Reginald
Kell (clarinet), The Philharmonia Quartet
Recorded in 1945 and released in the UK as four Columbia 78s, DX.1187-1190
Matrix numbers: AX9242-1, AX9243-I, AX9244-2, AX9245-1,AX9246-1,
AX9247-1, AX9248-1, AX9249-2
Further remastered with XR processing, October 2007
(Duration
29'17")
Play
sample movement:
"Like
the great Clarinet Concerto, this work was written for the Viennese clarinettist
Anton Stadler; it has always been regarded as one of the flowers of the
chamber music repertory. Many people have been led to explore the great
world of chamber music through this gate; it is difficult to imagine a
listener who could remain deaf to a flow of melody so limpid and serene.
The charms of the clarinet - its incomparably gentle legato, its agility,
its sudden plunges down two octaves into a deep, brown pool - all are
exhibited by Mozart as though the instrument were a beautiful woman
with whom he had just fallen in love."
(The
Record Guide, 1952)
Reginald
Kell (1906-81) was one of Britains finest clarinettists, and in this
1945 recording, made on 5th and 7th February of that year, we find him on
top form in one of the greatest works for that instrument. "No
other clarinetist can match Mr. Kell's tone & emotion", wrote Stereo Review about him - as this newly XR-remastered gem proves!
