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.

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.

Brahms - Clarinet Quintet [Meyer/Vienna String Sextet]

This is the first time that Brahms's Clarinet Quintet makes a show in my Blog, i prefer his Clarinet Sonatas actually, this must be one of his last works, and there's definitely an autumn glow in this work, usually it's coupled with Mozart's Quintet, or Brahms's Piano Quintet, so here's an interesting coupling in Yun's Clarinet Quintet, a nice disc, a bit short on length [51 minutes], but it's quality. 

Sabine Meyer is German, born in 1959, now 52 years old, she made this recording back in 1990, the booklet front cover is excellent [by Franz Hamm], especially the picture of Meyer, a lovely autumnal portrait, full of oranges and browns, nice sunlight on the shoulder, and that glint and sparkle from the clarinet!, the small shot of the Wiener Striechsextett actually gets in the way, it would look even better if it was ditched. 

The movement that excited me the most was the first, a lovely serenade almost, Brahms seems to have left behind his more darker and angrier days, he was enchanted by the Clarinettist Richard Muhlfeld, and composed a number of works for him, it was in the summer of 1891 in Bad Ischl, a spa town in Austria that Brahms composed this work, you can feel the relaxation of the piece, 

Here's David Shifrin playing the first movement on YouTube with the Guarneri Quartet.