STEPHEN KREHL (1864-1924): String Quartet, Op. 17, Clarinet Quintet, Op. 19.

Description: Born in Leipzig and a student of Jadassohn, Krehl spent his professional life at the conservatories in Karlsruhe and Leipzig where he produced numerous influential textbooks on theory, harmony and counterpoint. Only a few of his thirty or so compositions are still extant today. His deeply conservative attachments to Schumann and Brahms are evident in the 1988 quartet and the 1902 quintet, the latter dedicated, like Brahms’ Op. 114 clarinet quintet, to the soloist Richard Mühlfeld. Utterly beautiful stuff which covers the range of emotions with equal ease, not as overly valedictory in mood as late Brahms and with several examples of Krehl’s own compositional voice in evidence as well. Wonkak Kim (clarinet), Larchmere String Quartet.