He has now released a follow-up album, Urban Visions. In 2017 Finnish clarinetist Teppo Salakka released the first-ever album of solo classical contra-alto clarinet music, Fragmented Visions, an album I had the pleasure of reviewing for The Clarinet. Sarmanto: Old San Juan and Waltz for a Little Girl C. Feld: Introduction (Suita Rhapsodica) and Aria (Suita Rhapsodica) S.D. Butterworth: Theme and Variations for Clarinet Duo J. Teppo Salakka, bass and contrabass clarinets, piano. Printed copies of The Clarinet are available for ICA members. It is a unique medium with much to offer.Originally published in The Clarinet 49/2 (March 2022). Using different pairings within the ensemble affords the composer an amazing variety of colours and possibilities, along with a very powerful full quartet sound creating an exciting combination both visually and acoustically.Īrguably cemented as a new medium by Messaien, other major works include quartets by Walter Rabl (a young contemporary of Brahms), the highly regarded German composer/conductor Paul Hindemith, the largely self-taught Japanese master Toru Takemitsu, prolific British composer/pianist/conductor Thomas Ades and the late American composer/conductor/horn-player/jazz-musician Gunther Schuller (who famously coined the term 'Third Stream' for his work combining classical and jazz techniques). The medium actually dates back to the late 19th Century, combining the sonorities of a traditional piano trio with the textural/timbral clarity of clarinet and violin and the mellow blend of clarinet and cello. Here's our Clarinet/Violin/Cello/Piano Quartet flex, home to arguably one of the greatest chamber music masterpieces of all time, Messiaen's unequivocally moving Quartet for the End of Time if you’ve not heard this piece live you don’t know what you're missing! Composed during Messiaen's time in the Gorlitz, Germany POW camp Stalag VIII-A (now part of Zgorzelec, Poland), the work was inspired by text from the Book of Revelation (Rev 10:1–2, 5–7, King James Version), and is quite literally about 'the end of time', the end of everything. An exciting, rarely heard combination, the medium has something unique to offer. Marking an important stylistic change in his output, Penderecki's quartet uses ingenious blends of different combinations within the quartet. Other works alongside the Mozart and Crusell include the darkly brooding, powerful quartet from English composer Alan Rawsthorne (composed immediately following WW2 premiered by famous English clarinettist Frederick Thurston) and the internationally renowned Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki's seminal quartet (both gripping and absolutely haunting premiered by Sharon Kam). These are predated however by three delightful, little known period arrangements of Mozart works being common practise at the time to arrange popular works for different ensemble combinations to increase their versatility and revenue.Ĭompared to the more traditional clarinet quintet, the more intimate setting of the quartet (with single strings) lends an immediate textural and timbral clarity to the proceedings, while still retaining power and expressive capabilities at least on par with a string quartet. The best known are the three quartets from prolific Swedish-Finnish clarinettist/composer Bernhard Crusell an important figure in the history of the clarinet, having also composed three clarinet concertos among other works involving clarinet and orchestra. The Clarinet Quartet flex (Clarinet/Violin/Viola/Cello), while less common, is home to some beautiful works.
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