Kilian Herold & Armida Quartett - Max Reger, Johanna Senfter: Clarinet Quintets (2023) [Hi-Res]

In March of 1908, 27-year-old Johanna Senfter went “on a pilgrimage” to visit Max Reger in Leipzig. Having studied piano and violin at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt am Main, she now wanted to learn composition. Reger, only six years her elder, had been in charge of a masterclass for musical composition at Leipzig Royal Conservatory for only a year.

Johanna Senfter started by taking private lessons from him. Ten years later, she recalled their first meeting. “The private lessons I had with him are the most stimulating experience I have had until now. Reger was very demanding.”

Max Reger was indeed a strict teacher who expected his students to apply the same uncompromising work ethic as he did himself…………

Moreover, for clarinetist Kilian Herold, this recording fulfills a long-cherished dream. “Clarinetists love Reger’s Quintet. It’s a particularly beautiful piece”, he adds. “Reger places himself in direct succession to Mozart and Brahms: the Quintet is densely woven, but also utterly transparent – a work bathed in light, full of color, relaxed and released from all anxiety.”

As far as Kilian Herold is concerned, Johanna Senfter’s quintet serves as a thoroughly fitting counterpart to Reger. It is “likewise gorgeous music, and the listener can tell that it comes in a line of descent from Reger.” Johanna Senfter felt that way herself after Reger’s death: “With all my heartfelt gratitude and admiration, he will remain in my memory. In any case, all the beauty and goodness I received from him will continue to work in me.”

(Excerpt from the booklet liner notes by Almut Ochsmann)