Sound friendships
Johannes Brahms’ intimate clarinet sonatas were, like much of his chamber music, first heard at small gatherings of his closest acquaintances. Throughout the fall of 1894 Brahms and his friend Richard Mühlfeld performed them several times in private soirées prior to their public premiere and publication the following year.
So it felt especially fitting to perform the second sonata last weekend with one of my close friends, pianist Sean Botkin, opening an entire season of special collaborations at the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony. Download the complete performance below, and please feel free to share it with your friends.
Brahms - Clarinet Sonata no. 2, Allegro appassionato
Sean Botkin, piano – September 2009
Download the entire sonata [zip, mp3 320, 43mb]
