Weber - Grand Duo Concertant [Stoltzman/ Ax]

The first time i seriously fell in love with this work, was while out for a walk with the Johnson / Back disc on ASV, i've always felt that Weber is a very average Composer, but this is his best work by far, the performance i know the best is Collins / Stott on EMI [also he has an exciting performance with Pletnev on Virgin], this disc is fairly new, and only getting its third outing, not a tremendous amount of music on the disc, less than fifty minutes, they could have added something else, this is the first time that Weber has appeared in my Blog, even though i've played this work probably seventy times.

Richard Stoltzman is American, he's now 72, this recording was made back in 1982, so already over thirty years old, the photography is brilliant, showing both Stoltzman and Ax on the piano stool, clarinet in Stoltzman's hand, wearing dark clothes and a jet black background, therefore the lighted parts stand out all the more, the lettering is placed at an angle, and the RCA and Red Seal logos are so colourful, i love the finished product.

Well deep down you could call this a Clarinet Sonata i guess, it's in three movements, the first two were the best, and it was the middle movement Andante Con Moto that was the best of all, just under seven minutes long, starts off low and like some sort of lament [0:00-0:18], the notes are very much a beautiful legato, and Stoltzman plays with real feeling in the opening minute [0:19-0:53], a real sadness permeates the whole thing, it's certainly not all low and quiet, at times there's a certain wailing intensity to it, the piano even pulls off a solo [1:46-2:40], which gets quite intense, the way it prepares for the clarinet to come back in is magical, a sort of fanfare, and the clarinet steals in so quietly [2:40-2:58], while the piano plinks away in the treble, that's an inspired creation, the whole movement's in a form of a fantasy, there's really heartbreaking stuff by both players, Stoltzman can reach those breathy depths, play really quiet too, makes an incredible impression, the clarinet is a beautiful instrument, the opening returns in splendour [4:50+], the repetition here is so good, and Stoltzman has some extra depth in presenting the end [6:17+], as the clarinet delves deeper into a sort of bassy death, i feel i need to hear some other players, see what they make of the piece.

Here's Meyer / Sage playing this middle movement on YouTube, however they play it a minute and a half faster, and maybe it misses some of its 'lament' qualities in the process.

Various Composers - 'Pastoral' British Clarinet Music [Johnson/Martineau]

A well played disc, one that i've had for nearly 20 years, and yet this is its first appearance in my Blog, it's great to have a recital of clarinet music that features one aspect of it, there's a cohesion here, however some of the shorter trifles could have been ejected [the Bliss and Vaughan Williams vocal stuff], and filled with something more appropriate, the silky tones of the clarinet are wonderful to behold, if i was to take up an instrument, apart from the piano, it would either be the clarinet or the soprano saxophone [very similar], it works in Classical and Jazz perfectly, plus it's so easily portable, and works as a satisfying solo instrument too, i love the clarinet.

Emma Johnson is English, she's now 48, she recorded this disc in 1994, the booklet front cover is a black & white portrait [by Robert Barber], a wood in the background out of focus, of course the focuses all the more on the foreground, a half body shot, with Johnson holding her clarinet.

The three pieces that really got to me on this listen were the two solo movement works, Ireland's Fantasy Sonata, and Bliss's Pastoral, but the work that moved me the most was the darling little suite of English Folk Song Studies by Vaughan Williams, six pieces here lasting a little over nine minutes, Vaughan Williams was a champion of folk songs of England, and here he chooses six to set to Cello and Piano, however Clarinet players seem to have hijacked the piece, i hardly ever hear it played by other instruments now, so here's a synopsis of these six little pieces, with the original folk song they came from, 

1 Adagio / Lovely On The Water [1:48] - A slow piece as an introduction, using the deeper registers of the clarinet, while the piano slowly moves higher into the treble, towards the end there's a solo clarinet section. 
2 Andante Sostenuto / Spurn Poin [1:30] - Something more tuneful, and achingly so, and it's a beautiful duet, the way first the piano plays the tune higher in the treble, then the clarinet [0:37 & 0:44], and the piece ends ever so gently on a long note, [where 'sostenuto' in the title comes from].
3 Larghetto / Van Diemans Land [1:51] - A more ancient sounding melody, and the longest piece of the six, kept within the lower registers in the first half, but the second half has a tendency to soar.
4 Lento / She Borrowed Some Of Her Mothers Gold [1:22] - A more complex use of the clarinet, and the piano explodes into action [0:33+], at the end a very high sustained note.
5 Andante Tranquillo / The Lady And The Dragoon [1:30] - The most easily lyrical of the six, and my personal favourite by miles, it has the most gorgeous melody ever, played simply at first, very Irish sounding, but then added all sorts of complexities to it in such a wonderful way [0:30+], and even the piano gets a little solo while the clarinet accompanies [1:00+]. 
6 Allegro Vivace / As I Walked Over London Bridge [0:51] - The shortest of the six, and a finale of sorts, marked 'vivace', a skippy little tune, it bounces along in both the clarinet and piano in a staccato way, and it comes to an abrupt end on a piano note.

Schubert - Arpeggione Sonata [Stoltzman/Ax] 

Another disc that is new-ish to my collection, this is only the second time i've played it, consisting of two less heard clarinet works [ok the Schubert is a 'transcription'], but it's good to widen my clarinet repertoire discs, i love the clarinet, and i'm surprised it isn't given greater prominence in the Classical world [or even the Jazz world], it has a fantastic range, and a fantastic sound, how come there aren't more Clarinet Concertos around?, both of these pieces are in the three movement sonata form, and lasting 20-25 minutes in length, another work could have been accommodated on the disc, but it's just great to hear the clarinet as a 'solo' instrument.

Richard Stoltzman is American, he's now unbelievably 70 years old, of course the disc comes from back in 1983 when he was 41, the photographs are excellent, the front cover shows Stoltzman / Ax seated at the piano, a very dark picture, all of the lettering is at an angle, the quality of the photograph isn't immensely high, the skin tones come out very orange, and the whole thing isn't quite in focus, but it's still a great front cover.