Description

Warner Classics & Jazz: Sharon Kam — Weber Clarinet Concertos & Grand Duo Concertant (Audio CD)

Brand new! Factory packaged! As pictured! Buy with confidence!

Product Details:

UPC: 825646971862
Catalog Number: 2564 69718-6
Product Type: Audio CD
Brand / Label: Warner Classics & Jazz (Maestro series) / Teldec Classics
Performer: Sharon Kam (clarinet)
Orchestra: Gewandhausorchester Leipzig
Conductor: Kurt Masur
Piano: Itamar Golan
Composer: Carl Maria von Weber (1786–1826)
Release Year: 2007 (this edition); recordings ℗ 1996
Genre: Classical
Style: Clarinet Concerto, Romantic

Product Features

Format: CD
Discs: 1
Total runtime: 64:01
Recording: Studio, DDD (℗ 1996 Teldec Classics)
Booklet languages: English, French, German
Made in: EU
Condition: Brand new, factory sealed

Overview

This Maestro-series reissue gathers Carl Maria von Weber's two clarinet concertos and the Grand Duo concertant in one program, with Israeli clarinetist Sharon Kam as soloist. The concertos are backed by the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig under Kurt Masur; the Grand Duo pairs Kam with pianist Itamar Golan.

Weber wrote both concertos in 1811 for the virtuoso Heinrich Baermann, and they have anchored the clarinet repertoire ever since. The First, in F minor, is dramatic and operatic — unsurprising from the composer of Der Freischütz. The Second, in E-flat, is brighter and more showy, built to display agility across the instrument's full range.

Kam plays with a warm, flexible tone and the technical ease these pieces demand. Masur and the Gewandhaus give her a supple orchestral partner, never heavy, always responsive to the clarinet's line. The Grand Duo concertant closes the disc as a genuine two-way conversation between clarinet and piano rather than a soloist-with-accompaniment.

At 64 minutes, the program is a clean survey of Weber's most important writing for the instrument, well recorded and idiomatically played.

Interesting Facts

Sharon Kam (born 1971 in Israel) is among the leading clarinetists of her generation, known for both classical concerto work and chamber music.
Weber composed his two clarinet concertos in 1811 for Heinrich Baermann, one of the foremost clarinet virtuosos of the era.
Kurt Masur (1927–2015) served as Kapellmeister of the Leipzig Gewandhausorchester for 26 years, one of the longest tenures in the orchestra's history.
The Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, founded in 1743, is one of the oldest civic orchestras in the world.
Pianist Itamar Golan is widely regarded as one of the finest chamber-music collaborators of his generation, partnering many leading instrumentalists.
The recordings date from 1996 (Teldec Classics) and were reissued in 2007 in Warner's Maestro line.

Track Listing

1–3. Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in F minor, Op. 73 — 20:20 4–6. Clarinet Concerto No. 2 in E-flat major, Op. 74 — 22:56 7–9. Grand Duo concertant for piano and clarinet in E-flat major, Op. 48 — 20:20