Francis Poulenc (1899-1963)
Sonata for Clarinet and Piano
Completed shortly before the composer’s death, this sonata was intended to be part of a larger set of extended works for solo winds and piano, each dedicated to a friend who had passed away. While the sonatas for flute, oboe, and clarinet were completed, the planned work for bassoon and piano was unfortunately never done. The clarinet sonata, direct and full of life, confirms the composer’s supreme melodic gift and exploits the wonders of the instrument’s technical capabilities. These elements combine to establish that it is surely one of the favorites of the clarinet repertoire. Dedicated to Poulenc’s friend and colleague, Swiss composer Arthur Honegger who had died in 1955, the piece commences in a melancholic mood, the first movement entitled Allegro Tristamente, and continues in the Romanza with the main theme marked “très deux et mélancholique.” By the finale, all care is cast aside and life cheerfully goes on.
Dairus Milhaud (1892-1974)
Grand Duo for Clarinet and Piano
Milhaud was born in Provence and was influenced by the American jazz that made its way to France in the 20s. He escaped to the US from the Nazis during World War II, and ended his career split between teaching in California and administering the Paris Conservatory. He pioneered the use of polytonality, jazz, and complex harmonies while maintaining lyricism. In compositional style Milhaud is perhaps best known for his use of polytonality (using more than one key in the musical fabric). His comfort with this technic–he once said that these harmonies “satisfied my ear more than normal ones”–was perhaps instilled at an early age after having heard the workers in his father’s almond packing factory singing folk and popular songs hour after hour. The Grand Due Concertant for clarinet and piano written in 1956 is another example of how the Paris Conservatory’s practice of commissioning pieces for its annual competition has enriched the repertoire for solo instruments. The piece is in one movement with three distinct sections displaying polytonality, strong rhythms, and virtuosity.
Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826)
Grand Duo for Clarinet and Piano, Op. 48
Weber’s fine contributions to the repertoire of the clarinet were largely due to his friendship and collaboration with the famous 19 th century clarinetist Heinrich Baermann (1784-1847). In fact Weber and Baermann toured Germany and Austria together during 1811-12, and it was to Baermann that Weber gave credit for doing much to establish his credibility as a composer. It was also Baermann’s playing– expressive, displaying a velvety tone, and “homogeneity of tone from top to bottom”–that inspired the composer to feature the clarinet so extensively in his output (concertos, chamber music, and solo repertoire.) The Grand Duo is a full-scale concert work for two virtuosos, the themes organized to best exploit the strengths of each instrument, the piano frequently taking the lead in shaping the flow of the music. In the Andante movement the cantabile qualities of each instrument are developed equally. Although the clarinet initially leads in the final movement, the piano shares in the fun, now sinister, now mocking, but always entertaining.
Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757)
Keyboard Sonatas
Italian born composer (Giuseppe) Domenico Scarlatti is known principally for the composition of around 555 keyboard sonatas, primarily written during his years of royal patronage in Spain. The first collection of these adventuresome miniatures was modestly called Essercizi per Gravicembalo (Exercises for Harpsichord). Each piece, called a sonata, is in one movement with two sections, generally centered around one main theme. Scarlatti pushed the envelope of the compositional conventions of the time by employing dissonances, irregular phrases, unconventional modulations, and virtuoso techniques such as crossing of hands, rapid large leaps, arpeggios and fast repeated notes. Although originally conceived for performance on the harpsichord, pianists and audiences of today have embraced the riches of these pieces as performed on modern instruments.
Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)
Three Pieces for Clarinet Solo
It was during his sojourn in Switzerland during World War I that Stravinsky, the leader of the 20 th century neo-classical movement, composed these three pieces for solo clarinet. They were written for Swiss amateur clarinetist and philanthropist Werner Rheinhart in appreciation for his support of the original production of Stravinsky’s important theater/chamber work L’histoire du soldat (The Soldier’s Tale). David Shifrin writes of the music: “It was one of the first works for an unaccompanied wind instrument, and served as the prototype for many subsequent works. All three pieces are written in unconventional meter notations. The first, “Sempre p e molto tranquillo,” evokes just such a mood despite the fact that only once are there three consecutive measures in the same meter. . . . The second piece has no title or bar lines but the performer is instructed that the value of a sixteenth note is to remain equal throughout. It is in a sort of ABA form or a dialogue between the brilliant and insistent high register and the more persuasive and softer qualities of the low register. The third piece is headed “loud from beginning to end” and once again employs bar lines with constantly shifting meters. The effect of this piece is a breathless one and I think of it as a combination of a fast dance with constantly shifting pulse and a ragtime-perpetual motion.” (Excerpted from “A David Shifrin Recital,” Advent Records 4004).
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Sonata in F minor for Clarineet and Piano, Op. 120, No. 1
Brahms had not paid much attention to the possibilities of the clarinet as a solo instrument until near the end of his life when he became friends with virtuoso clarinetist Richard Mühlfield. The clarinetist introduced Brahms to the clarinet’s capabilities–its extended range, three registers, and possibilities of virtuosity through wide leaps and rapid arpeggios. The composer also grew to admire Mühlfield’s sensitive playing. Some of the richest 19 th century repertoire utilizing the clarinet was the result of the collaboration between the clarinetist and the composer/pianist. The first was the Trio in A minor for Cello, Clarinet, and Piano, Op. 114 and then the Quintet for Clarinet and String Quartet, Op. 115, both composed during the summer of 1892. During the summer of 1894, Brahms wrote the two sonatas of Opus 120– the first significant full-blown sonatas for clarinet and piano–and he and Mühlfeld gave their first performances. For publication, Brahms’s publisher Simrock convinced him to published the sonatas for viola as well as clarinet in order to bolster the repertoire for that instrument as well. A model of classical form, Sonata No. 1 in F minor falls in four movements, the piano and clarinet presented in dialog as equals. The prevailing mood of the first movement is melancholic; the second a quiet, reflective lyricism; the third, grace. A vivace in rondo form in F Major ends the work.
Program notes by Linda Mack. Copyright 2006.
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