Klarinet Archive - Posting 000011.txt from 2009/11

From: Simon Aldrich <simonaldrich@-----.ca>
Subj: [kl] Re: Magnus Lindberg chamber music repertoire query
Date: Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:40:37 -0500

> Could anyone familiar with the following pieces by Magnus Lindberg
> give me some feedback as to the difficulty of the compositions and
> online sources for listening to them?
>Clarinet Quintet (clarinet & string quartet)

The Clarinet Quintet is very difficult. I have played it twice and
recorded it for CBC.
The clarinetist needs to be able to double-tongue for long stretches
(like in a lot of Lindberg's music).
It is not the type of piece that a clarinetist can woodshed for a long
time then hope to throw together with strings.
The string quartet parts do not sound difficult but they are beastly
to put together. There is rarely a point of reference (audible
downbeats, landmarks to help one find one's bearings), which means the
1st violinist invariably resorts to thrashing, showing the beats when
necessary (not that there is anything wrong with that).
At 20 minutes and without break, the piece requires a lot of mental
and physical stamina. To be approached with caution.
That said, I have performed many Lindberg pieces and I would say the
Clarinet Quintet had the most overwhelming effect on the audience.
Lindberg's music is often epic and sweeping. That can work if the arc
of the piece is convincing, persuasive and, in the case of the
Quintet, moving. If it doesn't work, it comes off as unrelenting
grandiloquence (ie his piece "Joy").

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Simon Aldrich

Clarinet Faculty - McGill University
Principal Clarinet - Orchestre Metropolitain de Montreal
Principal Clarinet - Orchestre de l'Opera de Montreal
Artistic Director - Jeffery Summer Concerts
Clarinet - Nouvel Ensemble Moderne

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