Deutsche Grammophon: Yuja Wang, Andreas Ottensamer & Gautier Capuçon — Rachmaninoff & Brahms (CD)

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Product Details:

• Product Type: Audio CD
• Brand / Label: Deutsche Grammophon (Universal Music)
• Performers: Yuja Wang (piano), Andreas Ottensamer (clarinet), Gautier Capuçon (cello)
• Composers: Johannes Brahms, Sergei Rachmaninoff
• Works: Brahms — Cello Sonata No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38; Rachmaninoff — Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 19; Brahms — Clarinet Trio in A minor, Op. 114
• Release Year: 2022
• UPC: 028948623884
• Catalogue Number: 486 2388 (00289 486 2388)
• Genre: Classical / Chamber / Late Romantic

Product Features

• Format: CD
• Discs: 1
• Total runtime: 82 minutes 57 seconds
• Made in the EU
• Condition: Brand New, Factory Sealed

Overview

Three of the most charismatic instrumentalists of their generation — pianist Yuja Wang, clarinettist Andreas Ottensamer, and cellist Gautier Capuçon — turn out to be close friends and regular chamber partners, and that rapport is the whole point of this Deutsche Grammophon album. The programme gathers late-Romantic masterpieces by Brahms and Rachmaninoff, played with the kind of ease that only comes from musicians who genuinely enjoy each other's company.

The heart of the disc is two great cello-and-piano sonatas. Brahms's Cello Sonata No. 1 in E minor is autumnal and contrapuntal, closing with a fugal finale that nods to Bach. Rachmaninoff's expansive G minor Sonata is its emotional opposite — lush, surging, almost a concerto for two equals, with one of the most beautiful slow movements in the repertoire. Capuçon and Wang are an ideal match for both.

Ottensamer joins for the third work, Brahms's late Clarinet Trio in A minor, Op. 114 — a mellow, valedictory piece for clarinet, cello, and piano from the composer's final years. Critics noted the instinctive partnership and the electricity in the playing; Capuçon himself called the sessions rare and beautiful.

A strong choice for chamber-music lovers and admirers of any of these three star performers.

Interesting Facts

• The three performers are close friends who regularly play chamber music together, which shaped the relaxed chemistry of this recording.
• Brahms wrote his Clarinet Trio, Op. 114, in 1891, late in life, inspired by the playing of clarinettist Richard Mühlfeld.
• Rachmaninoff's Cello Sonata in G minor dates from 1901, the same productive period as his celebrated Second Piano Concerto.
• Andreas Ottensamer is the principal clarinettist of the Berlin Philharmonic and the first wind player signed as an exclusive DG artist.
• Gautier Capuçon appears on the recording by kind permission of the Erato label.
• The generous 82-minute programme fills a single CD nearly to capacity.

Track Listing

• Brahms — Cello Sonata No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38 (tracks 1–3) — 25:14
• Rachmaninoff — Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 19 (tracks 4–7) — 34:14
• Brahms — Clarinet Trio in A minor, Op. 114 (tracks 8–11) — 23:25

Total time: 82:57

Publishers

℗ 2022 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Berlin (a Universal Music company). Made in the EU. Hungarian distribution: Universal Music Kft.

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