 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Ed
Date: 2024-08-21 20:15
In another thread this was said.
Quote:
The Samuel Barber Violin Concerto is breath-takingly beautiful. Barber is so neglected, probably because he wasn't a member of the avant-garde and was considered an anachronism
I often think that you mostly see the Adagio programmed and many people are not aware of his many beautiful works. I worry that in time he may fade somewhat into obscurity.
There are various composers whose names and music have been forgotten over time, whether fairly or unfairly. I recall when I was younger I went to a used book sale and found a volume about classical masterworks and composers that was probably written in the 30s or 40s. I was really surprised by the number of works that were mentioned as great often played repertoire that I had never heard of, and have never heard in the years since. Some seemed to be popular at one time and their stars faded.
For me, when considering this topic, one name that always comes to mind is Paul Hindemith. There was a time when his works were programmed with some frequency, but I rarely hear his name mentioned. I don't love everything he wrote, but there are some wonderful pieces.
Are there great composers or works who you think have been forgotten or neglected or who risk being forgotten?
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2024-08-22 00:47
I was struck by the wonderful piano concerto in A minor written by Clara Schumann. Not just "a nice piece of music," but something quite substantial. It makes one wonder if there would have been much more from her.......had she not been a woman (by that I mean "not taken seriously during her lifetime.")
............Paul Aviles
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Author: brycon
Date: 2024-08-23 01:55
Quote:
For me, when considering this topic, one name that always comes to mind is Paul Hindemith. There was a time when his works were programmed with some frequency, but I rarely hear his name mentioned. I don't love everything he wrote, but there are some wonderful pieces.
I hear the Hindemith woodwind quintet on a nearly yearly basis. The Symphonic Metamorphosis and the Symphony in Bb (for band) seem to get programmed quite a lot as well.
To me, the repertoire that's maybe faded the most is the Italian baroque and perhaps also the early Classical or "galant." I'm thinking about, for example, Corelli, who is a monumental figure in music history (thought of as the first truly tonal composer), was one of the most studied and copied composers of his era, and yet whose music is now programmed only by early music specialists. Similarly, if you said "Bach" in the 18th century, most people would've assumed you were talking about C.P.E. But again, outside of the early music scene, he's rarely played.
Maybe it has something to do with Corelli and C.P.E. (as well as Leonardo Leo, Francesco Durante, Domenico Cimarosa, etc.) being on the edges of what people now think of as the Baroque and Classical eras: i.e. they get pushed out of people's imaginations for the more paradigmatic composers, such as J.S. Bach and Mozart.
Interestingly, some composers or pieces once forgotten about can come back into the collective consciousness of concertgoers. I'm too young to have experienced it, but some of my older musicology professors talked about how Schubert wasn't considered serious music in the first half of the 20th century. Mozart's Cosi fan tutte was rarely programmed until the latter part of the 20th century (though it might fade again due to the subject matter...). Chevalier de Saint-Georges was another forgotten about galant composer until recently, and I'm sure the list can go on.
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Author: ruben
Date: 2024-08-23 09:39
There were many composers living in Paris writing tonal music that involved the clarinet during the first two-thirds of the twentieth century. I have a paricular liking for Alexandre Tansmann. His father-in-law, Jean Cras-was a wonderful composer. Unfortunately, he didn't compose for the clarinet, as far as I know. Among the composers I have known personally, there is the late Gordon Sherwood that wrote at least a dozen chamber music pieces requiring clarinet. He was an American living in Europe and earning a living by....begging in the streets of Paris. I premiered a few of his works. That's how low the poor man had sunk!
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: graham
Date: 2024-08-23 14:44
I am always astonished at how little Walter Piston is appreciated either in the US or anywhere else.
As I mention elsewhere, the Menotti Violin Concerto is also a fine work, and should be heard as much as the Barber (which is heard very frequently in the UK).
George Perle's wind quintets are amongst the best for that genre. Colin Matthews 5 Concertinos for Wind Quintet, and Down-Hollow Winds by Martin Butler are also fine examples of wind quintets that one never hears (along with Piston's, which has also been lost to view).
Try Ruth Gipps Op.16 for three strings, oboe, and clarinet for a seriously good mid-20th century work.
So much more one could mention.
graham
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Author: ruben
Date: 2024-08-23 18:25
Piston has always been considered academic. -unfairly, in my opinion.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: Ebclarinet1
Date: 2024-08-25 20:16
Three chamber pieces I think are the best are Barber's Summer Music, Jongem's Concerto, both for WW5 and Gipp's Seascapes for double WW5. All are pretty and have juicy parts for all the players.
Eefer guy
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Author: Paintrunner
Date: 2024-08-26 09:44
Elizabeth Maconchy: she seems to be best known now for her string quartets but wrote much orchestral and choral music. There are not not many recordings available, but her Clarinet Concerino appears on Rediscovered: British Clarinet Concertos, with Peter Cigleris and The National Orchestra of Wales on Cala Signum
There is also a Clarinet Quintet, played by Thea King with the Britten Quartet on Hyperion.
Priaulx Rainier: very few recordings. Her Suite for Clarinet and Piano with Andrew Sparling and David Carhart appears on No Title Required, on Metier records. (She also designed Barbara Hepworth's sculpture garden in St Ives. Well worth a visit if anyone is ever in Cornwall).
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Author: cigleris
Date: 2024-08-26 14:03
I’ve done a fair amount trying to fill in the gaps of British clarinet music and it’s very enlightening.
Here are some neglected British composers that wrote for the clarinet which deserve more attention.
Cecil Hartog
Cecil Armstrong Gibbs
Ruth Gipps (working with the family I found the Quintet Op. 16, premiered her clarinet concerto in 2019 and recorded nearly all her clarinet chamber music on the disc Dedication)
Susan Spain-Dunk (I’ve worked with the family to try and get her music more widely known. I gave the modern premier of her concerto Poem Cantilena in 2019, recorded it on Rediscovered, US premier in 2022 at the Reno ClarinetFest)
Peter Wishart Serenata Concertante (world premier in 2018 at the Ostend ClarinetFest)
David Gow Quintet (recently recorded for future release)
Fredrick Durrant Quintet (recently recorded for future release)
Freda Swain
Elizabeth Maconchy
Robert Simpson (recently recorded the original version of his quintet for clarinet, bass clarinet and three double basses)
Geoffrey Bush
It’s a list that will continue to grow I’m sure
Peter Cigleris
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Author: jim sclater
Date: 2024-08-26 16:09
in re Peter Cigleris' post...
I did a biographical study of Reginald Kell for the Clarinet Journal many years ago. I know his father-in-law Joseph Holbrooke wrote a clarinet quintet which Kell recorded. My question - is there a second quintet by Holbrooke which Kell recorded? I had the opportunity to meet Holbrooke's son Gwydion and I seem to recall he mentioned the possibility of two quintets. I heard a recording of one movement of a Holbrooke quintet and Kell's playing was pretty amazing.
Can anyone shed some light on this?
Jim Sclater
jsclater@comcast.net
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Author: cigleris
Date: 2024-08-26 22:31
I believe there are two quintets. Whether Kell recorded 2nd I couldn’t be sure. Robert Plane has recorded most if not all of Holbrooke’s clarinet works for Naxos.
Peter Cigleris
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Author: JTJC
Date: 2024-08-27 19:13
John McCaw also recorded the first Holbrooke quintet.
Jim refers to Holbrooke's son, Gwydion. Gwydion (Brooke) was a basoonist, principal of the Royal Philharmonic (one of the 'Royal Family' ) and then of the Philharmonia in its heyday from the 1950s. He sat next to John McCaw in the Philharmonia.
I heard that Gwydion used to adapt his Bassoon, drill holes in it, change keywork etc. In the end, his instrument was unique and irreplaceable, to such an extent, I believe he retired when it was stolen. I'd love yo know if that story is true.
.
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Author: ruben
Date: 2024-08-27 19:44
That seems to be the story, as I have heard it often from English bassoonists. Maybe he also felt like retiring. He was probably the best British bassoonist of his age.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: MarkS
Date: 2024-08-27 20:47
Ruben,
Responding to your earlier post in this thread. My curiosity was piqued by your comments about Gordon Sherwood, so I looked him up. I found out that he came from the same town in which I grew up (Evanston, Illinois). I then came across an interesting German television documentary about him. Seems that he was extremely talented, and had many interests besides composition--e.g., philosophy, languages.
Here is a Youtube link for a version of the film that contains English subtitles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTTxZW5Z7WU.
Since you mentioned that you knew him well and had premiered several of his pieces, I hope it is not too forward to ask if you were the clarinetist who played briefly for him in the documentary?
Mark
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Author: ruben
Date: 2024-08-27 22:33
No, I'm not. The documentary was made shortly before I met him. Listen to his first symphony played by a superb German youth orchestra (I attended the recording sessions). -a real masterpiece. The man was a genius, but mad as a hatter, like so many geniuses.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: ruben
Date: 2024-08-28 09:06
Mark: Thank you for the link to the documentary. I only knew a shorter version of it and without subtitles. I'd be glad to list Gordon Sherwood's chamber music pieces involving clarinet.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: jim sclater
Date: 2024-08-28 17:31
for JCTC
...the Gwydion Brooke story is true. GB told me that when his bassoon was stolen, he just decided to retire rather than start again with another instrument. He had reconfigured his bassoon to the point it was irreplaceable. He was such an interesting man. I had the pleasure of meeting him in Cambridge. He took me to the local woodwind shop and we toured the town in his tiny car. He also mentioned that he served in the British tank corps in Africa!
jsclater@comcast.net
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