 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: Arhoolie
Date: 2009-02-23 20:00
Forgive me if this has been done before. I searched and couldn't find anything.
I thought it would be interesting if people nominated their favourite dozen pieces of music involving the clarinet. Any style you like. But if someone were to ask you - put me together a dozen selections that really show what this instrument is capable of, what would you tell them.
I ask, firstly for fun, but secondly because as a new clarinet player with very little clarinet music on my shelves, I'd like to pick up recommendations on what I should perhaps listen to.
Each choice could be an album, or a single track. It could be an entire classical work or just one part of it. Its up to you.
Here's my dozen:
1. Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. I'm nothing if not predictable. But what an opening!
2. Mozart Clarinet Concerto in A. The Adagio. I have Jack Brymer with the LSO.
3. Copland Clarinet Concerto, as played by Sharon Kam, again with the LSO.
4. "For Free" from Joni Mitchell's Ladies of the Canyon album. The song is from the point of view of the jaded professional who hears a busker playing for free in the street. It closes with some simple but beautiful clarinet lines from the busker. Be interested if anyone knows who it was who played on that record.
5. "Kansas City Stomps" by Jelly Roll Morton and his Red Hot Peppers. I think its Jimmie Noone on clarinet. Happy old jazz at its best.
6. "Bump It" by Jimmie Noone. Jaunty stuff.
7. "Der Gasn Nigun" by Klezmokum. Sombre slow, yiddish and sweet.
8. "Oy Tate S'iz Gut" by Margot Leverett. She makes it laugh and cry.
9. "Voglia Una Casa" by L'Arpeggiata with Christine Pluhar. A downright funky early music group. Their album All 'Improviso has a lot of improvised clarinet on it, alongside lutes and harps. Unique stuff.
10. Ravel's Piece in forme de Habanera.
11. "That Old Feeling" by Pee Wee Russell. I just love the breathiness of it.
12. And finally, a whole album called "Astrakan Cafe" by the Anouar Brahem Trio. Very middle eastern and meditative, with oud, clarinet and a guy on bendir and darbouka (whatever they are!)
Over to you.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Don Berger
Date: 2009-02-23 20:57
Dont know if I can come up with a dozen, but I second your first 3, and recognise that many of your others should be for my hearing/playing [if possible!]. Being an "inmate" in a retirement home, I try to play a few old tunes for friends when the mood [Indigo?] strikes. I like Shaw's Begin the Begoon, many of Benny's, bits from Bizet's L'Arlesienne, Alto Sax as well, Oh yes, Mussorsky's Old Castle, some of Beethoven's 6th, Misty, How are Things in Glocamorra, Stardust, many from musicals, Camelot, Carousel, Music Man, King and I, etc,etc ! A dozen + ? Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: clarinetguy ★2017
Date: 2009-02-23 21:52
My favorites (not in any particular order)
1. Mozart Clarinet Concerto
2. Weber First Clarinet Concerto
3. Brahams First Sonata
4. The clarinet solo in the first L'Arlésienne Suite
5. Artie Shaw clarinet concerto
6. Gerald Finzi clarinet concerto
7. Benny Goodman's "Let's Dance"
8. Copland clarinet concerto
9. Solo at the beginning of "Rhapsody in Blue"
10. Clarinet passage at the beginning of Tchaikovsky's fifth
11. Famous solo in "La Forza del Destino"
No. 12 is a surprise choice--not real profound, but very pleasant
12. Solo from the beginning of Hugo Alfvén's "Midsommarvaka"
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ryder
Date: 2009-02-24 00:38
In no specific order:
1 Mozart concerto
2 weber 1st, 2nd and concertino
3 Mendelssohn concertpiece no2
4 nielson concerto
5 copland concerto
6 solos from Scheherazade
7 debussy premiere rhapsody
8 brahms sonatas
9 crusell concerto no1
10 Mozart quintet
11 poulenc sonata
12 opening solo to Danzon no2 by marquez
____________________
Ryder Naymik
San Antonio, Texas
"We pracice the way we want to perform, that way when we perform it's just like we practiced"
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: twiggymoo
Date: 2009-02-25 15:49
All those and Rachmaninnoff's 2nd Symphony clarinet opening of the 3rd mvmt.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ebclarinet1
Date: 2009-02-25 22:38
Ok from a different perspective of the "auxillary " clarinet player:
a couple classics:
1) Mozart Concerto, I 'd picked the Adagio movement if I had to choose. It is gorgeous.
2) Weber Concertino. I like this better than the other Weber although I've gotten tongue-tied a couple times doing the articulated runs. I pull it out every now and then just for a re-look just to be sure I can still play it. Sort of like my "report card".
3) Stamitz concerto. this is an easier piece than 1 & 2 but I find it lovely. I've done it on basset horn and clarinet and both work well.
4) Ravel Bolero Eb clarinet solo this comes at a pivotal moment and the Eefer has enough intensity to pull it off.
5) Strauss Till Eulenspiegel. Such a fun piece for the D/ Eb to shine. That death scene couldn't have done by anther instrument as effectively nor could the scampish side of Till been so well portayed.
6) Mihalovici Sonata pour trois clarinettes. A marvelous trio Eb, A and bass. each has an interesting part and the parts reflect the unique properties of each horn.
7) Nedbal Sonatine for bass clarinet. Not as well known as some but a lovely piece. The three movements give a good range of the possible sounds and styles for bass clarinet. Think this would be good fir a recital program to introduce an audience to the bass.
8) Benett Deepwood for bass clarinet. Not difficult but another piece that salutes the bass clarinet and one of the first major bass solos. The alternating fast and slow portions work reasonably well.
9) Peter & the Wolf. i know it's WAY overdone but it is such a great solo. i use the runs as warm up notes on Bb. it feels great under the fingers!
10) Grofe' Grand Canyon Suite. Several great bass solos. The alternating oboe and bass clarinet runs are so effective. Think this was my first exposure to bass as a child in an elementary school music class and my reaction was "I WANT TO PLAY THAT!!". Now i do!
11) Mendelssohn Barholdy, Konzertstuk for clarinet and basset horn. Both ! and 2 are nice pieces but i like #2 better. Both instruments have good solo parts.
12) Bozza Divertissement for alto clarinet. Although originally written for English horn, this works really well on alto clarinet too, in fact one of the better solo pieces for that instrument.
Hope that gives a different view!
Eefer guy
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: EEBaum
Date: 2009-02-25 23:33
A lot of my favorites are not clarinet tunes, or even clarinet solos per se... but among spots where the clarinet is the soloist, a dozen that come to mind, unordered...
1. Szalowski Sonatina. Tragically underplayed.
2. Malcolm Arnold Sonatina.
3. Poulenc Sonata, especially the 2nd movement.
4. Berlioz, Symphonie Fantastique, Eb and Bb solos in the 5th movement.
5. Scheherazade, the solo bits
6. Scott McAllister, X Concerto
7. Copland Concerto
8. John Adams, Gnarly Buttons
9. Mussorgsky, Night on Bald Mountain, solo near the end
10. The little Eb flourishes in the Landler (2nd movement?) of Mahler 2
11. Weber, Concerto #2
12. Easley Blackwood Sonata, 1st movement
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: George Stalle
Date: 2009-02-26 00:25
Limiting this to chamber music or concertos, I would say:
1. Mozart Concerto
2. Brahms Sonata No. 2 in Eb
3. Debussy Premiere Rhapsody
4. Francaix Concerto
5. Messiaen L'Abime des Oiseaux from Quartet from the End of Time
6. Copland Concerto
7. Mozart Clarinet Quintet
8. Nielsen Concerto
9. Brahms Clarinet Quintet
10. Weber Concertos (note plural)
11. Stravinsky Three Pieces
12. Mendelsson Concertpieces
13. Benjamin Tombeau de Ravel
14. Spohr Concertos (note plural)
15. ???????
George Stalle
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: mrn
Date: 2009-02-26 18:06
Oh, what the heck...here goes. In no particular order:
1. Copland Concerto
2. Brahms Sonatas (both)
3. Brahms Quintet
4. Mozart Concerto
5. Weber Grand Duo Concertante
6. Weber Concertos and Concertino
7. Weber Quintet
8. Poulenc Sonata
9. Stravinsky Symphony of Psalms (just kidding)
10. Stamitz Concerto No. 11 in Eb (the one Sabine Meyer recorded)
11. Finzi Concerto
12. Debussy Premiere Rhapsodie
13. Hindemith Sonata
14. Muczynski Time Pieces
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: George Stalle
Date: 2009-02-26 21:21
How about just Sabine Meyer without her clarinet?
Does she take the cake in the "clarinet looks" category?
George Stalle
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: stevensfo
Date: 2009-02-26 22:10
Can't add much to those lists except Benny Goodman's 'Clarinetitis'.
Steve
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
