 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2008-03-25 05:35
I've more or less exhausted my local sheet music shop's supply of clarinet music, and am looking for more cool stuff for clarinet and piano.
Any recommendations for cool pieces for clarinet and piano (sonatas or otherwise) that are off the beaten path that you really like? Stuff that you think really should get played more. New stuff would be great, old works too.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: NorbertTheParrot
Date: 2008-03-25 12:17
Re Bax - as well as the relatively well-known sonata in D, there is an earlier Bax sonata - or pair of sonata movements anyway - in E. Robert Plane has recorded both of them.
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2008-03-25 15:42
Hard to tell what's in your library already. If you don't have it, get a copy of "Masterworks for Clarinet and Piano" Schrimer Vol 1747. Everything in it was written with the piano an equal partner in the performance. I provides von Weber: Grand Duo, Variations (Sylvane), Schuman's fantasy Pieces, the Mendelssohn Sonata, and the Brahm's Sonatas.
Also:
The Saint-Seans Sonate for Clarinet and Klavier", C.F. Peters, Frankfurt
Bob Phillips
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Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2008-03-25 16:21
Depending on your music store, you may already have some/most/all of these but, here goes:
Italian: Sonatas by Castelnuovo-Tedesco (first movement could have been the soundtrack to a Hitchcock movie -- puts me in mind of Vertigo, also has a lyrical lullaby and a rollicking neapolitan rondo), Rota and Setaccioli
British: Sonatas by Tovey, Bowen, and Josephs (great scherzo in the first sonata)
French: Ladmirault, Sonata
Norwegian: Madsen, Sonata
German: Sonatas by Draeseke and Gal
U.S.: Gary Schocker, Sonatas
North American: James Grant "Chocolates" - three torch songs, the first is for A clarinet (alternate Bb part), the second for bass clarinet, the third for Bb clarinet with an optional finale for eefer
Cuban: Doran, Sonata
All are pretty much tonal. None requires "contemporary techniques." Other than the Draeseke, which is fairly easy, all have (IMO) worthwhile challenges but are playable -- I would say at a college level. Except for the Grant and Doran (which has a latin flavor), I would say these are what I would call late romantic. Except for the Draeseke, which is late 19th century, they are all 20th century. All have been recorded except the Doran, which (AFAIK) has only had one movement recorded by Gerry Errante. The Grant, however, was recorded in its (original, I think) alternative version for viola. There was an mp3 version available for free download from James Grant's website. However, I can't seem to raise that website right now. I hope it isn't a permanent casualty of his move from the U.S. to Canada. He has written some other works for clarinet, including a concerto for bass clarinet, whose recordings are/were available as free downloads from the site as well.
My favorite of all of these would have to be the Castelnuovo-Tedesco, though -- great fun to play.
Best regards,
jnk
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Author: Katrina
Date: 2008-03-25 22:19
Not the most obscure, but I absolutely LOVE playing the Rosza (sp?) Sonatina.
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Author: RLSchwebel
Date: 2008-03-26 02:41
Alexander Manevich Concerto for Clarinet and Piano
I played it in high school for fun...It's got that KGB, 007 thing going for it. Fun, interesting, and exciting to play...
robt.
~robt
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Author: Jkelly32562
Date: 2008-03-26 03:12
I rarely hear the Malcolm Arnold Sonitina for clainet and piano, but it is very fun.
Jonathan Kelly
jkelly32562@troy.edu
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Author: clarinetmike
Date: 2008-03-26 06:13
how about Alec Wilder's Sonata for Clarinet and Piano.
Michael Dean
Southeast Missouri State University
www.clarinetmike.com
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Author: Morrigan
Date: 2008-03-26 15:01
Try Australian Composer Margaret Sutherland's Sonata. It's played quasi-frequently in Oz and could probably do with a little more popularity elsewhere!
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Author: caledonius
Date: 2008-03-26 20:01
Antoni Szałowski's Sonatina (1936) isn't really that obscure anymore, but I've not seen it mentioned here yet. It appears far more difficult than it really is. The Wikipedia entry for this obscure pre-WW2 Polish composer even mentions it as one of the few works he is remembered for. I find it very haunting, and despite its very modern tonal excursions, I have played it with great reception even in such tradition-obsessed venues as Lutheran church services.
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2008-03-26 21:39
Great suggestions, keep em coming!
The Arnold Sonatina is fairly common around here. Great piece.
I have the Milhaud and most of Bob Phillips' list, and am familiar with the Rosza. Everything else mentioned so far is new to me. Looks like I know where my birthday money will be going...
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: GBK
Date: 2008-03-26 21:50
Burgmüller: Duo For Clarinet And Piano
A pupil of Spohr, and a friend of Mendelssohn, he had an uncanny feel for the virtues of the clarinet. Sadly, he died at the age of 26. (drowning)
This work is not performed nearly enough.
IMO - A more satisfying work than the Weber Grand Duo....GBK
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Author: C2thew
Date: 2008-03-26 21:56
you can give rdg woodwinds a call, however they are by the 405 and the 101 freeways, a good solid 1hour and 15 minutes from long beach. but yeah, get the suggestions then buy the music online. faster and easier to do.
Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. they are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which was already but too easy to arrive as railroads lead to Boston to New York
-Walden; Henry Thoreau
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Author: Tony Pay ★2017
Date: 2008-03-27 16:49
A sonata that I recommend is Op 67 by Théodore Gouvy (1819-1898). (In fact, I recorded it as an item in a French disc a few years ago, but it was never issued.)
It's published by Musica Rara, edited by Jerry Pierce.
BTW, it's worth checking the clarinet part against the piano part, because despite writing "The present edition...is based on the first edition published by Richault of Paris...[this] edition contains surprisingly few errors and so outside of correcting obvious misprints, the markings are all those of Théodore Gouvy", Pierce heavily edits the clarinet part, changing phrasing and dynamics to a quite considerable extent.
Gouvy was sometimes called "The French Mendelssohn", and there's something in that. The first movement is a bit sequential and repetitive, but it can be made to work quite well, and the other two movements are delightful.
Tony
Post Edited (2008-03-27 17:53)
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Author: Cass Tech
Date: 2008-03-27 17:28
I second the Reger Sonatas, especially #3, which is not far behind Brahms (but beware the difficulty of the piano part).
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Author: clarinet87
Date: 2008-03-28 03:51
I recommend the Sonatina, by Joseph Horovitz. Published by Novello. Some Jazz influences in this piece, particularly in the third movement. Quite challenging.
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2008-03-31 03:52
Cool list. I'm trying to find a bunch of them (some are difficult to locate). I've sent out orders already for the Gal, Szalowski, and Fischer.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: donald
Date: 2008-03-31 09:48
here's one by a North American composer that comes to mind...
Sonata (also called "Juliene and Madalo" or something like that?) by Ted Trobaugh. A really great 3 mvt sonata- the first mvt is quite dark and brooding, the slow mvt very beautiful and the last mvt a sort of circus polka. The piano part is insanely difficult (esp near the end of the 3rd mvt) and the clarinet part not easy.
In terms of "audience likeability" the least attractive part of the work is the first page of the first mvt, after that this work is a complete winner. One of the few times that i've finished a performance to have people in the audience "whoo" (or is that "whoop"?).
Ted (Frederick) Trobaugh- this is a great work, honest!
dn
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Author: giuliano
Date: 2008-04-10 07:20
This is my first post to the board, so hello to everyone!
I'm very excited to see so many knowledgeable people and great players aboard, and I'm enjoying the archive a lot (actually I'm wasting quite some time on it...).
To the topic: I have a great record by Alessandro Carbonare in which he plays two rather obscure sonatas, one by Phil Woods and one by Takashi Yoshimatsu (and other interesting pieces by Frank Zappa, Graham Fitkin, Enrico Pieranunzi, Paquito D'Rivera, Carlo Boccadoro and Franco D'Andrea).
Worth checking, imho. If anyone is interested it's on the Velut Luna label (http://www.ludomentis.com/).
Giuliano Forghieri
Giuliano Forghieri
Nubilaria Clarinet Ensemble, arranger, clarinet, Eb clarinet
Accademia Musica Insieme, founder, arranger, clarinet
www.musicengraving.it
Post Edited (2008-04-10 07:20)
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Author: Jkelly32562
Date: 2008-04-17 21:42
Carl Vollrath has some wonderful Clarinet and piano music, and it is only available at TAP Music online!
Jonathan Kelly
jkelly32562@troy.edu
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Author: Jkelly32562
Date: 2008-04-18 03:20
Sorry, I should have included the link...
https://asp6.secure-shopping.com/tapmusic/details.asp?ProdID=CLSO03
Jonathan Kelly
jkelly32562@troy.edu
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Author: Tode
Date: 2008-04-18 12:02
Theodore Gouvy- Sonate for clarinet and piano
I also love the Ladmirault sonata!
~Sarah Todenhoft~
Geaux Tigers!
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Author: Noel
Date: 2008-04-18 14:07
One more vote for the Arnold Sonatina, but getting a little more obscure, Dunhill's Phantasy Suite is fun in a Milhaud-like way.
Moving away from sonata-like pieces - Boris Tchaikovsky's Clarinet Concerto is a gorgeous gem . I would have said 'Vote Borris' but I'm certainly voting for Ken (sorry, that's a feeble political joke for UK residents only).
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2008-04-18 14:13
I still like the Pierre-Max Dubois 'Sonata Breve', but that's for solo (unaccompanied) clarinet.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: fontan29
Date: 2008-04-18 15:31
Try "Suite from a Victorian Kitchen Garden" by Paul Reade. It is written for Clarinet and Harp, but I have also heard it done with piano. It is not a technical piece, but it really lets you be free, take liberties and make some very expressive music. My professor performed this on a recital and after hearing it I really wanted to play it. I have only heard it in two other places- on an Emma Johnson CD and at the West Point Clarinet Festival a couple of years ago. Great piece- check it out!
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Author: Lynn
Date: 2008-04-20 18:36
Both of the Alec Templeton "Pocket Size Sonatas", although probably not considered as serious works, are certainly good for light and audience-friendly offerings. They are written to show a hint of the clarinet as a jazz instrument, and the piano parts contain some very nice chordal structure. Always good for a "happy" encore, too.
Lynn
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Author: Brianj
Date: 2008-05-17 15:09
Two you might want to look at are the Sonata of Richard White and the Sonata of Noah Potter, who just had his up here recently. Both are really nice pieces not too hard. In fact I am programing them both for a recital sometime next year. Good stuff.
SSG Brian Jungen
399th Army Band
Ft. Leonard Wood, MO
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Author: S. Friedland
Date: 2008-05-17 20:40
John Bavicchi, 1922- of Boston, composed a Clarinet Sonata in 1957, A Concerto for Clarinet and Concert Band from around 1977, Canto #1 for clarinet alone, and two solo sonatas for Clarinet,the dates of which I do not know. The Clarinet (and piano) Sonata, the Concerto and Canto #1 were all dedicated to S. Friedland. He also composed a Clarinet Quintet for me, which I recorded for SNE along with the Clarinet Sonata. Finally, he composed Six for Two also for me, which I premiered at the Berklee College last September.
Benjamin Guttierez of Chile composed a Sonata for Clarinet and Piano also written for me and a Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra which I performed ith the ManhattanSchool Orchestra a long time past. (The Guttieriez is published). The Bavicchi works are all available from BKJ publications, 26 Hartford St, Newton Highlands,Mass.
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Author: claaaaaarinet!!!!
Date: 2008-05-17 22:19
I want to throw my support behind David Blumberg's recommendation for the Arnold Bax D Major Sonata. I just played it and I am on a huge Bax kick - he is grossly underrated. I wouldn't exactly call his Clarinet Sonata obscure since it has been recorded quite a few times (most notably, in my opinion, by Paul Meyer), but there is no doubt that it is too rarely performed, especially in the U.S. I would also recommend Arnold Bax's compelling memoir, "Farewell, My Youth."
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Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2008-05-17 23:25
I've recordings of some of the mentioned works, and some other sonatas even more obscure. Most of them are apparently over my head as a listener. It's hard to imagine any listener getting much enjoyment out of some of them, except possibly the performer themselves.
I'll mention the Reger sonatas specifically because I listened to them this week, twice each, after a lengthy break from hearing them. The first movement of #1 almost made me leap from of my car in disgust.
There's some fairly nice passages in the 2nd sonata, but . . . I was going to work on these. That was before I listened to them. Now I need another lengthy break. I looked over the scores . . . I have no decent idea how they could be made to "work". (Maybe in the right hands? Any suggestions for recordings? Mine's by Klocker.)
I like a lot of Reger's other music, like the Piano Concerto, the Hiller Variations, the Piano Quintet, the Violin Concerto, a number of chamber pieces, the big piano variations, a number of organ works, etc. But Reger also wrote some deadly dry stuff, all mercilessly abstracted emotions, and to my ears the clarinet sonatas fall squarely into that category.
(FWIW, Reger's Quintet with clarinet, which I also heard twice recently, seems much nicer, though I have to keep closing my ears to the echos of Brahms.)
Maybe a lot of obscure music is just junk.
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Author: ftrobaugh
Date: 2008-05-24 16:51
On 2008-03-31 Donald posted a recommendation for a work called Julian and Maddalo. I wrote it, and if you'd like more information please contact me.
Frederic
P.S. For the record, I did not pay him to plug the piece. I didn't even know about his post until today. Thanks, Donald!
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