Weber: Clarinet Quintet, Concertino for Clarinet, Grand Duo Concertant & Der Freischütz Overture Jörg Widmann, Denis Kozhukhin, Irish Chamber Orchestra

• Carl Maria von Weber (1786 - 1826): Concertino in E-Flat Major, Op. 26:
• 1Concertino in E-Flat Major, Op. 26: I. Adagio ma non troppo02:28
• 2Concertino in E-Flat Major, Op. 26: II. Andante04:47
• 3Concertino in E-Flat Major, Op. 26: III. Allegro02:10
• Der Freischütz, Op. 77: Overture
• 4Der Freischütz, Op. 77: Overture10:11
• 5Grand Duo Concertant in E-Flat Major, Op. 48: I. Allegro con fuoco09:37
• Grand Duo Concertant in E-Flat Major, Op. 48:
• 6Grand Duo Concertant in E-Flat Major, Op. 48: II. Andante con moto06:38
• 7Grand Duo Concertant in E-Flat Major, Op. 48: III. Rondo. Allegro06:27
• Clarinet Quintet in B-Flat Major, Op. 34:
• 8Clarinet Quintet in B-Flat Major, Op. 34: I. Allegro10:02
• 9Clarinet Quintet in B-Flat Major, Op. 34: II. Fantasia (Adagio)06:27
• 10Clarinet Quintet in B-Flat Major, Op. 34: III. Menuetto04:59
• 11Clarinet Quintet in B-Flat Major, Op. 34: IV. Rondo (Allegro)05:39
• Total Runtime01:09:25

Info for Weber: Clarinet Quintet, Concertino for Clarinet, Grand Duo Concertant & Der Freischütz Overture

For his first release on Alpha, the clarinetist and conductor Jörg Widmann celebrates the music of a composer who wrote some of the finest pieces ever devoted to his instrument: Carl Maria von Weber. With the ensemble of which he is principal conductor, the Irish Chamber Orchestra, he has recorded the Clarinet Quintet (in its version with string ensemble) and the Concertino, composed in 1811 and 1815 respectively, along with the ever-popular Overture to Der Freischütz. The pianist Denis Kozhukhin joins Widmann to perform the Grand Duo concertant. This album is the first in a series of recordings that will also give us a chance to meet Jörg Widmann in his role as one of the most active composers of his generation.

Jörg Widmann, clarinet, conductor
Denis Kozhukhin, piano
Irish Chamber Orchestra

Jörg Widmann
Jörg Widmann is one of the most versatile and intriguing artists of his generation. As clarinetist, Widmann studied with Gerd Starke in Munich and Charles Neidich at the Juilliard School in New York. He performs regularly with leading world orchestras, such as Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Orchestra National de France, National Symphony Orchestra Washington, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and Toronto Symphony Orchestra. He collaborates with conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Valery Gergiev, Kent Nagano, Sylvain Cambreling, Christoph Eschenbach and Christoph von Dohnányi.

Several clarinet concerti have been dedicated to and written for him, including Wolfgang Rihm’s Musik für Klarinette und Orchester (1999) and Aribert Reimann’s Cantus (2006). Widmann gave the world premiere of Mark Andre’s new Clarinet Concerto at the 2015 Donauerschinger Musiktage.

Amongst his regular chamber music partners are renowned soloists and ensembles such as Sir András Schiff, Daniel Barenboim, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Mitsuko Uchida, and the Hagen and Arcanto quartets.

Widmann’s compositions are performed regularly by conductors such as Pierre Boulez, Christian Thielemann, Mariss Jansons, Andris Nelsons and Simon Rattle, and premiered by orchestras such as the Wiener and Berliner Philharmoniker, New York Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris and many others.

Widmann has been Artist in Residence at leading orchestras and festivals such as Lucerne and Heidelberger Frühling, and has been featured in artist portraits at Vienna’s Konzerthaus, Frankfurt’s Alte Oper, Cologne’s Philharmonie and New York’s Carnegie Hall, where his music was featured for an entire season under the motto, “Making Music: Jörg Widmann.”

Booklet for Weber: Clarinet Quintet, Concertino for Clarinet, Grand Duo Concertant & Der Freischütz Overture