Sabine Meyer, Nils Mönkemeyer & William Youn

The German clarinettist Sabine Meyer became internationally renowned at a young age when, as the first woman, she won the position of solo clarinettist with the Berlin Philharmonic under Herbert von Karajan. Since then, she has toured the world extensively. Now, she has decided to retire from her career, but will undertake a final farewell tour in 2025. For this concert, she is joined by two additional star musicians: Nils Mönkemeyer on viola and William Youn on piano.

The evening's programme is framed by two works written for the ensemble of clarinet, viola, and piano – an ensemble for which Mozart was the first to compose a piece in 1786, significantly contributing to the establishment of the clarinet as a classical instrument. At the time, the clarinet was a relatively new instrument, but it quickly found its place as a fully integrated and widely used instrument in both orchestral and chamber music.

Schumann’s Clarinet Trio was one of the last works he completed, and he himself wrote that he was inspired by the "picturesque and imaginative," but otherwise gave no indication of which fairy tales the work might allude to – this is for the listener to interpret.

Max Bruch was a (late) Romantic composer who has since somewhat faded into obscurity, aside from his popular first violin concerto. Therefore, it is a great addition to the evening’s programme to include Bruch’s contribution to the clarinet trio repertoire. The work, written late in his career and dedicated to his son Max Felix, a young professional clarinettist, consists of 8 short movements. In these movements, Bruch explores various constellations of the three instruments, dressed in lyrical melodies and refined Romantic harmony.

In between these two works, the three musicians will perform Bartók's Romanian Folk Dances for viola and piano, Ravel’s Une barque sur l’océan from Miroirs for solo piano, and a movement from Mendelssohn’s Sonata in E-flat major for clarinet and piano.

PROGRAMME

Robert Schumann (1810 – 1856): Märchenerzählungen (Fairy Tales) for Clarinet Trio

Maurice Ravel (1875 – 1937): Une barque sur l’océan (A Boat on the Ocean) from "Miroirs" for solo piano

Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809 – 1847): Sonata in E-dur – 2nd movement ‘Andante’, for Clarinet and Piano

Béla Bartók (1881 – 1945): Romanian Folk Dances for Viola and Piano

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Max Bruch (1838 – 1920): Eight Pieces, Opus 83, for Clarinet Trio