Raphaël Sévère & Prazak Quartet - Brahms & Hindemith: Clarinet Quintets (2015) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

Only 30 years separate the clarinet quintets of Brahms and Hindemith; yet these are not just two artists' temperaments, not two different concepts, not two distinct aesthetics. What separates them is the world of harmony and that of established disorder.

After winning the Tokyo competition at the age of 12 and gaining a nomination as “Solo instrumental discovery” at the Victoires de la Musique, aged 15, Raphael Sévère went on to win the prestigious Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York in November 2013, where he was awarded First Prize and eight special prizes. Discovered by the general public at the age of 12 on the radio (France Musique), Raphaël Sévère currently ranks as one of the most brilliant representatives of the French school of clarinet.

For more than 30 years, the Prazak Quartet has been at home on music stages worldwide. They are regular guests in the major European musical capitals and have been invited to participate at numerous international festivals, where they have collaborated with such artists as Menahem Pressler, Jon Nakamatsu, Cynthia Phelps, Roberto Diaz, Josef Suk and Sharon Kam. In 2015, Jana Vonášková joined the group as first violinist, succeeding Pavel Hula. She is a graduate of the Royal College of Music in London, and was a member of the Smetana Trio for nine years.

“An exceptional artist, blessed with a superlative technique and a remarkable eloquence about the elegance of sonority, the accuracy of breath, inspiration”. (Raphaël Sévère, Le Monde)

Tracklist:

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

01. Clarinet Quintet in B Minor, Op. 115: I. Allegro
02. Clarinet Quintet in B Minor, Op. 115: II. Adagio
03. Clarinet Quintet in B Minor, Op. 115: III. Andantino
04. Clarinet Quintet in B Minor, Op. 115: IV. Con moto

Paul Hindemith (1895-1963)

05. Clarinet Quintet, Op. 30: I. Sehr lebhaft
06. Clarinet Quintet, Op. 30: II. Ruhig
07. Clarinet Quintet, Op. 30: III. Schneller Ländler
08. Clarinet Quintet, Op. 30: IV. Arioso. Sehr ruhig
09. Clarinet Quintet, Op. 30: V. Sehr lebhaft, wie im ersten Satz

Personnel:
Prazak Quartet
Raphaël Sévère, clarinet