VC Artist Sergey Malov Performs Arrangement of the Brahms Clarinet Quintet

The work was arranged by Paul Klengel, an in-house arranger for the Simrock publishing house and the brother of the cellist Paul Klengel

VC Artist Sergey Malov and pianist Robert Neumann have recently released a new recording of their performance of the Brahms Clarinet Quintet, op. 115 — in a violin-piano arrangement by the German composer Paul Klengel (1854-1935).

The brother of the cellist Julius Klengel, Paul Klengel was born in Leipzig and lived there most of his life. He was a house arranger for the Simrock publishing house, plus a capable violinist, pianist, and composer. His output contains a number of chamber pieces, as well as lieder, solo piano works, and choral pieces. Klengel also wrote cadenzas for concerti by Viotti and Stamitz.

In 1893, Klengel also arranged this work for clarinet and piano, so it's possible that the violin-piano arrangement dates from around the same time — though the version that has survived bears no date.

Malov and Neumann's recording dates from a live performance that took place at the Kursaal in Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt in April 2023.

A graduate of the Mozarteum University Salzburg and Berlin's "Hanns Eisler" University of Music, where he studied with Thomas Riebl, Antje Weithaas, Eberhard Feltz, and Andreas Schreiber, Sergey Malov is a former first prize winner at the Michael Hill International Violin Competition, Salzburg International Mozart Competition, and Tokyo International Viola Competition.

His recent orchestral debuts include solo engagements with the BBC London Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Enesco Philharmonic Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonia, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Malov currently plays on instruments made by Ferdinando Gagliano and Matthieu Devuys, a Pietro Gaggini viola, a Gioffredo Cappa baroque violin, and a Dmitry Badiarov violoncello da spalla.