Mozart and Romantic Encores for Clarinet and Strings [Pure DSD]

I was eager to discover what producer Ray Kimber and recording engineers Aaron Hubbard and Nathan Call, were able to achieve with the Sonolumina Ensemble.

The title suggests lots of romance and it does so with a series of ‘encores’ featuring one of American’s top clarinetist, Russell Harlow. Harlow is a long-time first-desk clarinet with the Utah Symphony, accompanied by various stringed instruments, who are all, one way or the other, part of a ‘Utah Connection’. Detailed descriptions of each of these highly competent players are given in the liner notes.

Some of the short and not so very short pieces are arrangements for chamber players, like Schumann’s lovely ‘Abendlied’ (Evening Song) Op. 85 No. 12 by Ferruccio Busoni and Tchaikovsky’s ’Herbslied’ (Autumn Song) from “The Seasons” Op 37a by Toru Takemitsu.

Alexander Glazunov’s ‘Oriental Reverie’ Op. 14 no. 2 for Clarinet and String Quartet is supposed to have been taken from a clarinet duo and later also scored for orchestra. It offers a nice contrast to the following more popular ‘Canzone’ in F Minor, by his compatriot Sergey Taneyev, scored for clarinet, string quartet, with an added bass for that warm mellow sound.

How romantic is Mozart anyway? All a matter of taste and a matter of playing. If one lifts out the second movement, in the hands of these musicians the Larghetto sounds as romantic as romantic can be. Mozart purists may disagree, but I think it is part of the freedom of interpretation, and moreover it sounds incredibly exquisite. I wouldn’t be surprised if others agree with me that the Clarinet Quintet is one of Mozart’s more emotionally sensitive works. The Sonolumina Ensemble have nonetheless taken precautionary measures by calling this release: Mozart and Romantic Encores.

As for the playing, there are numerous competitive recordings and many good ones at that. With superb clarinet playing from Leslie Howard, skillfully and effectively supported by the string quartet, this one ranks in my view in the upper half of the market. And taken in the context of the romantic atmosphere of an overall program of dreamy delight, I’m convinced that it won’t fail to give satisfaction to many discerning listeners, especially if they are in a corresponding mood.

One of the indispensable factors for the success of this release is no doubt the innovating standard of the recording. Free of customary tampering, it is ‘as played’. The Surround Sound is DSD 4.0 Channel. But so well done that I had to put my ear close to the front center speaker to ascertain that nothing came out of it.

The dynamic span between the softest and loudest passages is breathtakingly wide and natural and – back on the subject – impossible to bring about in commercial Red Book CD quality. Reason for me to also recommend this new release to all dissenters. They might like to hear something they have thus far denied it ever existed.