With Romain Guyot, Patrick Messina and Raphaël Sévère, clarinet

"It's not for you, it's for the times to come" : that was Beethoven's reply to performers baffled by the first reading of the Quartet Op.59/1 in 1807, to the point of describing it as "the music of a madman", ranging from conquering arrogance to solemn, mournful sorrow.

On the contrary, Brahms delivers the quintet Op.115 without the slightest hint of revolt, like a private but modest diary in which the voice of the clarinet curls melancholically like a contemplative lullaby. We like to hear in this work a serene twilight, a peaceful farewell to the world that Brahms would soon leave in 1897. Time seems to slow down in a chiaroscuro that is suspended but not motionless.

Beethoven : Quartet op. 59/1

Brahms : Quintet op.115 with clarinet