July 31, 2014

Recording with the Pacifica Quartet

I recently had the pleasure of recording the Mozart and Brahms Quintets with the Pacifica Quartet. We performed together a few times and after a particular concert in Chicago, Jim Ginsburg of Cedille Records mentioned that he’d love to have us record the Brahms and Mozart Quintets for the company. We said yes immediately! The recording process took place over a few days at Indiana University and in New York at Suny Purchase. It was a really intense process and a very enlightening one.

Playing each of these works changes how you make music because the intensity you put into them makes you reexamine how to phrase, how to use different tone colors, and how to listen with an open heart. We worked with Judy Sherman and she was fabulous, letting us play through the piece many times so it felt like we had many different performances to choose from. Working with the Pacifica Quartet was amazing as they are extremely serious artists, great people, and they really put everything into their playing all the time. This was an adventure that I’ll never forget and I look forward to exploring these pieces for the rest of my life.

Cheers,

Anthony

Care to listen?

1. Mozart & Brahms: Clarinet Quintets on Amazon
2. Mozart & Brahms: Clarinet Quintets on iTunes