What do you do for an encore when your first - spectacularly successful - recording offers both of Mozart's supreme masterpieces for the clarinet - the Concerto and the Quintet?

For America's great clarinetist David Shifrin, the long-awaited answer turns out to be Weber, whose songful and dazzlingly virtuosic music is perfect for Shifrin's exceptional gifts. As in Mozart's Clarinet Quintet, Weber's delightful Quintet has strong elements of both concerto and opera. The clarinet-and-piano duos allow both clarinetist and pianist, Shifrin's frequent collaborator David Golub, to shine. The clarinet quintet which closes the program, Introduction, Theme & Variations, was discovered in 1941 and long attributed to Weber, but is now thought to be possibly the work of Joseph Küffner.

In between Mozart and Weber recordings, of course, Shifrin has appeared in a number of superb chamber music recordings - principally with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and Chamber Music Northwest.

We promise that it won't be such a long wait before the next recording starring David Shifrin! (Coming soon: Weber Concertos.)

Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
David Shifrin, artistic director

Clarinet:
David Shifrin

Violins:
Maria Bachmann, Toby Hoffman, Ani Kavafian, Cho-Liang Lin

Viola:
Paul Neubauer

Cellos:
Gary Hoffman, Fred Sherry