David Glazer and the Kohon Quartet performing Hummel and Weber

A transfer of a lovely lp that I made some time ago. I was listening to it today and thought I'd better post it here before it slipped my mind....I am getting old too fast! David Glazer and the Kohon Quartet performing the clarinet quintets of Hummel and Weber. This Vox lp dates from 1963 and my copy is the mono edition in very good sound.

Of the two pieces presented here, the Hummel, I think, is the superior offering. At his best, Johann Nepomuk Hummel bridged the years between Mozart and Beethoven by taking composing elements of both and incorporating them into his own, relaxed, Viennese kind of way. You can hear Mozart in the quick passages and Beethoven in the softly lyrical slow movement. Its really exquisite music beautifully performed by one of the great 20th century clarinetists with this very underrated American string quartet. Hummel really was at his best in the works he wrote for smaller ensembles.

The Weber is enjoyable but does not plumb the depths of inspiration that this composer found in his dramatic writing for the human voice. Weber wrote a lot for the clarinet and his compositions display a great understanding of the technical capabilities of the instrument. The Weber is a showpiece for clarinet accompanied by string quartet rather than a work written for 5 instruments in equal partnership as is the case with Hummel. However, paired as they are, the styles work well and the variety makes this an engaging, nearly hour listen.

Wonderful stuff..pour a glass of wine or crack open a good ale and relax in your favorite easy chair!

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The Haydn and Hummel Trumpet Concertos: a doubletake!

You know, I've been playing the trumpet for a good thirty five years, though I do not consider myself a professional musician. I've played all sorts of stuff, shows, orchestral concerts, quintets, parades, you name it! Today, I focus my autumn season on Oktoberfests - where else can you actually go to play and drink great beer and, get paid for it!?

Ok..enough of me. When I was growing up, there were two trumpeters who I greatly admired because, well they just had unbelievable technique and personality; the two are none other then Maurice Andre and Timofey Dokschitser. In his day, Andre was the most celebrated "classical" trumpeter in the west as was Dokschitser behind the Iron Curtain. Both men possessed breathtaking technical abilities and very, VERY, personal, instantly recognizable styles. Interestingly, their type of playing and musicianship has gone out of fashion to be replaced by the rather generic sounding, yet brilliant technical abilities of today's young trumpeters. Oh well.

Here we have both Maurice and Timofey playing those two well worn masterpieces, the Haydn and Hummel concertos. I think you will enjoy the comparisons here. I believe that Andre plays both concertos on a C trumpet while Dokschitser opts for the big, robust sound of the Bb trumpet. Andre's brilliance contrasts well with Dokschitser's big sound and ever present, Russian style vibrato. Both play a tour de force!

As for the recordings, I find Andre's RCA-Erato pressings rather tinny, the Hummel is harsh in places possibly due to worn vinyl??, while the Dokschitser fares better, although there is a "hiccup" in the slow movement of the Haydn. Not sure of the recording dates but probably late 60's, early 70's. Anyway, have a listen and recall a time when trumpeters were allowed to possess the all too important quality of individualism. What a concept!

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