BRAHMS: Horn Trio in E-flat Major, Op. 40; Clarinet Quintet in B Minor, Op. 115 – Gail Williams, horn /Larry Combs, clarinet /The Chicago Chamber Musicians – Summit Records DCD 541, 67:58 ***:
As popular as these works are, pairing them on disc is rare, so rare that I’ve identified only a couple of other recordings currently available, both of those historical (though I may be missing some). Besides the variety that the instruments involved afford, these works come from different ends of Brahms’s career, the Horn Trio being a fairly early work, the Quintet coming from his last years. Predictably, the character of the two works is quite different.
The Trio was written in 1865 following the death of Brahms’s beloved mother. The elegiac nature of the work is immediately evident in the Andante first movement, while the Adagio third movement is even more somber, an outright lament. That first movement includes a second section marked Poco più animato, which enlivens the proceedings considerably so that the whole should be played wistfully, with a resigned sense of loss, it seems to me. The current performance sounds almost lugubrious at the start, heavier than I’ve usually heard, and doesn’t convey Brahms’s intentions for the movement. It isn’t a matter of tempo, which seems just about right, but of tone. Some of the problem may be that Gail Williams’ playing, fine though it is, sounds a bit veiled. This may be the fault of the recording, which is lacking in presence and realism. At any rate, though the rest of the Trio is much more appealingly played than the opening, there is just too much competition in this work for me to wax enthusiastic about the recording.
That’s a shame, because the Clarinet Quintet receives an excellent performance. One of the final chamber masterpieces inspired by Brahms’s friendship with Richard Mühlfeld, the Quintet traverses a carefully circumscribed variety of moods from its tender opening to it quietly playful Andantino to its sober variations-form finale. Overall, the mood reflects the autumnal refulgence of Brahms’s final works—sober, yes, but with a warm underlying glow that marks a master at the top of his form and at peace with the world. There are no new heights to conquer, no new points to prove, just the beauties of final mastery to share.
At least that’s how the work strikes me, and I find my feelings reflected in the current performance. Larry Combs has a melting tone, a sure technique, and he’s very ably supported by the strings of the Chicago Chamber Musicians. The close-up recording has greater presence, too, though it tends toward harshness unless you cut back on the volume.
Given the very fine performance of the Quintet, I’d like to recommend this recording. But with its sonic limitations and stiff competition in the Trio, I find that hard to do.
– Lee Passarella
