Brahms's late music invariably has a sense of space and often an autumnal quality as well, partially indicated by the minor keys of the two works here. Both of them belong to the last decade of the composer's life and were inspired by the playing of the clarinettist Richard Muhlfeld—indeed, both had their premieres on the same occasion in December 1891, with Brahms himself playing in the Trio. The Quintet is, of course, the better-known work, but there have always been people who thought the Trio even finer; as it is, both are masterpieces and have considerable beauty despite their predominantly sombre emotional colour.
These are strong performances from artists clearly in sympathy with the music, not least the cellist, whose dark eloquence is so telling here—although I am of course not forgetting the central role played by the clarinet, who must be velvety and authoritative by turns and is always given compelling music. The recording quality suits the music pretty well in that it has plenty of the necessary body, and although it could have a crisper focus (the location is a resonant Budapest church that Naxos have used before), it is perfectly serviceable. The Trio's first movement unfolds in an unhurried yet purposeful way, and its inquietude, rightly, is allowed to spill over into the one that follows, a movement whose agitation belies its Adagio designation—this is hardly music 'at ease' with itself. All in all, this is a fine performance. That of the Clarinet Quintet is also very pleasing but here the sound is too rich and deprives the music of intimacy. For this reason, a more satisfying version of these two clarinet works is the sensitive yet vivid one by Thea King and various colleagues on Hyperion. There is also an affectionate and intelligent performance of the Clarinet Quintet with Gervase de Peyer and the Melos Ensemble, available at mid-price coupled with Mozart's Clarinet Quintet. However, there is much to be said for this new issue in the super-bargain range.'