Karl Leister: Classic Clarinet = RIES: Sonata in G Minor, Op. 29; HOFFMEISTER: Duo No. 6 in A Major; DEVIENNE: Sonata No. 1 in C Major – Karl Leister, clarinet/Ferenc Bognar, piano – Camerata

by | Jul 6, 2010 | Classical CD Reviews | 0 comments

Karl Leister, Classic Clarinet = RIES: Sonata in G Minor, Op. 29; HOFFMEISTER: Duo No. 6 in A Major; DEVIENNE: Sonata No. 1 in C Major – Karl Leister, clarinet/Ferenc Bognar, piano – Camerata CMCD-28175, 70:57 [Distr. by Albany] ****:

Recorded 1-5 February 2005, this happy disc captures eminent clarinet virtuoso Karl Leister (b. 1937) in three works that border the Classic-Romantic transition period, 1794-1809, years that mark the era just succeeding the French Revolution and the death of Franz Joseph Haydn. Leister himself  spent thirty years as principal of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, beginning in 1959 and so played under Fricsay, Bohm, and the ubiquitous Karajan.

Leister opens with a glittery sonata by Ferdinand Ries (1784-1838), the German pianist-composer who studied with Beethoven. The G Minor Sonata (1809) features some brilliant writing for the clarinet and rather declamatory and jeweled writing for the keyboard, the countersubject of the first movement in B-flat Major rather affecting. The upward scales and galloping episodes occasionally sound plagiarized from Beethoven’s late violin sonatas. Beethoven used to complain that Ries imitated his style too often to claim an independent character, but the lyrical Adagio con moto avoids becoming a mere pastiche of Beethoven or Weber crossed-hued by Schubert. A brief Adagio opens the Rondo movement, and it appears twice more before the virtuosic movement concludes.  Bognar’s piano, by the way, is a lusciously-toned Boesendorfer Model 290 Imperial, and it sounds as liquidly imposing as its title.

Franz Anton Hoffmeister (1754-1812), besides having established a powerful publishing house, remains famous as a Mozart clone, whose music he often arranged and whose influence he could not escape. The Duo No. 6 opens rather in the manner of a rondo, 6/8– akin to a tune from Mozart’s K. 382–albeit in sonata form. The piano part leads the clarinet, then the roles reverse, and they meet at the octave. This pattern repeats formulaically, though each instrument receive its due of ornamentation. The extended Adagio takes its affect from the Kyrie of Mozart’s Mass in C Minor.  The movement proceeds chastely, often suggesting baroque music practice. The right hand filigree of the piano resembles the non-legato aspects of many a Mozart concertante keyboard work, although the evolution displays more style than depth. The bubbly rondo (in variants) has Mozart’s ingenuousness but not his ingenuity. The workmanship of the brilliantine proves serviceable, and we may concede its moments of genial charm.

Francois Devienne (1759-1803) represents Parisian versatility in instrumental music between 1789 and 1803. Better known for his flute concertos, Devienne gives us a concertante piece that enjoys a natural polish and capacity for embellishment. The Sonata No. 1 in C Major certainly has the clarinet moving in fluid runs and leaps in sympathy with the flute’s colors, mostly in the mezzo or high registers. The piano has its Mannheim rockets in soft modalities, played more for charm than volcanic temperament. The active outer movements frame a disarmingly affecting Adagio, in which Leister’s peerless tone and limitless breath control can exult in chromatic, nuanced melody. Typically, the final Rondo sounds like Gallicized Mozart, alternately dainty and flighty. The sheer lithe quality of Leister’s playing makes me want to call him the Jean-Pierre Rampal of the clarinet.

–Gary Lemco

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