Crusell: 3 Quartets for Clarinet & Strings Eric Hoeprich & members of the London Haydn Quartet

• Bernhard Henrik Crusell (1775 - 1838):
• 1 Clarinet Quartet No. 3 in D Major, Op. 7: I. Allegro non tanto 09:43
• 2 Clarinet Quartet No. 3 in D Major, Op. 7: II. Un poco largo 05:19
• 3 Clarinet Quartet No. 3 in D Major, Op. 7: III. Menuetto. Allegro - Trio 04:25
• 4 Clarinet Quartet No. 3 in D Major, Op. 7: IV. Finale. Allegro 06:40
• 5 Clarinet Quartet No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 4: I. Allegro molto agitato 05:51
• 6 Clarinet Quartet No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 4: II. Menuetto - Trio 04:27
• 7 Clarinet Quartet No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 4: III. Pastorale. Un poco allegretto 04:56
• 8 Clarinet Quartet No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 4: IV. Rondo. Allegro 03:48
• 9 Clarinet Quartet No. 1 in E-Flat Major, Op. 2: I. Poco adagio - Allegro 10:09
• 10 Clarinet Quartet No. 1 in E-Flat Major, Op. 2: II. Romanze. Cantabile 05:02
• 11 Clarinet Quartet No. 1 in E-Flat Major, Op. 2: III. Menuetto. Allegro - Trio 03:38
• 12 Clarinet Quartet No. 1 in E-Flat Major, Op. 2: IV. Rondo. Allegro vivace 03:41
• Total Runtime 01:07:39

Info for Crusell: 3 Quartets for Clarinet & Strings

Thanks to his exceptional talent as a clarinetist, the Finnish-born composer Bernard Henrik Crusell made it very quickly from his home village, Uusikaupunki, to the metropolis of Stockholm, where he spent the rest of his life, mainly as a member of the orchestra of the Swedish Royal Court. His travels brought him to Berlin, Dresden, Leipzig and Paris, cities in whcih he made the acquaintance of many great musicians and instrument builders. His works for the clarinet were widely known in the musical circles of the first part of the 19th century. Eric Hoeprich, principal clarinet of the Orchestra of the Eighteenth century since its foundation, has specialized in performing on the historical clarinet, also being the owner of a large collection of 18th and 19th century instruments. Hoeprich and the members of the London Haydn Quartet play on fine historical instruments, which provide a warm, blended sound that is at the same time both transparent and full of detail. All excellently captured by Philip Hobbs in St. Martin's Church in East Woodhay, England, and supplemented by an informative essay authored by Hoeprich himself.

Eric Hoeprich, clarinet
London Haydn Quartet

Eric Hoeprich
principal clarinet of the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century since its foundation, has specialized in performing on the historical clarinet, also being the owner of a large collection of 18th and 19th century instruments. On Glossa he has issued nearly a dozen of recordings, including the Mozart Clarinet Concerto directed by Frans Brüggen. His regular collaboration with the London Haydn Quartet lasts for many years now, with a referential recording of the Mozart and Brahms Quintets being an important highlight (Glossa, 2004).

For the past twenty-five years Eric Hoeprich has specialized in performing on the historical clarinet. His expertise as a musician, scholar and instrument maker allows for a unique approach to the solo clarinet repertoire of the 18th and 19th centuries.

As a founding member and principal clarinet of Frans Brüggen’s Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, Hoeprich has performed frequently as a soloist with this orchestra, as well as with many of the major early music ensembles in Europe, the United States and Australia under conductors such as Nicholas McGegan, Roger Norrington, Christopher Hogwood, Philippe Herreweghe, Michael Willens and Jos van Immerseel. With Frans Brüggen’s orchestra Hoeprich has recorded the basset clarinet version of the Mozart Clarinet Concerto for Glossa.

The Baltimore-born Hoeprich’s activities as a chamber musician also take him around the world, both with his wind ensembles Nachtmusique and Stadler Trio, and as a guest with numerous string quartets and pianists. For a recent recording on Glossa of the Mozart Clarinet Quintet (again playing the basset clarinet) coupled with the Brahms Quintet, he was joined by the London Haydn Quartet (with the quartet using gut strings and classical bows). The Harmoniemusik ensemble Nachtmusique and the Stadler Trio (three basset horns) were both founded in the 1980s and with the former Hoeprich has recorded music by Mozart, Beethoven and Franz Krommer.

As a scholar, Hoeprich has been contracted by Yale University Press to write a comprehensive book on the clarinet as part of a new series on the instruments of the orchestra. He is on the faculties of the Conservatoire National Supèrieur de Musique de Paris, the Royal Conservatory of Music in The Hague and at Indiana University, Bloomington. He published articles in several journals such as Early Music, Galpin Society Journal, The Clarinet, Tibia and Scherzo.

His interest in the early clarinet has led Hoeprich to amass a large collection of 18th and 19th century clarinets. Of particular interest is a clarinet made by the same maker that built the instrument played by Heinrich Bärmann, the clarinettist for whom Weber composed all his great works. He also owns what is credibly the oldest surviving French clarinet, made in the 1770s by Prudent in Paris. Additionally he has clarinets by Georg Ottensteiner whose instruments were played by Richard Mühlfeld for whom Brahms wrote all his chamber works for clarinet, and a reproduction of Anton Stadler’s basset clarinet which Hoeprich made himself based on an engraving from a program in Riga where Stadler performed the Mozart clarinet concerto in 1794.

Booklet for Crusell: 3 Quartets for Clarinet & Strings