1894년 11월 클라라 슈만은 그녀의 집에서 음악회를 열었다.

그날 밤 브람스와 클라리넷 연주자 뮐펠트는 브람스의 클라리넷 소나타 두곡을 연주했고, 클라라 슈만과 뮐펠트는 슈만의 환상적 소품을 함께 연주했다.

그날 밤 연주된 작품이 고스란히 담겨져 있는 음반.

쉬프린은 클라리넷의 따스하고 부드러운 음색을 아주 포근하게 연주하고 있다.

브람스를 매혹시켰던 밀펠트의 연주를 연상시키기에 부족함이 없다.

david shifrin - 클라리넷
carol rosenberger - 피아노

johannes brahms
clarinet sonata in e flat major op. 120 no. 2 (21:34)
1. allegro amabile (8:28)
2. allegro appassionato (5:33)
3. andante con moto. allegro (7:25)

robert schumann
fantasiestücke op. 73 (11:19)
4. zart und mit ausdrŸck (3:25)
5. lebhaft, leicht (3:43)
6. rasch und mit feuer (4:09)

johannes brahms
clarinet sonata in f minor op. 120 no. 1 (22:49)
7. allegro appassionato (8:00)
8. andante un poco adagio (5:12)
9. allegretto grazioso (4:10)
10. vivace (5:14)

delos international announces the release of a new chamber music recording featuring two favorite delos artists: carol rosenberger and david shifrin. the two pay tribute to brahms and schumann by recreating clara schumann's musical soirée of 1894, when brahms and the virtuoso clarinetist richard mühlfeld performed the two clarinet sonatas op. 120, and clara schumann and mühlfeld played the fantasiestücke.

the repertoire on the new delos cd belongs to a small group of 19th-century masterpieces composed for the novel medium of clarinet and piano. among major composers, only mozart and weber had written for this medium, setting the precedent for the lyrical impassioned works of schumann and brahms.

the story of brahms' and schumann's first meeting and their friendship is well-known. but the catalytic role of clara schumann in bringing recognition and fame to her husband's music through performance has not often been recognized. delos pays tribute to clara schumann as well.

the program booklet contains comments by david shifrin gleaned from a recent interview. mr. shifrin sees many important similarities between brahms' and schumann's writing for clarinet and piano: "it's never a matter of the piano accompanying the clarinet so much as the clarinet being almost like a third hand of the piano, an extension that's able to sustain and color the sound in ways that the piano can't. very often the clarinet is accompanying the piano. very frequently, of course, the piano lays the harmonic and rhythmic structure for the melodic line of the clarinet. but the net result in the schumann and in the brahms is a texture that is like one instrument."

mr. shifrin also makes important observations about the technical challenges posed by schumann's fantasiestücke: "schumann was writing even more pianistically than brahms if that's possible, and not really taking the instrumental difficulties of a wind player into account . . . the clarinet plays almost constantly throughout the entire three fantasy pieces. there's never a chance to rest and very rare chances to breathe."

on the new cd, david shifrin and carol rosenberger perform the clarinet sonatas and the fantasy pieces in the order they observe on concert programs. in ms. rosenberger's words, "we start with the e-flat sonata which floats in gently and draws the listener into its lyrical world." from there, the fantasy pieces continue the intimate sound while heightening the lyrical mood. "by this time," she explains, "the listener is ready for the grand structure of the f minor sonata which carries the program's lyricism to an impassioned climax."