Labor Chamber music with clarinet

[Alan Howe]

...forthcoming from Capriccio:



Contents of this 2-CD set:
Clarinet Trio in E minor
Clarinet Trio in G minor
Quintet in D major for clarinet, violin, viola, cello, and piano, Op. 11
Wind Quintet

[Gareth Vaughan]

Very interesting. I have enjoyed previous disks of Labor's chamber music which Capriccio have issued. I hope very much that Triendl will get round to recording the 3 Konzertstucken for piano (left hand) and orchestra, which Labor wrote for Paul Wittgenstein - ms scores and, in at least 2 cases, orchestral parts at ONB.

[John Boyer]

I just finished listening to my copy and can assure anyone interested that what you see is what you get: more very fine performances of this attractive romantic music. 

There is a bit of a goof in the notes. The writer asserts that of all the concertos that Paul Wittgenstein commissioned, only the works by Labor have not been recorded on CD. This does not strike me as even remotely true; many of those other works still lie unperformed and unrecorded.   

[Gareth Vaughan]

Oh yes, John. That's complete nonsense. Very sloppy research.

[Alan Howe]

The Op.11 (pub.1902) Quintet is a most beautiful work. The notes mention a contemporary review which talks about a lack of variety in the writing - it is a very relaxed piece - but I suppose it depends what one is looking for. Music for quiet evening listening just as dusk falls, maybe...

[John Boyer]

They are indeed all very relaxed works. There is no drama - which not a criticism - rather, just a sense of tranquility. In fact, at least three of them (perhaps all four?) end quietly.

As for the Quintet, Op. 11, we have encountered this before on a 2006 Çedille recording by the Orion Ensemble, coupled with the quartet for clarinet, violin, cello, and piano by Walter Rabl.