Johannes Brahms's Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115 was written in 1891 for the clarinettist Richard Mühlfeld. It is widely regarded as Brahms's supreme achievement in chamber music.^[1]

The piece is known for its autumnal mood. It consists of a clarinet in A with a string quartet and has a duration of approximately thirty-five minutes (or more).

Contents 1 Background 1.1 Clarinet Quintets 1.2 Brahms and Mühlfeld 2 Performances 3 Structure 3.1 First Movement 3.2 Second Movement 3.3 Third Movement 3.4 Fourth Movement 4 Notes 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Background

[edit] Clarinet Quintets

At the time Brahms started composing his Clarinet Quintet, few works had been composed for this type of ensemble. They include pieces by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Anton Reicha, Carl Maria von Weber, Franz Krommer, Alexander Glazunov, and Heinrich Bärmann. Brahms modeled his composition after Mozart's Clarinet Quintet.

[edit] Brahms and Mühlfeld

Brahms had retired from composing prior to listening to Richard Mühlfeld play. Brahms may have met Mühlfeld already when Hans von Bülow was directing the Meiningen orchestra. But it was Fritz Steinbach, von Bülow's successor, who brought Mühlfeld's playing to the attention of Brahms in March 1891. Brahms was very enthusiastic about Mühlfeld.^[2] That summer at Bad Ischl, he composed the Clarinet Quintet and his Trio for Piano, Clarinet, and Cello, in A minor, Op. 114, for Mühlfeld. He later also composed two Clarinet Sonatas.

[edit] Performances

The quintet received its first private performance on November 24, 1891 in Meiningen,^[3][4] with Richard Mühlfeld and the Joachim Quartet, led by Joseph Joachim who often collaborated with Brahms. The public premiere was on December 12, 1891 in Berlin.^[3][5][6]

It soon received performances across Europe, including London and Vienna both with the original and other ensembles.

[edit] Structure

The piece consists of four movements.

1. Allegro in B minor, in 6:8 time
2. Adagio in B major, in 3:4 time modulating into B minor and then B-flat minor and back to B major
3. Andantino in D major, in common time evolving into Presto non assai, ma con sentimento in B minor in 2:4 time
4. Con moto in B minor, in 2:4 with a key transition to B major returning to B minor into a meter of 3:8 and then transforming into 6:8 time

[edit] First Movement

	Clarinet Quintet - 1. Allegro Performed by William McColl and the Orford String Quartet
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Like the quintet by Mozart, the strings play the theme at the beginning. This movement sets an autumnal mood for the rest of the composition. One phrase, towards the middle played by the clarinet, sounds closely related to one in the first movement of Carl Maria von Weber's Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in F minor. This was possibly inserted because when Brahms listened to Richard Mühlfeld at his recital, he was playing this concerto.

[edit] Second Movement

Clarinet Quintet - 2. Adagio Performed by William McColl and the Orford String Quartet

The melody is a reflective love song first introduced by the clarinet. Later, the mood changes back to the gloomy atmosphere of the first movement. The clarinet performs technical runs playing from all ranges. It returns back to the beginning theme and then subsides.

[edit] Third Movement

Clarinet Quintet - 3. Andantino Performed by William McColl and the Orford String Quartet

The shortest of all four, the movement begins sweetly being one of the composition's few uplifting passages. In measure twenty-three, the clarinet and violin play as if they were talking in a conversation. It modulates back from its heart-warming D major into the darken B minor. This section is highly influenced by the first part and even ends the same except being in a 2/4 meter.

[edit] Fourth Movement

Clarinet Quintet - 4. Con Moto Performed by William McColl and the Orford String Quartet

This movement is titled "With Motion" and contains theme and variations as do Mozart's Clarinet Quintet and Brahms's Clarinet Sonata No. 2. Tempo varies according to the musician. Another sweet melody which resembles the second movement is in this part and is in the same B major key. Later, it brings back the theme from the Allegro and ends with a loud chord which eventually fades away.

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Lawson, Colin (1998). Brahms: Clarinet Quintet. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521588316. 

[edit] External links

• Portnoy,Bernard. "Brahms' Prima Donna". http://www.clarinet.org/journal/anthology/1949-03-Portnoy.asp. Retrieved 2008-07-21. , originally published in Woodwind Magazine 1, No. 5 (March, 1949)
• Program notes and links about Brahms' Clarinet Quintet

v • d • e Chamber music by Johannes Brahms Duos Violin Sonata No. 1 in G major, Op. 78 · Violin Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 100 · Violin Sonata No. 3 in D minor, Op. 108 · Clarinet Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 120 No. 1 · Clarinet Sonata No. 2 in E flat major, Op. 120 No. 2 · Cello Sonata No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38 · Cello Sonata No. 2 in F major, Op. 99 Trios Piano Trio No. 1 in B major, Op. 8 · Piano Trio No. 2 in C major, Op. 87 · Piano Trio No. 3 in C minor, Op. 101 · Piano Trio No. 4 in A major, Op. posth · Trio for piano, violin and horn in E flat major, Op. 40 · Trio for piano, cello and clarinet in A minor, Op. 114 Quartets String Quartet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 51 No. 1 · String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 51 No. 2 · String Quartet No. 3 in B flat major, Op. 67 · Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25 · Piano Quartet No. 2 in A major, Op. 26 · Piano Quartet No. 3 in C minor, Op. 60 Quintets Plus String Quintet No. 1 in F major, Op. 88 · String Quintet No. 2 in G major, Op. 111 · Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115 · Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34 · String Sextet No. 1 in B flat major, Op. 18 · String Sextet No. 2 in G major, Op. 36 List of compositions by Johannes Brahms