Brightmusic Chamber Ensemble

Norbert Burgmüller (1810-1836), Duo for Clarinet and Piano, Op. 15

Norbert Burgmüller was a German composer of the early Romantic period. He was born into a musical family, and he studied with Joseph Kreutzer and Louis Spohr. After personal losses, he became epileptic and began to drink heavily. Upon returning to Düsseldorf to live with his widowed mother, he befriended Mendelssohn who had an influence on his music. Burgmüller intended to leave for Paris to join his brother.  However, he succumbed to a seizure while at a spa in Aachen and lost his life at the age of 26, ending a promising career.

The Duo for Clarinet and Piano, Op. 15 was written during the last two years of Burgmüller’s life but was not published until 1865.  It is a significant 19^th-century Romantic-era chamber work in the clarinet repertoire.  It is characterized by intense lyrical melodies and technical virtuosity, typically performed in a single, three-part movement (Allegro, Larghetto, Allegro), and the work features a balanced role between the instruments.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), Kegelstatt Trio for Clarinet, Viola and Piano, K. 498

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is one of the most famous and influential composers of all time. From an early life as a child prodigy to the very end of his life, he amazed audiences and fellow composers alike.  His work displayed many new creative elements in the prominent music of the Classical Period. The vast volume of works (in the Köchel catalogue created in 1862) extends from an early minuet for keyboard composed at age 5-6 to beyond 600 works in basically all media of performance.

The Kegelstatt Trio for Clarinet, Viola and Piano, K. 498 was written in 1786 and dedicated to one of his students. The term “Kegelstatt” (German for a place where the game of skittles is played) was probably applied much later to the work by Köchel when he was preparing the Mozart catalogue.  The trio features a three-movement structure. Unusually, it begins with a contemplative Andante movement rather than the traditional Allegro.  Then the Menuetto takes the place of the traditional slow movement. Finally, the last movement is indeed an Allegro, but the tempo is not as contrasting vs. the other movements as is typical with most piano trios.

Max Bruch (1838-1920), Eight Pieces for Clarinet, Viola and Piano, Op. 83

Max Bruch was a Romantic-era German composer, violinist and conductor.  He wrote more than 200 works, including three violin concertos, of which the first has become a standard in the repertoire.  During his life, Bruch was known primarily as a choral composer but was overshadowed by his friend Brahms.  His “Scottish Fantasy” and “Kol Nidrei” are his most often-performed orchestral works today.

Eight Pieces for Clarinet, Viola, and Piano, Op. 83 was written in 1910 for Bruch’s own son Max who played clarinet.  Seven of the eight pieces focus on melancholic, lyrical melodies.  The movements are designed as “salon” pieces where performers might pick and choose rather than playing all eight on one concert.

Program notes by Larry Reed