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Musgrave Concerto

Author: theclarinetist
Date: 2004-05-14 15:55

Hey. I've had the Victoria Soames CD with the Musgrave Clarinet Concerto on it for a while and I'm wondering what people think of this piece. Why you like it? What you don't like about it?

At the moment I'm not too fond of it. It seems to lack direction. Just 26 minutes somewhat random stuff. As far as "modern" style concertos go (and by modern, in this case, I mean pieces that have a similar sound and tonality to the Musgrave). I sort of hold the Corigliano up as the gold standard of concertos in this style (compared to others that I've heard, such as the Musgrave or the Denisov). I find the Corigliano to be well crafted, easier to follow, and importantly, not too long considering the material. Obviously, I can't judge Musgrave by Corigliano standards (and maybe the comparison isn't even a vaild one), but it seems that all the things Corigliano does to make this seemingly incoherent compositional style work well are lacking (or at least not clear to me) in the Musgrave piece.

However, I realize that sometimes I decide that I don't like a piece too soon, before I've had sufficient time to come to appreciate it. So, rather than quickly pass final judgement on the piece, maybe someone has some insights or advice that will help me appreciate it more.

Thanks

DH - theclarinetist@yahoo.com

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