Kilian Herold (clarinet);
Armida Quartett
CAvi-music AVI 8553533 54:22 mins
The 150th anniversary of the birth of Max Reger (1873–1916) seems to have passed by without much fanfare. Yet it remains an open question whether ignoring this musical milestone is entirely deserved. For many, the sheer density of Reger’s compositional processes is simply unfathomable, making it difficult for the listener to steer a clear path through the resultant musical fog. But when performers of real calibre and innate intelligence lavish much-welcome care and attention on his output, the results can be immensely rewarding.
Such is the case with the present release. Admittedly, the Clarinet Quintet is one of the composer’s more genial and accessible works, one which pays homage to the great examples of the genre by
Mozart and Brahms. Certainly, the spirit of Mozart hovers over the serene cantabile writing of the first movement, as well as the vivacious and inventive set of variations that make up the finale. Brahms too is recalled in the veiled autumnal soundworld of the poignant Largo. Yet the complex web of individual musical lines, along with the brittle humour of the second movement Vivace, also point to a later age, making us wonder how Reger’s music would have developed had he lived into the 1920s and 1930s.
The great virtue of this beautifully recorded performance from Kilian Herold and the Armida Quartet lies in its convincing architectural control, superb clarity of line and capacity to revel in moments of humour and tenderness. The performers bring similarly incisive qualities to the fine if rather knotty Clarinet Quintet from 1950 by the one-time Reger pupil Johanna Senfter, an unaccountably marginalised figure who on the strength of this work alone, deserves far wider exposure.
