Germany Widmann, Weber, Beethoven: Martin Fröst (clarinet), Dresden Philharmonic / Riccardo Minasi (conductor). Kulturpalast Dresden, 30.5.2026. (MC)
Jörg Widmann – Con brio Concert Overture (2008)
Weber – Clarinet Concerto No.1 in F minor, Op.73 (1811)
Beethoven – Symphony No.5 in C minor, Op.67 (1808)
After a year away from visiting Dresden, I was delighted to be back attending concerts at the beautifully appointed Kulturpalast a most comfortable hall with splendid acoustics. On the evening that I attended, Riccardo Minasi was guest conducting the Dresden Philharmonic in a programme comprising of a work each by Jörg Widmann, Weber with clarinet soloist Martin Fröst and Beethoven.
The Dresden Philharmonic concert opened with Munich born Jörg Widmann’s concert overture Con brio. Originating as a commission by Bavarian Radio, Widmann states how he hurriedly wrote Con brio in 2008. Influenced strongly by Beethoven’s Seventh and Eight Symphonies it was the late Mariss Jansons, then chief conductor (2003-19) of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, who explained in concert that Con brio should be programmed alongside Beethoven.
I have heard Con brio performed previously in Munich and was then, as I was at this concert, impressed by Widmann’s steadily shifting soundworld. Fascinating too was how the writing would produce sudden and audacious transitions and breaks. Much of this quicksilver score is constructed of spiky chords although at one point I detected what sounded like a national anthem that quickly vanished. A curious recurring sound, akin to leaves rustling, was achieved by the bow of the double bass at the side of the bridge. Widmann has written an outstanding and fascinating contemporary concert overture, and I look forward to hearing Con brio again in concert.
At concerts over the years I have heard many concertos predominantly featuring a violin or piano, yet I simply cannot recall the last occasion I heard a clarinet concerto. In the 1980s I recall the solo clarinet capturing attention when Sabine Meyer and Emma Johnson came onto the scene, together with a flurry of recordings, though that popularity hasn’t carried on.
At Kulturpalast it was pleasing to hear a performance of Carl Maria von Weber’s Clarinet Concerto No.1 in F minor. In 1816 Weber established a strong connection to Dresden when appointed Kapellmeister to the Court Theatre working there until his death in 1826. The F minor Concerto was however written before he moved to Dresden and in 1811 it was soloist Heinrich Bärmann who gave the premiere in front of Maximilian Joseph, King of Bavaria at Munich.
Silver-haired, clarinet soloist Martin Fröst stepped on the stage wearing a black tunic with silver piping on the forearms and front also wearing white trainers. Excelling in the F minor Concerto Fröst was note-perfect producing an attractive tone, making technical demands look so easy and providing wide expression in this beautiful score. It wasn’t only his superb playing that won plaudits, it was his overall performance that proved so enjoyable notably his continual balletic movements and static staring poses, that I certainly wasn’t expecting. From what I could see the audience wasn’t put off by the dancing which all felt in keeping with the tempi and mood of the music. If I had to single out a favourite movement it was the Finale: Rondo. Allegretto of a lighter vein with the assured Fröst vibrant and playful, sometimes rocking his shoulders and head to the beat. If you haven’t already seen him on the stage do catch a Martin Fröst concert if you can and even put it on your bucket list.
After the interval came Beethoven’s Symphony No.5 in C minor a somewhat predictable work yet a most welcome one. Over the years in concert performance, it has been the Symphonies No.3 Eroica and No.6 Pastoral that I have heard most often. Beethoven mustered defiance in face of his increasing deafness and wrote great works one after another. Following a gestation period of several years his famous Fifth Symphony was finished in 1808. At the same concert in Vienna Beethoven conducted the premieres of both the Fifth and the Pastoral Symphony (Sixth) plus others of his own works. Many writers lavished praise on the score notably German writer and critic E.T.A. Hoffmann who described it as an ‘indescribably profound, magnificent symphony in C minor’ and English novelist E.M. Forster wrote it is ‘the most sublime noise that has ever penetrated into the ear of man.’
Under Riccardo Minasi the performance was fresh, perceptive and confident and the audience clearly took to the Roman maestro. In the heroic opening movement, the Dresden players generated bold exhilaration with a penetrating intensity. A beautifully compassionate mood enveloped the unerringly romantic Andante con moto with the players creating a wealth of spine-tingling engagement. Highly spirited the third movement Scherzo: Allegro felt valiant and transitioned so adeptly to the triumphant Finale: Allegro. To conclude the score Minasi’s players produced an abundance of daring drama together with a feeling of martial bravado.
Full credit to the Dresden Philharmonic, for one of the most stunningly played and fascinating orchestral concerts I have heard for some time. The hard driven Beethoven Fifth was superbly performed.
Michael Cookson