Antonín Rejcha – Quintet in B flat major for clarinet and strings Op. 89; W. A. Mozart – Quintet in A major for basset clarinet and strings K 581; Ondřej Kukal – Clarinettino. Concertino for clarinet and strings Op. 11

Ludmila Peterková – clarinet, bass clarinet, Bennewitz Quartet (Jiří Němeček – 1st violin, Štěpán Ježek – 2nd violin, Jiří Pinkas – viola, Štěpán Doležal – cello), Pavel Klečka – double bass (Clarinettino)

Three compositions written 200 years apart, yet they have much in common; their composers loved the clarinet and let the richness of their melodic invention shine through in these works. They were all inspired by an outstanding clarinettist. Mozart’s Quintet was written for the virtuoso player Anton Stadler, Ondřej Kukal wrote his catchy Clarinettino for the rising clarinet star Ludmila Peterkova. The latter premiered the work to great acclaim and returns to it two decades later on this recording. Mozart’s “Stadler” Quintet, recorded countless times, sounds unusual to many; Ludmila Peterkova chose to record it on the deeper bass clarinet, the instrument of enchanting velvety colour for which it was originally written. That Rejcha’s quintet is not “by the numbers” on this recording, that its playful imaginativeness stands up even next to Mozart’s perfect balance, you will find out on first hearing. The Bennewitz Quartet is a great partner for the clarinetist, one of the best young continuators of the famous Czech quartet tradition. This is evidenced by their competition successes (ARD Munich 2004, 1st prize and gold medal in Osaka, 1st prize at the Premio Paolo Borciani 2008) as well as by the feedback from concerts at the most important venues in Europe, USA and Japan.

Ludmila Peterková opens up the playful and colourful world of the clarinet across two centuries.

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