Crusell: 3 Quartets for Clarinet & Strings Eric Hoeprich & members of the London Haydn Quartet

• Bernhard Henrik Crusell (1775 - 1838):
• 1Clarinet Quartet No. 3 in D Major, Op. 7: I. Allegro non tanto09:43
• 2Clarinet Quartet No. 3 in D Major, Op. 7: II. Un poco largo05:19
• 3Clarinet Quartet No. 3 in D Major, Op. 7: III. Menuetto. Allegro - Trio04:25
• 4Clarinet Quartet No. 3 in D Major, Op. 7: IV. Finale. Allegro06:40
• 5Clarinet Quartet No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 4: I. Allegro molto agitato05:51
• 6Clarinet Quartet No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 4: II. Menuetto - Trio04:27
• 7Clarinet Quartet No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 4: III. Pastorale. Un poco allegretto04:56
• 8Clarinet Quartet No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 4: IV. Rondo. Allegro03:48
• 9Clarinet Quartet No. 1 in E-Flat Major, Op. 2: I. Poco adagio - Allegro10:09
• 10Clarinet Quartet No. 1 in E-Flat Major, Op. 2: II. Romanze. Cantabile05:02
• 11Clarinet Quartet No. 1 in E-Flat Major, Op. 2: III. Menuetto. Allegro - Trio03:38
• 12Clarinet Quartet No. 1 in E-Flat Major, Op. 2: IV. Rondo. Allegro vivace03:41
• Total Runtime01:07:39

Info for Crusell: 3 Quartets for Clarinet & Strings

Dank seiner außerordentlichen Begabung als Klarinettist gelang es dem finnischen Komponisten Bernard Henrik Crusell schnell, seinen Heimatort Uusikaupunki zu verlassen und Beschäftigung in der Metropole Stockholm zu finden. Dort verbrachte er den Rest seines Lebens, hauptsächlich als Mitglied der königlich-schwedischen Hofkapelle. Reisen führten Crusell nach Berlin, Dresden, Leipzig und Paris, wo er die Bekanntschaft vieler großer Musiker und wichtiger Instrumentenbauer machte. Seine Klarinettenwerke, unter anderem drei Konzerte, waren in musikalischen Kreisen zu Beginn des 19. Jahrhunderts allgemein bekannt.

Eric Hoeprich, Soloklarinettist des Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century seit seiner Gründung, hat sich auf das Spiel auf historischen Klarinetten spezialisiert und besitzt eine umfangreiche Sammlung von Instrumenten aus dem 18. und 19. Jahrhundert. Er hat fast ein Dutzend Aufnahmen bei Glossa veröffentlicht, unter anderem Mozarts Klarinettenkonzert unter der Leitung von Frans Brüggen. Bereits seit vielen Jahren arbeitet er mit dem London Haydn Quartet zusammen; ein Höhepunkt dieser Kooperation ist die Referenzaufnahme der Klarinettenquintette von Mozart und Brahms (Glossa, 2004).

Auf dieser Neueinspielung der Quartette von Crusell sind Hoeprich und die Mitglieder des London Haydn Quartet auf hervorragenden historischen Instrumenten zu hören, die einen warmen, mischungsfreundlichen Klang erzeugen, der zugleich transparent und detailreich ist. Der hervorragende Tonmeister Philip Hobbs hat die CD in der St Martin’s Church in East Woodhay (England) aufgenommen; der Booklettext stammt von Eric Hoeprich selbst.

Eric Hoeprich, Klarinette
London Haydn Quartet

Eric Hoeprich
principal clarinet of the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century since its foundation, has specialized in performing on the historical clarinet, also being the owner of a large collection of 18th and 19th century instruments. On Glossa he has issued nearly a dozen of recordings, including the Mozart Clarinet Concerto directed by Frans Brüggen. His regular collaboration with the London Haydn Quartet lasts for many years now, with a referential recording of the Mozart and Brahms Quintets being an important highlight (Glossa, 2004).

For the past twenty-five years Eric Hoeprich has specialized in performing on the historical clarinet. His expertise as a musician, scholar and instrument maker allows for a unique approach to the solo clarinet repertoire of the 18th and 19th centuries.

As a founding member and principal clarinet of Frans Brüggen’s Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, Hoeprich has performed frequently as a soloist with this orchestra, as well as with many of the major early music ensembles in Europe, the United States and Australia under conductors such as Nicholas McGegan, Roger Norrington, Christopher Hogwood, Philippe Herreweghe, Michael Willens and Jos van Immerseel. With Frans Brüggen’s orchestra Hoeprich has recorded the basset clarinet version of the Mozart Clarinet Concerto for Glossa.

The Baltimore-born Hoeprich’s activities as a chamber musician also take him around the world, both with his wind ensembles Nachtmusique and Stadler Trio, and as a guest with numerous string quartets and pianists. For a recent recording on Glossa of the Mozart Clarinet Quintet (again playing the basset clarinet) coupled with the Brahms Quintet, he was joined by the London Haydn Quartet (with the quartet using gut strings and classical bows). The Harmoniemusik ensemble Nachtmusique and the Stadler Trio (three basset horns) were both founded in the 1980s and with the former Hoeprich has recorded music by Mozart, Beethoven and Franz Krommer.

As a scholar, Hoeprich has been contracted by Yale University Press to write a comprehensive book on the clarinet as part of a new series on the instruments of the orchestra. He is on the faculties of the Conservatoire National Supèrieur de Musique de Paris, the Royal Conservatory of Music in The Hague and at Indiana University, Bloomington. He published articles in several journals such as Early Music, Galpin Society Journal, The Clarinet, Tibia and Scherzo.

His interest in the early clarinet has led Hoeprich to amass a large collection of 18th and 19th century clarinets. Of particular interest is a clarinet made by the same maker that built the instrument played by Heinrich Bärmann, the clarinettist for whom Weber composed all his great works. He also owns what is credibly the oldest surviving French clarinet, made in the 1770s by Prudent in Paris. Additionally he has clarinets by Georg Ottensteiner whose instruments were played by Richard Mühlfeld for whom Brahms wrote all his chamber works for clarinet, and a reproduction of Anton Stadler’s basset clarinet which Hoeprich made himself based on an engraving from a program in Riga where Stadler performed the Mozart clarinet concerto in 1794.

Booklet for Crusell: 3 Quartets for Clarinet & Strings