Blue Hour Moderniste

Weber: Clarinet Concerto

No. 1; Grand Duo Concertant; Mendelssohn: Songs Without Words; Brahms: ‘Wie Melodien zieht es mir’; Intermezzo in A

Andreas Ottensamer (clarinet), Yuja Wang (piano); Berlin Philharmonic/ Mariss Jansons

DG 483 6069 61:54 mins

This is a feast of heartwarming music-making from the Berlin Philharmonic’s star clarinettist Andreas Ottensamer, chiefly with no lesser pianist than Yuja Wang. Much of the programme, other than the Weber works, consists of transcriptions, many by Ottensamer. Mendelssohn’s Songs without Words are of course perfectly suited to performance by a melodic instrument with piano; and late Brahms, too, not least because the composer was inspired to emerge from intended retirement by the playing of a clarinettist, Richard Mühlfeld.

The smooth chocolatiness of Ottensamer’s tone blends ideally with Wang’s songful phrasing, and offsets her glitter in Mendelssohn’s piano writing. The pair relish the shared virtuosity of Weber’s Grand Duo Concertant; here Ottensamer’s suave, nonchalant perfectionism makes even the most cats-cradlish passagework sound as easy as humming in the bath, while the detail in Wang’s playing is a joy.

She brings the Mendelssohn pieces a hummingbird-light touch and turns phrase endings as if finishing gift-wrapping with a perfectly curled silken ribbon.

In the Weber Clarinet Concerto No. 1, Ottensamer collaborates with his home orchestra under Mariss Jansons. It is delivered with exquisite balance – try the orchestra’s hushed tone in the slow movement – and magnificent vitality. Sound quality throughout is well balanced, warm and clear. Jessica Duchen

PERFORMANCE ★★★★★

RECORDING ★★★★★