Here with You Anthony McGill & Gloria Chien

• Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897): Clarinet Sonata No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 120 No. 1:
• 1 Brahms: Clarinet Sonata No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 120 No. 1: I. Allegro appassionato 07:51
• 2 Brahms: Clarinet Sonata No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 120 No. 1: II. Andante un poco adagio 05:04
• 3 Brahms: Clarinet Sonata No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 120 No. 1: III. Allegretto grazioso 04:02
• 4 Brahms: Clarinet Sonata No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 120 No. 1: IV. Vivace 05:06
• Clarinet Sonata No. 2 in E-Flat Major, Op. 120 No. 2:
• 5 Brahms: Clarinet Sonata No. 2 in E-Flat Major, Op. 120 No. 2: I. Allegro amabile 08:49
• 6 Brahms: Clarinet Sonata No. 2 in E-Flat Major, Op. 120 No. 2: II. Allegro appassionato 05:40
• 7 Brahms: Clarinet Sonata No. 2 in E-Flat Major, Op. 120 No. 2: III. Andante con moto 07:18
• Jessie Montgomery (b. 1981):
• 8 Montgomery: Peace (Version for Clarinet & Piano) 04:38
• Carl Maria von Weber (1786 - 1826): Grand duo concertant in E-Flat Major, Op. 48, J. 204:
• 9 Weber: Grand duo concertant in E-Flat Major, Op. 48, J. 204: I. Allegro con fuoco 06:24
• 10 Weber: Grand duo concertant in E-Flat Major, Op. 48, J. 204: II. Andante con moto 05:27
• 11 Weber: Grand duo concertant in E-Flat Major, Op. 48, J. 204: III. Rondo. Allegro 06:07
• Total Runtime 01:06:26

Info for Here with You

Anthony McGill, principal clarinet of the New York Philharmonic, and pianist Gloria Chien, a frequent performer with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, make their commercial recording debut as a duo on Here With You, an album (mostly) of early and late German Romantic masterworks they’ve treasured throughout their 15 years of mutual admiration and musical collaboration. It’s a project that embodies, in the artists’ words, a “shared expression of beauty and friendship.”

Carl Maria von Weber and Johannes Brahms were accomplished pianists who wrote for — and performed with — the leading clarinetists of their day. Weber’s Grand Duo Concertant has been described as “a double concerto without orchestra” showcasing sheer virtuosity for both instruments. Brahms’ Sonata No. 1, Opus 120, spotlights fast-paced, intense dialogues between the two players, while his Sonata No. 2 explores the clarinet’s entire tonal range.

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s newest Mead Composer-in-Residence, Jessie Montgomery, wrote Peace in 2020 as a response to the global pandemic. McGill and Chien offer the world-premiere recording of the clarinet and piano version.

Anthony McGill, clarinet
Gloria Chien, piano

Anthony McGill
is one of classical music’s most recognizable and brilliantly multifaceted figures. He serves as the principal clarinet of the New York Philharmonic, that orchestra’s first African-American principal player. Hailed for his “trademark brilliance, penetrating sound and rich character” (The New York Times), as well as for his “exquisite combination of technical refinement and expressive radiance” (The Baltimore Sun), McGill also serves as an ardent advocate for helping music education reach underserved communities. McGill was honored to take part in the inauguration of President Obama, premiering a piece by John Williams alongside violinist Itzhak Perlman, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and pianist Gabriela Montero.

McGill appears regularly as a soloist with top orchestras around North America including the New York Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera, Baltimore Symphony, San Diego Symphony, and Kansas City Symphony, and is a favorite collaborator of the Brentano, Daedalus, Guarneri, JACK, Miró, Pacifica, Shanghai, Takács, and Tokyo Quartets, as well as Emanuel Ax, Inon Barnatan, Yefim Bronfman, Gil Shaham, Midori, Mitsuko Uchida, and Lang Lang.

A graduate of the Curtis Institute, McGill previously served as principal clarinet of the Metropolitan Opera and associate principal of the Cincinnati Symphony. He serves on the faculty of the Juilliard School, the Curtis Institute of Music, and Bard College’s Conservatory of Music.

Gloria Chien
Taiwanese-born pianist Gloria Chien leads a diverse musical life as a noted performer, concert presenter, and educator. She made her orchestral debut at age 16 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Thomas Dausgaard and performed with the BSO again under Keith Lockhart.

She was subsequently selected by The Boston Globe as one of its Superior Pianists of the year, “who appears to excel in everything.” In recent seasons, she has performed as a recitalist and chamber musician at Alice Tully Hall, the Library of Congress, Phillips Collection, Dresden Chamber Music Festival, and the National Concert Hall in Taiwan. She performs frequently with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. In 2009, she launched String Theory, a chamber music series in Chattanooga, Tennessee that has become one of the region’s premier classical music presenters. The following year, she was appointed Director of the Chamber Music Institute at Music@Menlo. In 2017, she joined her husband, violinist Soovin Kim, as artistic director of the Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival in Burlington, Vermont. The couple are artistic directors at Chamber Music Northwest in Portland, Oregon. Chien studied extensively at the New England Conservatory of Music with Wha Kyung Byun and Russell Sherman. She is Artist-in-Residence at Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee, and is a Steinway Artist.

This album contains no booklet.