Concert Series Saint Aurelius: Tindaro Capuano

The concert series Sankt Aurelius in Hirsau concludes its current season with an extraordinary concert. Clarinetist Tindaro Capuano and a prominent string quartet will perform the clarinet quintets by Mozart and Brahms. The Sankt Aurelius concert series takes an excursion into the Viennese Classical and Romantic periods - on November 9, clarinet quintets by Mozart and Brahms will be heard. As is well known, the concert series Sankt Aurelius, founded in 1977, has almost exclusively featured works from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Excursions into later eras are extremely rare. Such an excursion will take place on November 9 at 7 PM in the Aurelius Church. This concert will also feature the clarinet, an instrument that has never been heard in this series before. This woodwind instrument was developed only in the early 18th century and made its appearance as an independent orchestral instrument starting in 1750. In addition to its role in large orchestras, the clarinet also gained recognition in chamber music, leading to some outstanding works. Among these are the two groundbreaking, almost iconic quintets that will resonate within the Romanesque walls: the Clarinet Quintet in A major, K. 581 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and its younger sibling in B minor, Op. 115 by Johannes Brahms. According to the instrumentation specified for this format, which includes two violins, viola, and cello, these two works are also referred to as quintets for clarinet and string quartet. The Clarinet Quintet by Mozart, which will be performed at the beginning of the evening, was composed in the year of the French Revolution, 1789, and is regarded not only as a masterpiece of chamber music but also as one of the most important compositions for clarinet overall. At the same time, it is one of the most beautiful musical gifts of friendship in music history: Mozart wrote it for his friend and fellow Freemason Anton Stadler, the most significant clarinetist of his time, who premiered it on December 22, 1789. Mozart loved the clarinet for its timbre, which is similar to the human voice, and according to "earwitnesses," no clarinetist of the 18th century demonstrated this similarity more perfectly than Stadler. Like the Mozart jewel, Johannes Brahms' Clarinet Quintet in B minor, composed in 1891 and performed after the intermission, consists of four movements. And just like the first piece of the evening, it was specifically tailored to the artistry of an interpreter: that of the solo clarinetist of the Meiningen Court Orchestra, Richard Mühlfeld. His contemporaries attributed "magical tones" to him (M. Kalbeck), and according to Adolph von Menzel, his performance of a passage from the Brahms quintet even surpassed that of the Muse Euterpe. The idea for this extraordinary concert evening in Hirsau, which the organizer is very pleased to adopt, comes from the highly esteemed violinist Petra Müllejans, the long-time concertmaster of the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra. Alongside her on the first violin, other outstanding artists will take the stage. In addition to the internationally celebrated Italian clarinetist Tindaro Capuano, these include Judith von der Goltz on the second violin, Nadine Henrichs on viola, and cellist Maya Amrein. With this magnificent lineup of "historical instruments," this final concert of the 49th season of the Hirsau concerts already points toward the upcoming 50th season, one of two anniversary seasons in Hirsau that aims to captivate a large and diverse audience with further extraordinary and exquisite programs featuring notable musicians. For your information: The concert on November 9 begins at 7:00 PM. Tickets priced at €20 (students and pupils receive a 50% discount) will be available from 6 PM at the box office.