Labor: Quintet for Clarinet and Other Works

It is said that the loss of one sense sharpens the others. What the concert pianist, organist and composer Josef Labor lost in eyesight when he went blind from smallpox at the age of three must have been added to his hearing. Labor was a Brahmsian (and a friend of the composer), but his compositions are distinguished by a very original style, shaped by his knowledge of and love for early music. As a piano teacher, he taught Arnold Schönberg, Alma Schindler and Paul Wittgenstein. His connection to the Wittgenstein family also explains his many works for the left hand on the piano, including the two clarinet trios coupled on this recording with his clarinet and wind quintets.