Klarinet Archive - Posting 000297.txt from 1995/02

From: Josias Associates <josassoc@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: solo clarinet
Date: Wed, 15 Feb 1995 00:03:05 -0500

April,

In my checkered performance career, I have only performed one
unaccompanied clarinet solo, and I still like it well enough to recommend
it.

Although I'm not certain as to what level piece you're looking
for, the composition is as follows:

Etude No. 10 from Sixteen Modern Etudes by P. Jeanjean (Alphonse
Leduc).

The volume is devoted to whole-tone studies and the etudes are
often reminiscent of the Debussy sound, although Jeanjean writes in his
own distinct idiom. Leduc uses a scale from 1 to 9 to rate all its
published literature for difficulty, 1 being the easiest and 9 the most
difficult. The etudes in the Modern Etude volume range in difficulty
from 7 to 9.

I think that Etude No. 8 is equally good, although I've not
performed it.

The music is definitely not weird, and, notwithstanding its
whole-tone construction, it is very accessible to both the player and
listener. I often think that Jeanjean has done for the solo clarinet what
Chopin did for the piano with his etudes.

I hope that this is of some help.

Connie

Conrad Josias
La Canada, California