Clarinet legend Sabine Meyer bids farewell to the stage after a magnificent solo career spanning more than forty years. In 1982, Meyer was hired by Herbert von Karajan as the first female horn player at the Berliner Philharmoniker. Her appointment sparked controversy within the orchestra, where she was “voted out” after nine months. Meyer subsequently built an impressive solo career and worked with over three hundred orchestras worldwide. Groningen can enjoy her live one more time. Viola player Nils Mönkemeyer and pianist William Youn join her in this special clarinet celebration.

The program includes Märchenbilder by Schumann, four short, dreamy and romantic pieces for clarinet, viola and piano, with – indeed – an unmistakable fairy-tale atmosphere. Bartók’s Romanian Folk Dances brim with energy, color and rhythm, providing a vivid portrait of the folk music Bartók loved so much. Milhaud interweaved French nimbleness with Brazilian rhythms and a touch of jazz in Scaramouche. In Bruch’s Eight Stücke, we hear a full-blooded romantic.