Cover of the album being discussed (from its Amazon.com Web page)
One of the more memorable factors of last year was my “discovery” of clarinetist Anthony McGill. I first became aware of him when Azica Records launched its UNCOVERED series curated by the Catalyst Quartet, consisting, at that time, of violinists Karla Donehew Perez and Jessie Montgomery, violist Paul Laraia, and cellist Karlos Rodriguez. The “uncovered” composer of the first release was Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, and McGill joined Catalyst to record his Opus 10 clarinet quintet in F-sharp minor. Catalyst would subsequently launch an Uncovered series for San Francisco Performances, which provided an opportunity to listen to McGill in concert for the first time when Opus 10 was included on the November program of the series.
Almost exactly a month later I had the good fortune to listen to McGill’s latest recording on Cedille Records. This was a “debut album” for his duo with pianist Gloria Chen, which was organized around Johannes Brahms’ two Opus 120 sonatas, the first in the key of F minor and the second in E-flat major. For me listening to Brahms is a bit like eating potato chips, savoring one composition leaves me wanting to listen to more. As a result I became curious about McGill’s earlier Brahms release, a recording of the Opus 115 quintet in B minor, which he performed with the Pacifica Quartet, consisting, at that time, of violinists Simin Ganatra and Sibbi Bernhardsson, violist Masumi Per Rostad, and cellist Brandon Vamos. The album coupled the Brahms quintet with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s K. 581 quintet in A major.
Mind you, when it comes to this particular coupling of Mozart and Brahms on a recording, there are an abundance of choices. This past August Foghorn Classics released an album of the same content with clarinetist Eli Eban joining the Alexander String Quartet (ASQ), consisting of violinists Zakarias Grafilo and Frederick Lifsitz, violist Paul Yarbrough, and cellist Sandy Wilson. Where this repertoire is concerned, however, there is no need to try to play favorites. Both quintets are highly expressive, but the performers can exercise a fair amount of liberty when it comes to deciding what to express.
As a result, no matter how many recordings of I have accumulated of both of these quintets, I shall always be curious about what new recordings and recitals will have to offer.
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