Presents
Anton Reicha
Clarinet Quintet in B flat Major, Op.89--New Edition
Anton Reicha, (1770-1836, Antonin Rejcha in the Czech form) was born in Prague. Orphaned at an early age, he went to Bavaria and was adopted by his uncle, Joseph Reicha, a concert cellist and music director. He studied violin, flute, piano and composition while with his uncle. In 1785, his family moved to Bonn, where Joseph became music director at the electoral court. There, Anton got to know Beethoven with whom he became life-long friends. He traveled extensively. After living in Paris and Hamburg, in 1801 he moved to Vienna where he studied with Albrechtsberger and Salieri and resumed his friendship with Beethoven and Haydn. In 1806, in part because of the Napoleonic invasion of Vienna, he decided to move to Paris where he spent the rest of his life, eventually becoming a naturalized French citizen. He became a professor at the Paris Conservatory and was one of the most famous teachers of his time. George Onslow, Louise Farrenc, Franz Liszt, Hector Berlioz, Cesar Franck and Charles Gounod were among his many students. He also gained fame as a theorist. He was an innovator in many areas. Though perhaps not the inventor of the Wind Quintet, he was the first to popularize it. A prolific composer, he wrote in virtually every genre. Chamber music is a very important part of his oeuvre. He was always interested in experimenting and in many respects was way ahead of his time dabbling with polytonality and quartet tones. He wrote that he felt the most creative when he experimented trying new things rather than following traditional forms.
His Clarinet Quintet in B flat Major was completed around 1820 and was one of several such works. It was dedicated to Jean Baptist Boscary de Villeplaine, a wealthy Parisian stockbroker and was intended for Jacques-Jules Bouffil, a Professor of Clarinet at the Paris Conservatory. The opening Allegro begins with an upbeat statement by the strings, followed by a graceful subject presented by the clarinet sounding rather like early Beethoven. The melody is then taken over by the first violin while the clarinet and lower three strings provide an accompaniment and then back to clarinet again and so forth and so on. While the clarinet is treated as primus inter pares, the strings are by no means ignored. The second movement, a stately Andante, begins as a solo for the clarinet but the strings eventually take an equal part of the conversation. The Menuetto, allegro which comes next at first sounds rather like something Haydn might have penned or perhaps early Schubert. The work concludes with lighthearted Allegretto in 6/8 filled with catchy themes.
Not only is this an historically important work as it is one of the first French quintets for clarinets and strings, albeit by a composer whose music sounds more Viennese than French. It is strong enough to brought into the concert hall also be managed by amateurs with a competent clarinetist.
Parts: $29.95
Parts & Score: $39.95
