American Contemporary Clarinet [Import]

David Robertson (Artist), Alain Damiens (Artist), John Adams (Artist), Elliott Carter (Artist), Steve Reich (Artist), Andre Trouttet (Artist), Howard Sandoff (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 13, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Angel Records
• ASIN: B00000JJR9
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #488,338 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Clarinet Concerto (1996)

2. New York Counterpoint, For Clarinet And Tape (1985)

3. Gra, For Clarinet Solo (1993)

4. Tephillah, for clarinet and electronics (1997)

5. Gnarly Buttons, For Clarinet And Small Orchestra (1996): I. The Perilous Shore

6. Gnarly Buttons, For Clarinet And Small Orchestra (1996): II. Hoedown (Mad Cow)

7. Gnarly Buttons, For Clarinet And Small Orchestra (1996): III. Put Your Loving Arms Around Me

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb recording of new Carter., July 14, 1999

By 

Karl Henzy - See all my reviews

This review is from: American Contemporary Clarinet (Audio CD)

Carter's Clarinet Concerto (1996), written when he was 88, is one further exploration into the possibilities of the concerto form, and here it's superbly recorded by the great Ensemble InterContemporain with Damiens on clarinet. This concerto, Carter's fifth, is lightly scored (in fact it's written for a chamber orchestra of 18 players), and consists mostly of playful, flickering "conversations" between the solo instrument and various sections of the orchestra, with two meditative "windows" of slow, wistful music in the middle. It's as if Carter saw the clarinet as an essentially social instrument, which therefore becomes quiescent when the company is gone, but really comes alive when the party gets going. The other pieces here are odd bedfellows to go with Carter--the Reich is a good example of his minimalism, the Adams, of how vapid he's become (in my opinion) after Nixon in China. The disc is well worth the price, though, for the 20 minute Carter concerto.