Sabine Meyer - Weber, Mendelssohn, Baermann: Works for Clarinet and Orchestra (2002)

Sabine Meyer suggests that her success as a performer is due to the clarinet oft being underestimated as a solo instrument yet which has recently been receiving more recognition on the stage. Be that as it may, and I am sure she desires to remain humble, the fact is that she has a gift and her performaces are magical.
Before embarking on her solo career, Sabine Meyer performed for the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in Munich and then moved on to perform as the solo clarinet with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra as well as forming "Trio di Clarone" with her husband (Reiner Wehle) and her brother (Wolfgang Meyer).
Her solo career has been met with deserved acclaim. This album won her the 2003 Echo Klassik Award (kind of Germany's grammy for classical music) for Best Instrumental Recording; again deservedly so.

The pieces featured on this album were all composed at the crossroads of the classical and romantic periods.
The 2 pieces by Mendelssohn, his Op. 113 and 114, collectively known as "Konsertstuck", were composed for Heinrich Baermann (whose Quintet No. 3 is performed on this disc), a clarinet virtuoso who was key in the development of the clarinet and its place in Romantic period compositions. Baermann performed these pieces with his son, Carl (also a clarinet virtuoso) throughout Europe. Mendelssohn's 2 pieces are wonderful, performed with full orchestra and also feature a Basset Horn (played by Sabine's brother Wolfgang Meyer). Some of the movements, despite the orchestra, do take on a chamber music quality in thier minimalism. Each is performed beautifully.
Baermann's Clarinet Quintet No. 3 is a beautiful and soothing piece for strings and clarinet.
Weber's Quintet is the most Classical in feel, harkening back to the period which passed to Romantisism. It is very much a clarinet sonata in parts, but when the strings join, the feel is very much Romantic period in feel.
All of these pieces are performed excepetionally well and the recording and mixing is wonderful. It is a pleasure, a joy, an uplifting experience, to hear this CD.

The only drawback to this disc is the price-tag; listed at around $50.00 for a single disc, it is steep. I, being a bit tight with the wallet, probably would not have this were it not given to me. But I am certainly glad that someone spent the money because I have enjoyed these exceptional artists. The price is high, but the quality is also high.
I guess the question is whether or not you are willing to pay that much for a quality recording of beautiful clarinet chamber works. If you do, I think you'll enjoy the music. If you don't, I can't blame you; the price is a bit of a question mark for me, no matter how good the performance, but again, I do truly enjoy listening to this wonderful CD.