ph Laura Magistrelli

«Andrea Massimo Grassi has shown a brilliant mastery of the instrument and knows how to shape each sound in terms of the musical expression, with the natural fluency … a rare and precious gift … We would love to listen to this instrumentalist playing the famous Clarinet Concert by Mozart» (Giornale di Brescia)

«… It’s worth considering the performance of clarinettist Andrea Massimo Grassi, a genuine driving force in addition to his role as soloist» (La Voce di Mantova)

«The sound of clarinet changed my view of music» (Art of listening, Minnesota State University)

«… we have appreciated Andrea Massimo Grassi’s tonal refinement and his technical versatility, allowing him to mould the sound without any force or excess. A successful blend of expression and tone …» (L’Arena)

«The clarinetist, in stage costume, lets himself be swallowed by the sound of his instrument, concentrated emotion flowing throughout his body. The honesty with which he admits to loving the Trio op. 114 is written on his face ... in the presence of such music that rings clear and true, everything is put into perspective» (Avvenire) 

«… you can feel Gruppo Amarilli’s depht, its energy and feeling, perfectly expressed with a juvenile, almost dream-like momentum, a total osmosis among three musicians engaged in a bright experience … thanks to Gruppo da Camera Amarilli, the Brahms Trio becomes an opus full of events» (Paris Normandie) 

«You can grasp conscience and clarity … Masterpieces of chamber music performed by the five with great voice ... with excellent harmony regarding intent and goals» (L’Adige)

«They have been able to find that wonderful balance that only exists in an expert and close group. In addition to virtuosity and instrumental technical, we must emphasised the great interpretational insight applied to such prominent authors as Mozart and Brahms» (Giornale di Brescia)

«Andrea Massimo Grassi, l’animatore del Quintetto Arcadia, è un grande studioso e virtuoso del clarinetto e delle opere di Brahms per quello strumento. Autore di un importante volume di esegesi musicale “Fräulein Klarinette, la genesi e il testo delle opere per clarinetto di Johannes Brahms” (edizioni ETS, 2006) e di un fondamentale intervento su “Fedeltà al testo e interpretazione musicale” per il quinto Seminario di Filologia Musicale del Centro di Musicologia Walter Stauffer del 2006, ha curato nel 2000 la prestigiosa edizione “Urtext” della Henle Verlag di Monaco di Baviera del Quintetto brahmsiano per clarinetto ed archi.  Il lavoro che Grassi ha fatto e continua a fare con il Quintetto Arcadia nasce proprio dalla passione per quest’opera, e non è dunque difficile immaginare a quale livello interpretativo sia giunto l’altra sera al concerto nel Tempio Valdese. Una magnifica ed emozionante esecuzione da togliere letteralmente il fiato. (Noto, a parte, che i musicisti non dovrebbero, prima di suonare, raccontare e spiegare al pubblico la musica in programma; sono musicisti, non oratori, e neppure storici o critici. Ma in questo caso la dottrina, la simpatia e la verve di Grassi hanno fatto crollare ogni pregiudizio ed hanno molto aiutato il pubblico a capire e ad apprezzare i due Quintetti)» (Arcipelago Milano)

«E poi c’è stata la lezione di educazione all’ascolto del maestro Andrea Massimo Grassi. Grassi parte con una irresistibile cavalcata tra fonti, aneddoti, spartiti mutilati e quant’altro. Una mezz’ora incantevole, un saggio di come si dovrebbe insegnare, condividendo la cultura senza calarla dall’alto, ma contagiando la passione. La platea è estasiata» (La Repubblica)

 «Andrea Massimo Grassi provides a particularly significant contribution ... Considering that the book achieves the goal of showing and reconciling the relationship and the differences between ‘inspiration’ and ‘work’ related to composition, it can also, more generally, contribute to the understanding of Johannes Brahms’ entire work» (Michael Struck)

 «As a musicologist and clarinet concert performer, Andrea Massimo Grassi has focussed for more than a decade his artistic and scientific interests on the works for clarinet by Johannes Brahms ... the book is also recommended as a clear introduction to the problems of textual criticism» (il giornale della musica)

 «Through Fräulein Klarinette, Andrea Massimo Grassi takes us suggesting a curiously harmonious brahmsian period, because the compositions for clarinet have a whole series of truly fascinating similarities, that nobody, before this book, had ever realized» (Angelo Foletto)

 «Andrea Massimo Grassi is a true scholar. His finely crafted words and ability to communicate with crystal clarity ace a testimony to his obvious respect for the process of learning and the acquisition of knowledge» (The Clarinet, USA)

 «The skill of Andrea Massimo Grassi lies in introducing us in a fascinating way to ... an enlightening text full of endless discoveries, which allows us to achieve an ever increasing accurate knowledge of music’s history in the late nineteenth century» (Cadenze)

 «Andrea Massimo Grassi, the author of this valuable and commendable edition, has carefully and scrupulously compared the sources, digging out the smallest detail to offer the most reliable Brahms’ version of this great masterpiece of chamber music: so let’s recognize this great achievement» (I fiati)

 «… what results is the latest critical thinking by a Brahms specialist in one of our greatest repertoire pieces» (The Clarinet, USA)

 «Give yourself a treat and take this wonderful score by Brahms, published by Henle, with the usual precision of his Urtext» (Suonare News)