In our second concerto programme, we followed the clarinet’s journey from its Classical beginnings with Carl Stamitz, through the drama of Spohr’s Romantic concerto, and into the twentieth century with Copland’s jazz-inflected masterpiece. These large-scale works showed the clarinet as a commanding soloist on the concert stage.
Today’s companion programme offers a more intimate view. Instead of grand concertos, we hear shorter works — each chosen to illustrate another shade of the clarinet’s tone. From sparkling virtuosity to warm lyricism, from salon charm to modern colour, these pieces reveal just how adaptable the instrument can be.
Conclusion
Together with the concertos of Stamitz, Spohr, and Copland, these miniatures give us a fuller portrait of the clarinet. We hear the same instrument that can hold its own against an orchestra also whisper in delicate colours, dance with wit and grace, or sing in poetic stillness.
The clarinet’s voice is many-sided: it is Classical and Romantic, lyrical and jazzy, intimate and powerful. Heard alongside the concertos, this selection completes the picture — reminding us why composers across centuries have returned again and again to its warm, human tone.
I would like to invite you to join me on Monday evening at 7:30, because I am going to feature the clarinet’s relative, the Saxophone, in a programme of most interesting music. Please join me! Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Clarinet Quintet in A Major, K. 581 “Stadler” III. Menuetto Performed by Sabine Meyer with the Wiener Streichsextett, conducted by Bruno Schneider · Gerald Finzi_ 5 Bagatelles for clarinet and piano, Op. 23_ 2. Romance - Andante tranquillo Performed by Emma Johnson and Malcolm Martineau · Louis Spohr_ Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 26_ 3. Rondo (Vivace) Performed by Andreas Ottensamer with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin · Jean Francaix - Tema con variazioni (Version for Clarinet & String Orchestra) Performed by Oleg Shebeta-Dragan with the Odense Symphony Orchestra conducted by Anna Skryleva · Robert Schumann - Fantasiestücke, Op. 73_ No. 1, Zart und mit Ausdruck Performed by Martin Fröst and Roland Pöntinen · Heinrich Sutermeister - Capriccio for Clarinet Solo in A Major Performed by Karl Leister · Jacob Gade – Jealousy Performed by the Greg Eaton Clarinet Quartet · Claude Debussy - Petite pièce, L. 127 Performed by Nicolas Baldeyrou and Bertrand Chamayou · Malcolm Arnold_ Sonatina for clarinet and piano, Op. 29 (1951) 3. Furioso Performed by Emma Johnson and Malcolm Martineau · Joseph Horovitz - Sonatina for Clarinet and Piano_ III. Con brio Performed by Jaren Hinckley and Vince Humphries · Bernhard Krol - Fantasiestücke, Op. 108_ I. Arietta Performed by Henri Bok and Rob van den Broeck · Francois Rasse - Lied for Bass Clarinet & Piano Performed by Henri Bok and Rob van den Broeck
