Search - Franz Danzi, Ignace Joseph Pleyel, Jean-Pierre Rampal :: Pleyel: Clarinet Concertos; Danzi: Sinfonia Concertante

Great CD

L. Ku | New York | 02/01/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Though the three works featured here are practically unknown, I find them to be extremely charming pieces, and these recordings by Meyer and Danzi are equally terrific.Ignaz Pleyel (1757-1831) was a prosperous and prolific Austrian composer. However, little documentation is left about his life or his works. These two clarinet concertos were probably not originally written for clarinet, as his works were often transcribed in many editions for many instruments to make them available to as many performers as possible. The B-flat concerto is believed to be written sometime around 1789, which happens to be the same year Mozart began working on his own clarinet concerto. The C major concerto is believed to be written sometime around 1797.Franz Danzi (1763-1826) was one of Pleyel's contempories. The 1814 Sinfonia Concertante for Flute and Clarinet is characteristic of Danzi's style in that it is "highly virtuosic" with a "cheerful and vivacious lyricism".Paul Meyer and Jean-Pierre Rampal are both world renowned musicians. These renditions here are very well done. I especially enjoyed the third movement of the Pleyel B-flat as well as the first movement of the Danzi. However, at times in the Pleyel works, Meyer seems a bit too closely mic'ed, but that's minor and does not take away from the quality of this disc."