Brahms / Auerbach

A protean artist, Russian Lera Auerbach brings her rich, poetic world of sound to Brahms's Clarinet Quintet, one of the absolute masterpieces of the chamber repertoire.

Cetera desunt, in Latin, means: the sequel is missing. This locution is placed at the bottom of a work whose manuscript was left unfinished. What gaps, what infinity, does Lera Auerbach detect in this quartet, which in eight brief movements follows the form of a sonnet? It's hard to say, as the Russian pianist and composer decided a few years ago to stop talking about her works, believing that they should be allowed to live their own lives. Nevertheless, this score, which is overshadowed by the music of Shostakovich, reveals a rather anguished, yet highly imaginative universe - Auerbach is also a poet, painter and sculptor, notably exhibiting magnificent bronze objects, and placing quotations from Ovid or Thomas Mann(Doctor Faustus) at the head of each movement. Faced with such a rich, intense personality, a monument of chamber music was needed, and Brahms's Clarinet Quintet is certainly it. Who can resist its moiré colors, its fiery but always restrained lyricism, and the sublime love song of its central movement?

Running time: 1 hour 10 minutes, no intermission