Weber & Kurpinski: Clarinet Concertos Eric Hoeprich, Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century & Guy van Waas

• Carl Maria von Weber (1786 - 1826): Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 73, J. 114:
• 1Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 73, J. 114: I. Allegro07:50
• 2Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 73, J. 114: II. Adagio ma non troppo05:47
• 3Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 73, J. 114: III. Rondo. Allegretto06:18
• Karol Kurpinski (1785 - 1857):
• 4Clarinet Concerto in B-Flat Major11:28
• Carl Maria von Weber: Clarinet Concerto No. 2 in E-Flat Major, Op. 74, J. 118:
• 5Clarinet Concerto No. 2 in E-Flat Major, Op. 74, J. 118: I. Allegro08:35
• 6Clarinet Concerto No. 2 in E-Flat Major, Op. 74, J. 118: II. Romanza. Allegro con moto07:12
• 7Clarinet Concerto No. 2 in E-Flat Major, Op. 74, J. 118: III. Polacca06:58
• Total Runtime54:08

Info for Weber & Kurpinski: Clarinet Concertos

For more than four decades now, 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 repertoire of the 18th and 19th centuries. Founding member and principal clarinet of the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, Hoeprich has performed frequently as a soloist with the orchestra, with his recording of Mozarts Clarinet Concerto for Glossa, under the direction of Frans Brüggen (2001), being a major milestone. With his ensembles Nachtmusique and Stadler Trio he has also made frequent recordings for Glossa, while his collaborations with the London Haydn Quartet have yielded another handful of fine albums for the label, the latest of which, published just a few months ago in 2020, contains two Weber Clarinet Quintets and is a perfect companion for the current release. With a copy of the historical clarinet played by Heinrich Baermann, the clarinetist for whom Weber composed all his great works, and together with the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century as conducted by Guy Van Waas, Eric Hoeprich renders two reference versions of the two Clarinet Concertos that Weber composed in 1811 in rapid succession, and with which the two men toured throughout Europe where they were fêted and adored. Hoeprich also includes on this recording a Clarinet Concerto by the Polish composer Karol Kurpinski, another truly exceptional work.

Eric Hoeprich, clarinet
Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century
Guy van Waas, conductor

Eric Hoeprich
is one of the world's leading exponents of the historical clarinet. He was born in Baltimore, MD, and has an honors degree in philosophy from Harvard. He teaches at the Paris Conservatoire, Indiana University’s Early Music Institute, and the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. For the past thirty years he 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 eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

As a founding member and principal clarinet of Frans Brüggen’s Orchestra of the 18th 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, and Jos van Immerseel. With Brüggen’s orchestra Hoeprich has recorded the basset clarinet version of the Mozart Clarinet Concerto for the Glossa label.

Hoeprich’s activities as a chamber musician also take him around the world, both with his own ensembles and as a guest with numerous string quartets and pianists. For a recent recording on Glossa of the Mozart Clarinet Quintet (for which he again plays the rare basset clarinet) coupled with the Brahms Quintet, he was joined by the London Haydn Quartet (with the quartet using gut strings and classical bows). His groups Nachtmusique (a Harmoniemusik ensemble) and the Stadler Trio (three basset horns) were both founded in the 1980s: with them Hoeprich has recorded music by Mozart, Beethoven, and Franz Krommer. He is also the author of The Clarinet (Yale University Press, 2008).

Booklet for Weber & Kurpinski: Clarinet Concertos