Notes and Editorial Reviews
Vivacious Meyer and partner sparkle in these delicious French pieces
Sabine Meyer’s credentials as a solo clarinettist need no advocacy from me; they are already borne out by a number of fine EMI recordings, especially of Mozart. Here she turns to delectable French music with equal success, well partnered by Oleg Maisenberg. She opens with Saint-Saëns, as melodically engaging as ever but more pensive in mood than usual – perhaps because it is a late work, written in his last year – until the vivacious closing Molto allegro, when both let their hair down. The delightful Poulenc Sonata follows, with tristamente and très calme dominating the
Read more
mood of the first two movements, but again a burst of high spirits in the Allegro confuoco finale (très animé – and how!).
François Devienne takes us back to the second half of the 18th century. He was primarily a flautist (and wrote a treatise for the one-key instrument) but he well understood the possibilities of the C clarinet and anticipated the kind of music Weber was going to write, elegant, graceful and virtuosic, in Devienne’s case pleasing, but not truly memorable. However, the dashing closing work has all those attributes and wit too, plus irresistible audacity in its infectious Brazilian finale. Originally written for piano duo, Milhaud’s Scaramouche is a minor masterpiece and it sounds terrific here with Meyer leading the piano with her irresistible roulades. A most winning disc, truthfully recorded, with the clarinet dominating.
-- Ivan March, Gramophone [6/2007]
Read less
Works on This Recording
1.
Sonata for Clarinet and Piano in E flat major, Op. 167 by Camille Saint-Saëns
Performer:
Sabine Meyer (Clarinet),
Oleg Maisenberg (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1921; France
Date of Recording: 09/2006
Venue: Potton Hall, Suffolk, England
Length: 14 Minutes 46 Secs.
2.
Sonata for Clarinet and Piano by Francis Poulenc
Performer:
Oleg Maisenberg (Piano),
Sabine Meyer (Clarinet)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1962; France
Date of Recording: 09/2006
Venue: Potton Hall, Suffolk, England
Length: 14 Minutes 2 Secs.
3.
Sonata for Clarinet and Piano no 1 in C major by François Devienne
Performer:
Sabine Meyer (Clarinet),
Oleg Maisenberg (Piano)
Period: Classical
Written: 18th Century; France
Date of Recording: 09/2006
Venue: Potton Hall, Suffolk, England
Length: 16 Minutes 49 Secs.
4.
Scaramouche, Op. 165b by Darius Milhaud
Performer:
Sabine Meyer (Clarinet),
Oleg Maisenberg (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1937; France
Date of Recording: 09/2006
Venue: Potton Hall, Suffolk, England
Length: 9 Minutes 51 Secs.
Sound Samples
Sonata Op. 167 in E flat: Allegretto
Sonata Op. 167 in E flat: Allegro animato
Sonata Op. 167 in E flat: Lento
Sonata Op. 167 in E flat: Molto Allegro
Sonata for Clarinet and Piano op. 184: Allegro tristamente (Allegro - Très calme - Tempo allegretto)
Sonata for Clarinet and Piano op. 184: Romanza (Très calme)
Sonata for Clarinet and Piano op. 184: Allegro con fuoco (Très animé)
Sonata No. 1: Allegro con spiritoso
Sonata No. 1: Rondo allegretto
Scaramouche Op. 165b: I. Vif
Scaramouche Op. 165b: II. Modéré
Scaramouche Op. 165b: III. Brazileira
Customer Reviews
Be the first to review this title
Review This Title
