About this Release
“The music of Johannes Brahms has always been close to my heart. I feel incredibly privileged to have recorded this music in this transcription for solo piano by Paul Klengel and I can imagine Brahms himself playing these pieces on his own piano demonstrating the wonders of the music to his close friends and colleagues. Having known and loved these two works for most of my musical life I found it both interesting and revealing to study and play the music in this version for solo piano and there are moments in the music that made me think of so much other great music by Brahms. I was immediately reminded of the early symphonic piano sonatas when playing the scherzo and finale of the Horn Trioand the intimate characters and reflective harmonies of the Clarinet Quintet are reminiscent of the Intermezzi and Capricci in his late piano music.” — Christopher Williams
BRAHMS, JOHANNES (1833–1897)
Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano • Clarinet Quintet (arr. P. Klengel for Piano)
- Christopher Williams, piano
The 19th century witnessed an almost insatiable demand for arrangements and transcriptions to be played on domestic pianos. Brahms himself wrote such works under the names GW Marks and Karl Würth but friends and colleagues also contributed. The violinist, pianist and conductor Paul Klengel, brother of the eminent cellist Julius, made solo piano versions of the Horn Trio and the Clarinet Quintet, transcribing with remarkable fidelity and sensitivity Brahms’ myriad expressive and technical demands.
This recording was made on a modern instrument: Steinway, Model D
Tracklist
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Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano in E-Flat Major, Op. 40 (arr. P. Klengel for piano) (1865) (00:29:00 )
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1
I. Andante - Poco più animato * (00:08:47)
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2
II. Scherzo: Allegro * (00:06:41)
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3
III. Adagio mesto * (00:07:14)
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4
IV. Finale: Allegro con brio * (00:06:06)
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Clarinet Quintet in B Minor, Op. 115 (arr. P. Klengel for piano) (1891) (00:41:00 )
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5
I. Allegro * (00:13:03)
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6
II. Adagio * (00:12:08)
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7
III. Andantino - Presto non assai, ma con sentimento * (00:05:56)
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8
IV. Con moto * (00:10:22)
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The Artist(s)
Christopher Williams is a music graduate of Cardiff University and now leads a busy and varied professional life as a pianist, composer, conductor, teacher and arranger. He is currently assistant director of the BBC National Chorus of Wales and is a pianist for the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, with whom he has performed at the BBC Proms and recorded for the Chandos and Hyperion labels. In addition to his work as a soloist, Williams is in great demand as an accompanist and chamber musician, and has partnered many of the prominent instrumentalists of his generation including Philippe Schartz, Tim Thorpe, David Childs, David Pyatt and Tine Thing Helseth. He has also appeared on BBC TV and been broadcast on BBC Radio and Radio Luxembourg. His recording of Brahms transcriptions for Grand Piano was featured as album of the week on NDR Kultur. The Composer(s)
Born in Hamburg, the son of a double bass player and his older seamstress wife, Brahms attracted the attention of Schumann, to whom he was introduced by the violinist Joachim. After Schumann’s death he maintained a long friendship with the latter’s widow, the pianist Clara Schumann, whose advice he always valued. Brahms eventually settled in Vienna, where to some he seemed the awaited successor to Beethoven. His blend of Classicism in form with a Romantic harmonic idiom made him the champion of those opposed to the musical innovations of Wagner and Liszt. In Vienna he came to occupy a position similar to that once held by Beethoven, his gruff idiosyncrasies tolerated by those who valued his genius. Reviews
“These arrangements are engaging and virtuosic, and I imagine that you would have had to be a more than competent pianist to do the music justice.” – MusicWeb International
Grand Piano has gained a reputation for producing high quality recordings of rare keyboard gems. Dedicated to the exploration of undiscovered piano repertoire, the label specialises in complete cycles of piano works by many lesser-known composers, whose output might otherwise have remained unknown and unrecorded.
- info@grandpianorecords.com
