Brahms: String Quartet No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 51 No. 1 & Clarinet Quintet in B Minor, Op. 115 Thorsten Johanns & Aris Quartett

• Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897): String Quartet No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 51 No. 1:
• 1String Quartet No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 51 No. 1: I. Allegro10:39
• 2String Quartet No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 51 No. 1: II. Romanze. Poco adagio07:43
• 3String Quartet No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 51 No. 1: III. Allegretto molto moderato e comodo08:42
• 4String Quartet No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 51 No. 1: IV. Allegro05:59
• Clarinet Quintet in B Minor, Op. 115:
• 5Clarinet Quintet in B Minor, Op. 115: I. Allegro12:57
• 6Clarinet Quintet in B Minor, Op. 115: II. Adagio11:29
• 7Clarinet Quintet in B Minor, Op. 115: III. Andantino04:39
• 8Clarinet Quintet in B Minor, Op. 115: IV. Con moto08:35
• Total Runtime01:10:43

Info for Brahms: String Quartet No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 51 No. 1 & Clarinet Quintet in B Minor, Op. 115

Following two CDs featuring Schubert, Shostakovich, and Beethoven, the Aris Quartet, one of the leading award-winning chamber music ensembles of recent years, has put Johannes Brahms on the program of its third GENUIN CD. Included are two key works of the chamber music literature of the 19th century: The String Quartet in C minor, dating from the early period of maturity, is characterized by how the composer dealt with personal losses and how he overcame great doubts. The Clarinet Quintet is one of Brahms' last works ever. A swan song to his oeuvre, perhaps even to Romanticism in general. Enchantingly beautiful playing by a magnificent ensemble!

Aris Quartett
Thorsten Johanns, clarinet

Thorsten Johanns
is a clarinetist whose stylistic versatility and keen sense of musical communication have made him both highly regarded and in international demand as a soloist, orchestral member, chamber musician and teacher.

At the early age of 22, during his clarinet studies under Ralph Manno at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln, he took his first position as deputy principal clarinetist with the Essener Philharmoniker. Three years later, he became the principal clarinetist in the WDR Symphony Orchestra, a position that he held until 2015, after which he continued to appear regularly with the orchestra as a guest.

To date, Thorsten Johanns remains the only German clarinetist to have been personally invited to New York on a number of occasions by principal conductor Alan Gilbert to play with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra as principal clarinetist. Further guest engagements as principal clarinetist followed with the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, The Munic Philharmonics and the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, among others.

As a soloist, Thorsten Johanns regularly performs with renowned orchestras and conductors. In the past, these have included Sir Neville Marriner, Semyon Bychkov, the WDR Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre de chambre de Paris, the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra and the National Radio Orchestra of Romania.

In addition to prestigious string quartets (Aris, Auryn, Diogenes, Minetti), his chamber music partners include oboist and composer Heinz Holliger and pianist and composer Moritz Eggert. Thorsten Johanns is a member of the worldwide-performing Ensemble Raro and the Deutsche Bläsersolisten. He is also a member of the renowned ensemble Spectrum Concerts Berlin.

Thorsten Johanns has been a guest at numerous international festivals (Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lucerne, Tyrolean Festival Erl, SoNoRo in Bucharest, Rheingau Musik Festival, Festival Academy Budapest Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival, among others) and involved in several successful CD productions including an ECHO-Klassik award in 2008.

In 2014, Thorsten Johanns accepted the position of professor for clarinet at the University of Music Franz Liszt Weimar. He also regularly gives master classes. Over the past few years, these have taken him to China, Australia, Canada, Germany, Scandinavia and the Netherlands.

Aris Quartett
Without a doubt, the Aris Quartett belongs to the group of young ensembles taking the concert scene by storm. Founded in Frankfurt am Main in 2009, this group of musicians plays on the great concert stages around the world. In the upcoming seasons, the Aris Quartett will be performing at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, the Wigmore Hall in London, the Philharmonie de Paris, the Konzerthaus in Vienna, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the BBC Proms and at the San Francisco Chamber Music Society.

These four musicians were brought together at a young age: an initiative of chamber music professor Hubert Buchberger which began as an experiment at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts, and quickly proved to be highly auspicious. The idea for the ensemble’s memorable name was a spontaneous one: ARIS are the last letters of each of the musicians’ first names.

After studying under Günter Pichler (Alban Berg Quartett) in Madrid, their international breakthrough came early with several 1st prizes at renowned music competitions. The Aris Quartett attracted a lot of attention when it won the highly-prized Jürgen Ponto-Stiftung chamber music award in addition to five prizes at the ARD Music Competitionin Munich. In being named “New Generation Artists” by the BBC, “ECHO Rising Stars” by the European Concert Hall Organisation as well as by earning the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award, the Aris Quartett has received some of the highest international distinctions for young musicians.

To date, four highly regarded CD productions are available. Most recently, in the autumn of 2018, the recording of Schubert’s Der Tod und das Mädchen and Shostakovich’s String Quartet Nr. 8 was released in cooperation with Deutschlandfunk. This recording has been hailed as a benchmark recording by music journalists.

The Aris Quartett is sponsored by the Anna Ruths-Stiftung, the Wilfried and Martha Ensinger Foundation, and the Irene Steels-Wilsing Stiftung.

This album contains no booklet.