Clarinet quintet Clarinet quintet Traditionally a clarinet quintet is a chamber musical ensemble made up of one clarinet, plus the standard string quartet of two violins, one viola, and one cello. Now the term clarinet quintet can refer to five B clarinets; four B clarinets and a bass clarinet; three B clarinets and two bass clarinets; one E clarinet, two B clarinets, and two bass clarinets; or one E clarinet, two B clarinets, one E alto clarinet, and one bass clarinet. The term is also used to refer to a piece written for one of these ensembles. One of the earliest and
String Quintet (Schubert) with Kurt Reher on second cello (a 1994 CD reissue of this performance was awarded a Gramophone Award). Among modern recordings, that featuring the Melos Quartet with Mstislav Rostropovich (1977) has been acclaimed, and is notable for the exceptionally slow tempo adopted for the Adagio. Rostropovich later recorded the quintet with the Emerson String Quartet (12/1990) on the occasion of the gala concert celebrating the 125th anniversary of the BASF AG, Ludwigshafen. A few recordings of the quintet performed on period instruments exist, including a 1990 recording on the Vivarte label with the following lineup: Vera Beths and Lisa Rautenberg,