Adolf Busch: Chamber Music, Volume Two: Music for Clarinet II
Adolf Busch (1891–1952) enjoys a reputation as one of the greatest of all violinists: his recordings of Beethoven with the Busch Quartet have never been surpassed. But Busch was also one of the major composers of his day, equally natural as contrapuntist and melodist, with a style that owed much to his boyhood idol, Max Reger. Yet, always a man of principle, he sacrificed his career as both violinist and composer with his dignified refusal to perform or be performed in Nazi Germany. This second CD of his lyrical writing for clarinet, one in a series of recordings of Busch’s light-filled chamber music, is part of the rediscovery of one of the leading musicians of his day.
Bettina Beigelbeck, clarinet; Busch Kollegium Karlsruhe
Listen To This Recording:
- Divertimento, Op. 62b: I Allegretto grazioso
- Divertimento, Op. 62b: II Quasi presto
- Divertimento, Op. 62b: III Andante molto sostenuto
- Divertimento, Op. 62b: IV Molto comodo
- Divertimento, Op. 62b: V Scherzo: Vivace assai
- Divertimento, Op. 62b: VI Allegretto grazioso
- Sonata in A major, Op. 54: I Allegro ma non troppo
- Sonata in A major, Op. 54: II Scherzando vivace
- Sonata in A major, Op. 54: III Grave, Adagio espressivo e cantabile
- Suite in D minor, Op. 37a: I Andante tranquillo
- Suite in D minor, Op. 37a: II Adagio
- Suite in D minor, Op. 37a: III Scherzo: Molto vivace
- Suite in D minor, Op. 37a: IV Vivace
- Hausmusik: Duet No. 2, Op. 26b: I Allegro
- Hausmusik: Duet No. 2, Op. 26b: II Scherzo
- Hausmusik: Duet No. 2, Op. 26b: III Andante tranquillo
- Hausmusik: Duet No. 2, Op. 26b: IV Allegro moderato a con spirito
- Hausmusik: Duet No. 2, Op. 26b: No. 1 in F major
- Five Canons in Unison, BoO 60: No. 2 in D major
- Five Canons in Unison, BoO 60: No. 3 in B minor
- Five Canons in Unison, BoO 60: No. 4 in A major
- Five Canons in Unison, BoO 60: No. 5 in B flat major
- Hausmusik: German Dances for B flat, Op. 26c: Ruhiges Walzertempo – Vivace
MusicWeb International :
‘The performances are uniformly fine and marry technical finesse with affectionate warmth.’
—Jonathan Woolf, MusicWeb International
Das Orchester :
‘Is there a chamber music by Adolf Busch? Indeed there is. The legendary violin virtuoso that was born in Siegen, Westphalia in 1981 and died in Vermont in 1952 was also a composer and even a highly professional one. This passionate player of Bach and an outstanding interpreter of Beethoven and Brahms was the world-wide violinist who founded the legendary Busch Quartet just after the First World War. …
The clarinetist Bettina Beigelbeck, Yasushi Ideue (violin) and Paula Valpola (violoncello) make the latter [German dances for clarinet, violin and cello, Op. 26c] so light and easy that you would like to play them right away. … The sonata [in A major for Clarinet and Piano, Op. 54] moves in the traditional horizon of the clarinet works of Brahms and Regers. The scherzo-like middle movement shows Busch from the whimsical side. The final set of variations is used for the design of the foreground. …
Also in the USA, where Busch lived since 1940, he won the friendship of Simeon Bellison. This soloist of the New York Philharmonic that emigrated from Russia and performed Mozart’s clarinet concerto with the Busch Quartet in 1944, inspired the Divertimento for Clarinet, Oboe and English horn Op. 62b in six movements. This time Bettina Beigelbeck with Antoine Cottinet (oboe) and Petar Hristov (English horn) make wonderful partners. Their joy of playing music with a witty humour (fourth movement) and a playful exuberance (fifth movement) has a rousing effect.’
—Lutz Lesle, Das Orchester, December 2015
Fanfare Magazine :
‘The major entry here, almost a half-hour in length, is the Sonata for Clarinet and Piano. … as with all of Busch’s works it remains firmly within a late Romantic stylistic ambit. It also shares the idiosyncratic feature common to many of Busch’s works of movements of highly unequal length and unconventional successions of tempos. (A man of high ideals and rigorous adherence to principles, Busch in crafting his music clearly said exactly what he thought he should say, and how he should say it, without regard to typical expectations.)… the two pieces of Hausmusik and the Divertimento provide charming diversions for entertainment. The six-movement Divertimento in particular is an absolute delight that ought to be standard concert fare… The performances here, by clarinetist Bettina Beigelbeck and her colleagues of the ad hoc Busch Kollegium Karlsruhe, are once again exemplary. … Toccata once again provides excellent recorded sound and detailed, informative booklet notes. As with its predecessor, this is enthusiastically recommended, and I look forward with a mixture of eager anticipation and impatience to successive items in this remarkable series.’
—James A. Altena, Fanfare Magazine, January/February 2016
American Record Guide :
‘As before, Beigelbeck and her colleagues deserve kudos for throwing a spotlight on Busch and his music. His scores simmer with the smart and angular neo-classical counterpoint and wit celebrated in his better known contemporaries, yet they have a very distinct and personal voice.’
—Patrick Hanudel, American Record Guide, March 2016