Description
Resonus Classics: Ludwig van Beethoven — Septet Op. 20 & Clarinet Trio Op. 11 / Berkeley Ensemble (Audio CD)
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Product Details:
- Product Type: Audio CD
- Brand / Label: Resonus Classics
- Catalog Number: RES10255
- UPC / Barcode: 0506026279029
- Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
- Performer: Berkeley Ensemble
- Release Year: 2020 (Beethoven 250th anniversary edition)
- Genre: Classical
- Style: Chamber Music
Product Features
- Format: CD
- Discs: 1
- Total playing time: 60:04
- Recording type: DDD
- Condition: Factory Sealed
Overview
Two of Beethoven's most celebrated chamber works, performed on a single disc by the Berkeley Ensemble for Resonus Classics. The Septet in E-flat major, Op. 20 was written in 1800 and became one of Beethoven's most popular pieces during his lifetime — a six-movement work for wind and strings that still sounds like a composer at the peak of his early confidence. The Clarinet Trio in B-flat major, Op. 11, nicknamed "Gassenhauer" (meaning something like "street hit"), was written just two years earlier and pairs clarinet, cello, and piano in a combination that was genuinely unusual at the time.
Together, they run just over an hour and offer a clear window into what Beethoven was doing before the "heroic" period took over. Less confrontational than the late quartets, more structured than the improvised style of his concert pieces — chamber music for people who want to sit with something carefully made.
The Berkeley Ensemble recorded this as part of the composer's 250th anniversary year. The DDD recording is clean and well-balanced, giving each instrument its space without over-polishing the textures.
Interesting Facts
- The Septet Op. 20 was such a crowd-pleaser in Beethoven's day that he reportedly grew tired of its fame — later in life he dismissed requests to arrange or extend it, feeling it had overshadowed his more serious work.
- The "Gassenhauer" nickname for Op. 11 comes from its final movement, a set of variations on a popular street tune of the time by Joseph Weigl — the musical equivalent of a catchy song everyone knew.
- The Berkeley Ensemble is a UK-based chamber group known for combining period-informed awareness with modern instruments, frequently performing on the Resonus Classics label.
- Resonus Classics was founded to champion British and international chamber and orchestral music, with a strong focus on recording quality and independent distribution.
- Beethoven's Septet was premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienna in 1800 on the same programme as his First Symphony — a remarkable double debut for a composer still finding his large-scale voice.
- The Op. 11 Trio uses the rare instrumentation of clarinet, cello, and piano — a combination Beethoven returned to across several works, drawn to the clarinet's ability to blend warmth with edge.
Track Listing
Septet in E-flat major, Op. 20
- Adagio - Allegro con brio
- Adagio cantabile
- Tempo di Menuetto & Trio
- Andante con Variazioni
- Scherzo & Trio
- Andante con moto alla Marcia - Presto
Trio for Clarinet, Cello and Piano in B-flat major, Op. 11 "Gassenhauer"
- Allegro con brio
- Adagio
- Tema con variazioni
Publishers
Released by Resonus Classics. Recorded and produced in conjunction with Beethoven's 250th anniversary year. DDD recording. More information at www.resonusclassics.com.
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