 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: vin
Date: 2003-05-27 15:31
The orchestra I play principal in will be having an audition sometime soon and I recommended to the conductor that the finalist play Tchiakovsky 5 with me to test blend/balance/style, etc. I would like to put something on the list for the Bb clarinet as well. Can anyone recommend an extended orchestral duet for first and second Bb Clarinet? I was thinking perhaps of Midsummer Night's Dream, but I would think the time would be better spent with something lyrical. Any suggestions are welcome.
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2003-05-27 17:43
vin -
I think your best bet is the duet solo in the slow movement of the Dvorak 8th. It's an excellent test of the 2nd player's ability to follow the 1st.
In Fingal's Cave, at the end of the big solo the 2nd joins in.
Don't 1st and 2nd trade off near the beginning of The Moldau? Also the Tchaikovsky 4th, 1st movement.
The Mozart 39th has a 1st clarinet solo over an Alberti bass in the 2nd part that sounds easy but can get out of coordination in an instant.
There's a nasty coordination problem between 1st and 2nd in the finale of the Brahms 2nd (or is it the 3rd?), where the 1st plays an ascending arpeggio that the 2nd has to pick up descending. (These are for Bb but are almost always transposed on A to let you play in G instead of Ab.)
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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Author: javier garcia m
Date: 2003-05-27 17:52
In Ravel's Rapsodia Española there is a solo for two clarinets in the 1st movement, that must be played with some rubato. At the end of the solo, each clarinet plays a different rythmic figure, not easy to play ensemble.
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Author: Brad
Date: 2003-05-27 17:59
How about the slow movement of Beethoven's 9th. Tons of duet stuff in there. The slow movement of Brahms 2nd Piano Concerto also has a very nice duet passage that is a real test of endurance as it can be played VERY slow. Both of the above examples will also help in determining how well the 2nd player can match your intonation.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2003-05-27 19:52
There are a number duet passages for 2 clarinets in the Beethoven symphonies.
Specifically for Bb clarinets: The most extended one is in the Adagio of Beethoven's 9th Symphony. There also is the short duet passage for 2 Bb clarinets in the first movement of the 6th symphony. Schubert's 7th Symphony has a quick passage for 2 C clarinets in the Scherzo movement.
For A clarinets: As was mentioned, there is the Hebrides Overture duet. Also, the Larghetto from the Beethoven 2nd Symphony,the Allegretto from the 7th Symphony of Beethoven, the alternating triplet figures in the Adagio of the Rachmaninoff 2nd Piano Concerto, and the passages in the 2nd and 4th movements of Mendelssohn's "Italian" Symphony
Of course, just to check your style and blending, you could always play any of the famous A clarinet duet passages together using Bb clarinets...GBK
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Author: Ralph G
Date: 2003-05-27 20:07
How about the clarinet duet accompaniment to the flute solo in the second movement of Beethoven 5? It's simple, but when the two clarinets are in synch, it's gorgeous.
________________
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Author: vin
Date: 2003-05-27 23:30
So many great pieces. I wish I could play them all soon. Thank you all for your suggestions. I think Dvorak 8, Brahms 2nd Piano Concerto and Beethoven 9 suit what I'm looking for best. We'll see what the conductor says, and after all, I might play one, all, or none of these at the audition.
A follow-up:
Have any of you ever played a second clarinet final round either as a candidate or as a principal player? AND what worked or didn't work about that audition experience?
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Author: William
Date: 2003-05-27 23:38
"It's an excellent test of the 2nd player's ability to follow the 1st."
Huh??? I thought that the entire orchestra was supposed to follow the second clarinetist--even though we never get to take a bow (well, almost never--I did "get one" this past season for a jazz solo. Our principal can play, but just doesn't "swing.")
Anyway, any good principal, deserving the exulted seating, should always be able to stay in tune with their second. Power to the Seconds!!!
(opps--sorry, it isn't the sixties anymore, I guess)
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Author: diz
Date: 2003-05-28 00:01
If you really want to sort the chaff from the wheat there are excellent clarinet passages in Daphnis and Chloe (sunrise bird music springs to mind).
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Author: Micaela
Date: 2003-05-28 19:39
"There's a nasty coordination problem between 1st and 2nd in the finale of the Brahms 2nd (or is it the 3rd?), where the 1st plays an ascending arpeggio that the 2nd has to pick up descending. "
I was trying to place this when I realized I was thinking about the Academic Festival Overture- Brahms must have liked this trick so much he used it more than once.
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Author: diz
Date: 2003-05-29 23:29
Micaela - yes, Brahms' clarinet writting is, at times, very fetching.
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Author: Craig C
Date: 2003-05-31 00:35
The opening of Shostakovich Symphony #3 has a neat clarinet duet.
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Author: Jerry McD.
Date: 2003-05-31 02:15
The 4th movement of Shostakovich 1st symphony. A couple of really tricky licks, not as much duet as trading back and forth where the matching of sound quality and volume are key.
Jerry McD.
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