DVOŘÁK  Selections from Echo of Songs (after Cypresses)

Dvořák was just beginning to make a name for himself in 1865 when he fell head over heels in love with a young actress in Prague. He poured out his heart to her in a cycle of 18 impassioned songs titled Cypresses, from which he later chose a dozen to arrange for string quartet under the title Echo of Songs—by which time, ironically, he was married not to the actress but to her younger sister.

JÖRG WIDMANN  Clarinet Quintet

Many composers have been drawn to the euphonious combination of clarinet and string quartet. Just as Brahms echoed Mozart’s masterful K. 581 in the tenderly yearning slow movement of his own Clarinet Quintet, so too does Jörg Widmann pay homage to the Viennese master in his recent contribution to the genre. The German clarinetist-composer is known for his ability to evoke the past in a contemporary idiom; he once said that “the most important thing in my artistic career has been to combine tradition and innovation.”

MOZART  Clarinet Quintet in A Major, K. 581

The luminous, broadly lyrical slow movement is the heart and soul of Mozart’s masterpiece. Like his Clarinet Concerto and Clarinet Trio, the A-Major Quintet was inspired by the extraordinary artistry of Austrian clarinetist Anton Stadler. Mozart’s love affair with the clarinet had been sparked by hearing the celebrated Mannheim court orchestra play, which convinced him that the Salzburg orchestra needed to upgrade its woodwind section. “Ah, if only we had clarinets too!” he wrote to his father.