Brahms: Complete String Quartets & Clarinet Quintet – Juilliard String Quartet with Charles Neidich (2CD Set)

• UPC: 8718247711314
• MPN: 8802131
• Brand Name: Newton Classics

Overview

This Newton Classics 2CD collection unites Johannes Brahms’s complete String Quartets and the sublime Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op.115, performed by the legendary Juilliard String Quartet with clarinetist Charles Neidich. Recorded in the acoustically renowned Troy Savings Bank Music Hall (New York) in the early 1990s, these performances combine the Juilliard’s unmatched precision and warmth with Neidich’s expressive clarity, bringing to life Brahms’s late-Romantic lyricism and architectural mastery.

A perfect synthesis of discipline and emotion, this release offers a benchmark interpretation of Brahms’s chamber music legacy—faithful to its introspection, nobility, and subtle passion.

Product Features

• Format: 2CD Set
• Sound: DDD Stereo
• Total Duration: 148′42

• Recording Dates:

  Recording Venue: Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, Troy, New York, USA
  • 9 May 1993 – String Quartets Nos. 1 & 3
  • 13 May 1993 & 28 March 1994 – Quartet No. 2 & Clarinet Quintet
• Producer: Gary Shultz
• Original Label: Sony Music Entertainment (1995)
• Reissue Label: Newton Classics B.V. (2010)
• Country of Manufacture: Netherlands
• Genre: Classical
• Style: Late Romantic Chamber Music

Performers:

• Juilliard String Quartet

  Charles Neidich – Clarinet
  • Robert Mann, Joel Smirnoff – Violins
  • Samuel Rhodes – Viola
  • Joel Krosnick – Cello

Interesting Facts

• A Complete Brahms Experience: Brahms’s three String Quartets (Opp. 51 & 67) represent the pinnacle of his chamber style—lyrical yet tightly constructed, filled with contrapuntal ingenuity and expressive restraint.

• The Clarinet’s Farewell: The Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op.115—composed for Richard Mühlfeld—was one of Brahms’s final works. Its autumnal tone and haunting beauty symbolize both serenity and farewell.

• The Juilliard Legacy: Founded in 1946, the Juilliard String Quartet has been at the forefront of chamber performance for over seven decades. Their Brahms cycle captures their late 20th-century maturity—warm, architectural, and deeply human.

• Neidich’s Golden Tone: American clarinet virtuoso Charles Neidich complements the ensemble with lyrical phrasing and perfect balance, highlighting Brahms’s tender dialogue between strings and wind.

• A Hall of Natural Resonance: Recorded in Troy Savings Bank Music Hall—famed for its superb acoustics—this set benefits from a natural, unforced sound field, ideal for Brahms’s intimate textures.

Track Listing

CD 1 (71′55)

• String Quartet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 51 No. 1 I. Allegro – 11′00 II. Romanze: Poco adagio – 7′09 III. Allegretto molto moderato e comodo – 9′04 IV. Allegro – 6′07

• String Quartet No. 3 in B-flat major, Op. 67 I. Vivace – 11′04 II. Andante – 7′51 III. Agitato (Allegretto non troppo) – 8′47 IV. Poco allegretto con variazioni – Doppio movimento – 10′53

CD 2 (76′47)

• String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 51 No. 2 I. Allegro non troppo – 13′19 II. Andante moderato – 10′11 III. Quasi minuetto, moderato – Allegretto vivace – 5′39 IV. Finale: Allegro non assai – Più vivace – 7′22

• Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115 I. Allegro – 13′24 II. Adagio – 12′03 III. Andantino – Presto non assai, ma con sentimento – 5′08 IV. Con moto – 9′41

Publishers

Sony Music Entertainment – Original Recordings © 1995 Newton Classics B.V. – Reissue © 2010 Art Direction & Design: Jan Martin Wilschut (BND Amsterdam / Hotsprings) Cover Image: Monique Brink LC 24605 Manufactured and printed in the Netherlands

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