Presents
Bernhard Crusell
Quartet No.1 in E flat Major for Clarinet & Strings, Op.2
Bernhard Crusell (1775-1838) was born in town of Nystad (today's Uusikaupunki) founded by the Swedish king Gustav II Adolf on the Finnish coast. Despite his talent, his parents discouraged his interest in music, although he managed to teach himself to play the clarinet by ear. At age 13, he was finally allowed to take lessons from a military band officer in Helsinki. Soon after, he moved to Stockholm and established himself as a soloist, while serving as First Clarinet in the Royal Swedish Court Orchestra). By happy coincidence, the conductor was the German composer Abbé Vogler from whom Crusell started composition lessons, later studying in Berlin and with Gossec in Paris.
Virtually all of his compositions include the clarinet. From the point of style, rooted in the late classical era, showing the influence, in particularly of Mozart. Glinka, in his memoirs, noted it was at a performance of this work in 1814, that he was inspired to become a composer. This is a modern edition of the quartet based on the Peters edition of 1803.
Parts: $19.95
