In a pairing of history’s most famous clarinet quintets, we encounter two composers near the ends of their lives expressing their most personal thoughts. Coincidentally inspired by prominent clarinetists of their times, each used the instrument in his own way—Brahms mining the clarinet’s soulful quality, Mozart displaying its effortless effervescence.
Program
Johannes Brahms
(1833–1897)Quintet in B minor for Clarinet, Two Violins, Viola, and Cello, Op. 115
(1891)Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
(1756–1791)Quintet in A major for Clarinet, Two Violins, Viola, and Cello, K. 581
(1789)
Stella Chen
Chad Hoopes
Timothy Ridout
Clive Greensmith
Sebastian Manz
Praised for her “silken grace” and “brilliant command” (The Strad), American violinist Stella Chen captured international attention as the winner of the 2019 Queen Elisabeth International Violin Competition, followed by the 2020 Avery Fisher Career Grant. Her debut album, Stella x Schubert, was released in 2023 on Apple Music’s Platoon label to critical acclaim, garnering her the title of Young Artist of the Year at the Gramophone Awards. Stella has performed across North America, Europe, and Asia, appearing as soloist with orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Brussels Philharmonic, and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. A recently appointed faculty member of the Juilliard School, she holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and a doctorate from Juilliard, and is an alum of CMS’s Bowers Program. Chen performs on the 1720 “General Kyd” Stradivarius, generously loaned by Dr. Ryuji Ueno and Rare Violins In Consortium, Artists and Benefactors Collaborative.
American violinist Chad Hoopes is a consistent and versatile performer with the world’s leading orchestras, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, l’Orchestre de Paris, l’Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, and the Minnesota and National Arts Centre orchestras, as well the San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Houston, and National symphonies. An alum of CMS’s Bowers Program, he performs regularly on tour and at Alice Tully Hall with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. He has been a guest of the Moritzburg Festival, Rheingau Musik Festival, and Aspen Music Festival, and has been featured on recordings including the recent Moritzburg Festival Dvořák album with cellist Jan Vogler, released by Sony Classical, and with the MDR Leipzig and conductor Kristjan Järvi performing the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto on the Naïve label. He has performed in recital at the Ravinia Festival, the Tonhalle Zürich, and the Louvre, as well as on Lincoln Center’s Great Performers series. He is a 2017 recipient of Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Career Grant and appeared as the cover feature on the November 2021 edition of The Strad. Hoopes attended the Cleveland Institute of Music before studying with Ana Chumachenco at the Kronberg Academy. He plays the 1991 Samuel Zygmuntowicz, ex Isaac Stern violin.
Violist Timothy Ridout has appeared with orchestras including the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, and the Netherlands Philharmonic, working alongside conductors such as Sakari Oramo, Sir András Schiff, Sylvain Cambreling, and Sir Simon Rattle. A committed chamber musician, he performs regularly at Wigmore Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and the Musikverein, with partners including Janine Jansen, Leonidas Kavakos, and Yo-Yo Ma. A champion of new music, Ridout premiered Mark Simpson's Viola Concerto Hold Your Heart in Your Teeth with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin under Robin Ticciati. He records with Harmonia Mundi, and has made appearances at the BBC Proms, Verbier Festival, and Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Ridout is a former BBC New Generation Artist, an alum of CMS’s Bowers program, and a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellow. He performs on a viola by Peregrino di Zanetto, c.1565–75, on generous loan from a patron of Beare’s International Violin Society.
Clive Greensmith has a distinguished career as soloist, chamber musician, and teacher. From 1999 until 2013 he was a member of the world-renowned Tokyo String Quartet, giving over 100 performances each year in the most prestigious international venues. As a soloist, he has performed with the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic, and the RAI Orchestra of Rome. Over 25 years, he has built up a catalogue of landmark recordings, most notably the complete Beethoven string quartet cycle for Harmonia Mundi with the Tokyo String Quartet. He was appointed professor at the Colburn School in Los Angeles in 2014. In 2019, he became the artistic director of the Nevada Chamber Music Festival and was appointed director of chamber music master classes at the Chigiana International Summer Academy in Siena, Italy. He performs on a cello made by Stefano Gibertoni & Valerio Nalin made in Milan 2021 and is a Pirastro Strings Artist.
Clarinetist Sebastian Manz has performed as a soloist with major European orchestras, including the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra and the Munich Chamber Orchestra. As a chamber musician, he has appeared at venues such as the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, the Beethovenhaus Bonn, the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival. He has collaborated with artists like Danae Dörken, the Danish String Quartet, the Amaryllis Quartet, and the Schumann Quartett. At age 22, Manz won first prize in the clarinet category at the ARD International Music Competition, a prize that had not been awarded for 40 years, as well as the coveted Audience Prize. He is the principal clarinetist of the SWR Symphony Orchestra in Stuttgart. His recordings include A Bernstein Story, which won the 2020 Opus Klassik award; clarinet concertos by Nielsen and Lindberg; and a recital of works by Brahms and Schumann with pianist Herbert Schuch. His double album, Quasi Cool, showcases his stylistic versatility as a clarinetist and arranger. He is an alum of CMS’s Bowers Program.