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.

Vaughan Williams - Six Studies In English Folksong [Hilton/Swallow] 

What a short work this is, just over 8 minutes long, each of the six pieces are a little over 1 minute, except the last, you would think that such a short work would also be a slight work?, but wrong!, you don't have to compose on a grand symphonic scale to say something major, these short vignettes are timeless and universal, they say so much on such a small canvas, plus this music is full of pathos and longing, originally composed for Cello and Piano, i believe the Composer himself made this transcription for Clarinet, and it hits a deeper vein with a wind instrument perfectly [the oboe is also very good], i fell in love with this work on this disc instantly, the Bliss work is certainly harder to delve into.

Janet Hilton [scroll down the link for her biography] is English, she has mainly recorded British Clarinet works on the Chandos label, she recorded this disc in 1982, the front cover photograph [by Derek Forss], is a shot of Crummock Water in Cumbria from Kirkstile, a lovely view, a hand built stone wall, overlooks some cottages down onto the lake, the tree and the mountain nicely frame the photograph, and the lovely clouds in the sky, it all looks so peaceful, i'd love to go there.

All of these 6 pieces are heavenly, all on the slow / slowish side, except the last one, i very much enjoyed 2-3 & 5, the fifth piece is only 80 seconds long, but boy is it packed full to the brim, .

Here's The Six Studies In English Folksong being played by the Clarinet on YouTube, the fifth piece starts at 5:00.

Brahms - Clarinet Sonata 2 [Cohen/ Ashkenazy] 

After Brahms 'retired', he heard the wonderful Clarinetist Richard Muhlfeld, and came out of retirement to compose music for the clarinet, these were two of the very last works that he composed, i can certainly understand Brahms's affinity to the clarinet, as it's a gorgeous instrument, a silky and creamy tone, equally at home with Classical and Jazz and Military Bands, equally at home as a solo instrument, or part of a big orchestra, and yet in both Classical and Jazz, the repertoire is thin on the ground, how many Jazz Clarinetists do you have compared to Jazz Saxophonists?, how many Clarinet Concertos compared to Violin or Piano Concertos?, the neglect is a crime, and how many Clarinet Sonatas are there [like here] compared to Violin Sonatas in the Classical repertoire?, it's a mystery to me, with 22 & 20 minutes respectively, these seem like short works of Chamber Music, but Brahms's last two Violin Sonatas have similar timings, i first heard this disc way back in 1994, while travelling on the train to and from Aylesbury, and surprisingly this is the first time this disc makes its debut in my Blog.

Franklin Cohen is American, at the moment he's the Principle Clarinetist with the Cleveland Orchestra, he recorded this work in 1991, i guess when Vladimir Ashkenazy   was the Conductor of the Orchestra, the front cover [by Fernando Mercedes] shows a section of the clarinet.

The Second Sonata was just slightly more inspired than the First, unlike usual Sonatas in three movements, it doesn't seem like fast / slow / fast, but rather bright / dark / bright, there's an easy going serenity that goes on in the opening movement, it's very pastoral and easy going [0:00-0:38], sounds as if it's actually going to be a slow movement, but faster forte's come in, but a gentleness returns [0:56+], and Brahms / Cohen show the true creaminess of the clarinet, fairly soon the music comes to a wonderful zenith [1:40-2:03], like a knot being released from its tightness, about halfway through the beginning starts again [4:28+], but things go slightly different, and again that zenith returns [6:05-6:24], and there's a sort of coda [6:58+] the music seems to change key to bring out a bittersweetness in the music, it's a lovely piece of music.

Here's Ben Redwine playing the first movement on YouTube.

Brahms - Clarinet Sonata 1 [Aomori/ Pierce]

A new disc of Brahms Clarinet Sonatas that i'm playing for the first time, this was my Sunday walk to Church, and the cherry blossoms are starting to appear on the trees, as the opposite, this disc represents the Autumn of Brahms's life, when he got interest in the clarinet, and the picture on the front seems to suggest the same, they're beautiful works, perfect for a Sunday morning stroll through the park and lanes.

Hideaki Aomori is i take it Japanese, he looks fairly young, and is otherwise unknown to me, i found this lovely disc on Ebay, it's from an independent record label called MSR Classics, an American label, Aomori recorded this disc in 2008, the front cover features a photograph of a wooded path, lovely yellow greens, sunlight dappling through the trees, a bed of leaves underfoot, wonderfully evocative.

When i started to play this disc, i found Aomori's playing fairly cool [meaning not with red hot passion], a fairly laid back style, not pushing the boundaries, also the clarinet is caught in a fairly narrow stereo view, too much treble and not enough bloom warmth, however the piano seems to be in a different acoustic, nice rumbling bass, and a wider stereo perspective, but not enough treble!, but certainly as the disc continued, i felt that this was less of an issue, i love the First Clarinet Sonata the most, and the work got better the longer i heard it, so i was thrilled by the time the last movement was played, Brahms marks it as Vivace, the English equivalent is of course vivacious!, a nice word, and very apt here, it's a dashing finale, the clarinet bubbles away with staccato figures at the beginning [0:04-0:43],  

Here's the fourth movement Vivace being played on YouTube.

Various Composers - Clarinet Brava [Lee/ Shrut]

I love these Clarinet Recitals, and i have a certain affinity for the clarinet too, it's a wonderful instrument, so expressive and creamy, and Seunghee Lee chooses a good programme, slipping in some rarities, and choosing some different works, some short, some long, and giving us 61 minutes of music.

Seunghee Lee is South Korean, but emigrated to the United States, this is her debut disc, she recorded this in 1999, and her next disc [which i believe is being recorded] is long overdue, the photography is by Joe Cognigni, a charming portrait of Seunghee Lee with her clarinet in hand, a black and white shot, fairly soft focus, i really like it a lot.

Of all the wonderful pieces on this disc, i'm always drawn to the opening piece, Lovreglio's La Traviata Fantasy, playing themes from Verdi's Opera, all the famous bits weaved into a superb whole, it's certainly a virtuoso showpiece, testing the Clarinettist in all sorts of directions,

Here's Ben Westlake performing Lovreglio's La Traviata Fantasy on YouTube, part one and part two.

Various Composers - Clarinet Celebration [Johnson/Back] 

I have quite a number of these Clarinet & Piano albums, each one has a different flavour, some are French Music, others English Music, this one has a range of nationalities of Composers, it's called 'Clarinet Celebration', and seems to veer towards the fantasy / variation side of the clarinet, there's well known pieces, and some less well known, a good mix.

Emma Johnson is English, now 45 years, she won the BBC Young Musician Of The Year in 1984 at age 18, she made this recording in 1990.

Well the piece that surprised me the most was Bergmuller's Duo, i don't believe i've got this on any other recording, so i don't hear it often, plus it's been a while since i've listened to this disc, so it was like listening to a new piece, and what a wonderful tune it has, i really recommend it, but on this disc i feel that it has to bow to the piece that i find such an incredible fantasy, and it's the final piece Lovreglio's La Traviata Fantasy, 

Here's Anna Hashimoto playing the La Traviata Fantasy by Lovreglio on YouTube.