Sonata for Clarinet
and Piano
Leonard Bernstein, 1941-1942
I. Grazioso
II. Andantino
Sonatine for Clarinet
and Piano
Bohuslav Martinu, 1957
I. Moderato
II. Andante
III. Poco
allegro
Thema
con variazioni
Jean Françaix, 1974
Dance Preludes
Witold Lutoslawski, 1954
I. Allegro
molto
II. Andantino
III. Allegro
giocoso
IV. Andante
V. Allegro
molto
Clarinet Sonata in
E-flat Major, Op. 120, No. 2
Johannes Brahms, 1894
I. Allegro
amabile
II. Allegro
appassionato
III. Andante
con moto - allegro
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The
works presented in this program span a period of eighty years, were
written by composers from five different countries and represent
a range
of different styles. However, these compositions are bound together
by a common thread. Each piece exploits the unique character
of the clarinet:
its expressiveness, agility, extensive range and diverse tonal qualities.
Furthermore, all of these compositions were written as duets, with
the piano playing an almost role equal to the clarinet. This
makes for a
more satisfying musical experience, as well as for some very tricky
piano parts.
The clarinet sonata by Bernstein was the first piece that he
published. It was written while he was still studying at the
Curtis Institute,
and motivated by his purchase of a used clarinet in a second hand
store.
Let that be a warning to you garage sale shoppers. Although written
very early
in his career, this piece has a very “Bernstein” sound to it — you
can hear shades of “West Side Story” in the jazzy second
movement in 5/8 time.
Martinu’s Sonatine was also composed at Curtis, where he was on
the faculty. Shortly after this piece was written the Czech composer,
who disliked
living in the US, returned Europe, where he died three years later. This
piece is written as a single movement with three sections. As typical
with Martinu, the composition consists of several essentially unrelated
themes,
unified by common characteristics such as the extensive use of syncopation,
pointed articulations, and arpeggiated patterns.
Jean Françaix wrote many fine pieces for clarinet, including a Trio
with viola and Piano, a Clarinet Quintet, and a notoriously difficult concerto.
Like Debussy’s Premier Rhapsody for clarinet, the theme and
variations was written for a competition.
My "Tema con variazioni" was written for an exam at the National
Superior Conservatory of Music in Paris. It was the professor at the time,
Ulysse Delecluse, who had the rather sadistic idea to have me write a piece
for A clarinet with arduous sequences.... and up in the high pitch range
to make things worse. But I still managed to include solemn passages that
evoke a Cardinal in vestments. The exam was a success, and not even one
student's mother was enraged. (Jean Françaix)
Lutoslawski’s Dance Preludes exist in two versions: the original
for clarinet and piano presented here, and a later version for clarinet
and string orchestra. Consisting of alternating fast and slow “dances,” it
is based on folksongs from northern Poland. The piece was commissioned
by a Polish publisher to be an “easy” work for students.
Toward the end of his life, Brahms had given up composing,
until he heard the clarinetist Robert Mühlfield. Brahms was so taken by Mühlfield’s
playing that he was inspired to compose again, writing two clarinet sonatas,
a trio with piano and cello and a clarinet quintet. The first reading of
this work is part of clarinet mythology, as it was took place in Robert
and Klara Schuman’s parlor, with Brahms accompanying Mühlfield
on the piano.
Biography
Carl Kesselman is the Director of the Center for Grid Technologies at
the USC’s Information Sciences Institute, a position which he
has used to torment hotel guests across the globe while preparing for
this concert. He has performed with the Jazz ensembles at the University
of Buffalo and USC, a number of community orchestras and the East Winds
Wind Quintet. He currently studies with David Howard of the L.A. Philharmonic.
Roberta Garten is a graduate of the school of music at the University
of Southern California. She is on the faculty of the Colburn School
of Performing Arts and has performed throughout U.S., Argentina,
Asia and
Spain. She can be heard accompanying Chicago Symphony Tubist Gene Pokorny
on the CD Tuba Tracks.
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