David Howard plays Clarinet Works

David Howard (Artist, Performer), Vicki Ray (Artist, Performer), Johnny Lee (Artist, Performer), Lyndon Taylor (Artist, Performer), Kristine Hedwall (Artist, Performer), John Hayhurst (Artist, Performer), Gloria Lum (Artist, Performer), Stucky (Composer), Ustvolskaya (Composer), Salonen (Composer), Brahms (Composer), -- (Conductor) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: David Howard, Vicki Ray, Johnny Lee, Lyndon Taylor, Kristine Hedwall, et al.
• Conductor: --
• Composer: Stucky, Ustvolskaya, Salonen, Brahms
• Audio CD (June 1, 2008)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Yarlung Records
• ASIN: B001BTZSJW
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #611,807 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Composer, conductor, writer, lecturer, teacher and winner of the 2005 Pulitzer Prize in Music, Steven Stucky has enjoyed the longest uninterrupted association between an American orchestra [the Los Angeles Philharmonic] and a living composer.... Stucky's Meditation and Dance was designed in the grand tradition of Debussy's Premiere Rhapsodie and countless other Paris Conservatory audition works as a test piece for student clarinetists. Shortly after finishing Meditation and Dance -- heard here in its world premiere recording -- the composer realized it is clearly the province of experienced (and fearless) professionals. Cast in four brief movements, [Esa-Pekka Salonen's] Nightsongs clearly draws some of its inspiration from the Four Pieces, Op. 4 by Alban Berg. Yet along with the rigorous intellectual organization of the Second Viennese School, Salonen's early piece already hints at the clarity and wit that would become hallmarks of his later style.... Galina Ustvolskaya was one of the most distinctive and accomplished voices of Soviet music. She was also by far the most distinguished pupil of Dmitri Shostakovich.... Composed in 1949, the Clarinet Trio is the pivotal work in Ustvolskaya's tiny output. As she herself insisted, 'All my music from this composition on is spiritual in nature.' While the composer was predictably silent on the nature of the spiritual conflict which animates the Trio, the tension between the poignant clarinet melody and the ominous piano figure in the opening Espressivo never fully dissipates in either the deceptively tranquil Dolce or the ferociously driven Energico.... By the summer of 1891, Brahms was writing a clarinet trio for Mühlfeld and in a letter to his friend Eusebius Mandyczewski mentioned 'a far greater piece of foolishness' that he was endeavoring 'to nurse along.' The 'foolishness' proved to be the crowning work of the instrument's chamber music literature, the B minor Clarinet Quintet on this album. The opening Allegro begins with one of those amiable themes that the composer characterized as Unscheinbarket -- unobtrusive -- although contained within this lovely melody are all the thematic seeds from which the rest of the Quintet will grow. A bold staccato transition leads to the secondary theme, derived from the first theme's rapid passage work. Bathed in that celebrated mood of autumnal melancholy that haunts all of Brahms's later works, the Adagio is introduced by a serene melody in the clarinet, supported by an idea in the viola derived from the first movement's opening theme. Following a wild, gypsy-like central section dominated by the clarinet's passionate improvisations, the wistful mood of the opening returns. The charming Andantino begins with an expansive clarinet melody again derived from the Quintet's opening theme, after which a giddy, light-footed Presto develops the opening phrase of the Andantino melody. As in the Mozart Clarinet Quintet, the finale, Con moto, is cast in variation form, each of the five variations exploring an aspect of a theme with several family ties to the Andantino melody. In the coda, Brahms recalls the Quintet's opening theme in its original form, as though to remind the listener of the unobtrusive seed from which grew one of the most monumental of chamber works. --Jim Svejda, KUSC-FM

Product Description

From David Howard: The Brahms Quintet is a clarinetist's dream. It is a piece of music that mines and celebrates the deepest expressive possibilities of my instrument. It stands proudly as the core of our repertoire and remains central to our collective musical consciousness. We are delighted to include this live performance from Walt Disney Concert Hall on this album. Galina Ustvolskaya's trio may be as austere and brooding as the Brahms quintet is warm and expansive. I love both. Interestingly, the technical challenges are similar. But Ustvolskaya's creation is musically much more difficult. Her work is both emotionally removed from our contemporary experience, and terrifically exciting to hear and to play. I learned much as we opened this Stalinist time capsule. I am particularly happy to include music of two contemporary composers with whom I have worked closely for many years. I thank my friends Esa-Pekka Salonen and Steve Stucky for their indelible musical impact on me and on the musical life of Los Angeles. They've enriched so many with their invention, musical intellect and artistic integrity. And they've challenged me as they found engaging ways to expand the clarinet's musical vocabulary.

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