Sabine Meyer
Carl Maria von Weber - Clarinet Concertos No.1 & 2 Concertino Op.26

Strange instrument, the clarinet. A timbre adored by Mozart and widely exploited by the romantics. Courted by many modern and contemporary composers (from Stravinsky to Copland to Stockhausen etc.) but also suitable for jazz, klezmer, Balkan music, dance bands, and town bands. An impressive extension, versatility, and a "popular" vocation almost like the accordion. When I think of the clarinet, I like to think of Sabine Meyer. Her slender and aristocratic figure, her slender arms, her bony fingers, and her velvety timbre restore dignity to an instrument too often underestimated, if not downright mocked by the orchestral dignitaries of the moment.
Her debut in '83 as the first clarinet of the Berlin Philharmonic already bore the mark of von Karajan's unconditional esteem and the "political" backlash from the then completely male Berlin orchestra, who, perhaps short on arguments, judged her instrumental qualities as "too soloistic." It's worth listening to Sabine Meyer. She is a clarinetist of exceptional sensitivity, absolute instincts, and superhuman naturalness of emission. Martian is, honestly, the first word that comes to mind.

The concerts of the romantic Weber (1786-1826), exam programs of all state conservatories and the proverbial "obstacle" of every budding clarinetist, are among the most famous and most played compositions for clarinet in the world. So why review these recordings from '86 and not something else, like Mozart and Brahms quintets, where her stunning lyricism, the total absence of mechanical phrasing are blatantly in front of our eyes? Perhaps precisely because here the actual distance between her interpretation and that of a thousand other clarinetists tends to thin out, almost to disappear. Almost. It almost makes you think she is human. Almost. If you pay careful attention, you might notice some microscopic flaw, and in the semiquavers of the allegro, it seems like she's stretching the staccato for a microsecond. One might also argue that some legendary figures have done better... hmm, only Karl Leister comes to mind. It's always unpleasant to make comparisons, and then Leister is the guru... terrifying control, easy staccato, maniacal veneration of the score.
But, as I said, comparisons are always unpleasant. Other hyper-kinetic virtuosos are often envied for how easily they overcome technical difficulties. She often makes you forget them, such is the clarity of phrasing, the complete roundness of sound, the perfection of intonation. There's nothing mechanical in her sound, and it's strange how these qualities manage to emerge even in the context of these concerts, conceived by Weber specifically for his friend Heinrich Baermann, a great virtuoso in an age of cult for virtuosity. The taste for the difficult passage (the "challenge" of baroque memory), for strong contrasts, and the "Beethovenian" use of expression are the daily bread of both the concerts and the quintet, but the German lady never insists on the "pyrotechnic" aspect, managing (especially in the quintet) to glide effortlessly over the technical acrobatics, to explore the infinite range of the clarinet's vocal qualities. Never over the top, never forcing the hand, never. The Dresden Staatskapelle orchestra also lends a hand in this, playing nimbly and composedly, clean even in shading, despite the frantic and "metronomic" tempos now common in recordings of these concerts.

In any case, this is not her best album. In particular, the orchestral arrangement of the quintet perhaps adds something to the "romantic" drama of the composition but loses much of the chamber dimension of the original. To be strict, one could also argue that the somewhat muffled recording isn't quite the best. Anyway... nonsense, every one of her performances is unique. Listen to how she plays Mozart, or the recording of Brahms's quintet 115, or something from her Clarone Trio. She's really good.