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 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’s Sonata no.1, op.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.

Hailed for his “trademark brilliance, penetrating sound and rich character” (The New York Times), McGill is the New York Philharmonic’s first African-American principal player. Winner of a 2020 Avery Fisher Prize, he was recently appointed the first William R. and Hyunah Yu Brody Distinguished Chair at the Curtis Institute of Music.

The clarinetist’s Cedille Records discography also includes Mozart & Brahms Clarinet Quintets with the Pacifica Quartet; Portraits – Works for Flute, Clarinet & Piano, recorded with his brother Demarre McGill and pianist Michael McHale; and Winged Creatures, recorded with Demarre McGill and the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra led by Allen Tinkham.

A Steinway Artist making her Cedille Records debut, Chien collaborated with McGill on his first, self-released album. A pianist “who appears to excel in everything” (Boston Globe), her discography includes a Chandos album with violinist Joanna Kurkowicz. Chien is director of the Chamber Music Institute at Music@Menlo and co-artistic director at Chamber Music Northwest, Portland, Oregon, and the Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival, Burlington, Vermont. She is Artist-in-Residence at Lee University, Cleveland, Tennessee, and created the innovative String Theory chamber music series in nearby Chattanooga.