NEW RELEASE 2025: Brahms & Schumann

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Christian Euler, together with his piano partner Paul Rivinius, present two Brahmsian masterpieces which foreshadow the fin de siècle and contrast these with Schumann’s Märchenbilder, whose fairytale-like character is reflected in the music’s imaginative narrative gesture, transporting the listener into an enchanting world full of magic, poetry and longing.

Inspired

Brahms’ last sonatas, written three years before his death, must have been a matter close to the composer’s heart, as he had actually already given up composing. He was so enraptured by the unrivalled virtuosity of clarinettist Richard Mühlfeld that he reneged on his decision.

Accomplished

The reduction to the essentials, the attempt to say everything as concisely as possible, is so typical of the late Brahms. The enchanting motifs in Op. 120 are extraordinarily subtle in their contrapuntal elaboration – the noble gesture of a serene maestro who bids farewell to his art in the guise of simplicity. Except for a few double stops from the viola version, Euler plays the original clarinet version to fully exploit its large range, especially in the virtuoso passages.

Folkloric

The viola, which Schumann believed the instrument closest to the human voice, is wonderfully utilised to narrate these imaginary fairytales. The four short pieces from Op. 113 differ greatly in their mood: two fast, energetic movements are framed by two slow, melancholy ones. The dramatic third movement with triplets played “with a bouncing bow” contrasts greatly with the wistful final piece.