rmk54
Date: 2020-06-22 16:37
Latins seem to prefer brevity: shorter pieces, shorter phrases (but longer meals!)
----------------------------------------------
Really?
And I suppose Anthony McGill has great rhythm (and loves to eat fried chicken).
[Yes, this is satirical]
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Author: Liquorice
Date: 2020-06-22 17:21
A Norwegian drummer once said to me "classical music is OK, but often it is just too long."
:-)
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