In the last years of his life, they say, Brahms has felt running out of inspiration and energy for composition. He also had problems with his friends even including Clara Schumann those days. Knowing a virtuoso of clarinet player, Richard Muehlferd, however, he has been inspired and started composing the last works of chamber music featuring clarinet. The clarinet trio, the clarinet quintet and the two clarinet sonatas. Later, the clarinet sonatas were transcribed to viola sonatas. Being highly self critic, Brahms was not very happy with those arrangements. But this couple of viola sonatas are performed like jewels by violists.
This 1st movement of the 1st sonata is particularly impressive. The beginning motif is from his 1st piano sonata OP-1. He told his work had been continuous like a loop. At the end of life, he must have had the same emotion of passion for music and possibly for life even if resignation for life is the fundamental mood in this music. I could hear solitude as well as a kind of anger on the background.
I appreciate this viola version. The charactersistic of the instrument matches this music. Not so brilliant as violin but mellow enough to easily reach our heart.
This duo, Carr and Petrova, plays it most emotionally as well as passinately. They have left a recording of the clarinet trio by Brahms, which I posted in this blog before. Competent musicians. I hope these young musicians may publicate recordings of such great chamber music as this one.
Brahms won't give us heavenly relief as Bach does. But he still closely whispers his thoughts in our ear. We could find intimate companion for the travel of life.
No comments:
Post a Comment