RSNO Chamber, 12/05/2019
Milhaud : Suite for violin, clarinet and piano
Khachaturian : Clarinet Trio
Bartók : Contrasts
Josef Pacewicz, clarinet
Tamás Fejes, violin
Scott Mitchell, piano
Milhaud's Op. 157b Suite is derived from the incidental music he wrote for an early Anouilh play, Le voyageur sans bagages, created in 1937. It's a sunny work, on the whole, rich with Milhaud's easy gift for melody, and hints of Provençal folk music here and there, but Stravinsky's influence is also quite clear. The piano part is relatively discreet, more accompanying than significantly partnering, and the third movement (of four) actually does without the piano altogether, just a lively duet for violin and clarinet.
The Khachaturian Trio is from 1932, while he was at the Moscow Conservatory studying composition with Myaskovsky. Khachaturian's love of folk-music, particularly that of his native Armenia is evident even at this early stage of his career. The melancholy first movement's yearning theme has that faintly oriental colour to it, enhanced by the melismas in the violin and clarinet parts, while in the other two movements, dance rhythms come to the fore, sometimes quite mercurial in mood, changing frequently. Listening closely, it's possible to discern hints of the Piano Concerto that was to come four years later, and is considered his first major composition. There's a lot of charm in this piquant music, well worth discovering.
Finally, Bartók's Contrasts, commissioned by Benny Goodman via the violinist Josef Szigeti, in 1938. It was Bartók's first, and only significant work for a wind instrument. The original parameters of the commission were for a work in two movements, lasting around six or seven minutes, with cadenzas for both violin and clarinet, and the commissioning parties may have been expecting something short and virtuosic, but what Bartók delivered turned out to be one of the masterpieces of 20th Century chamber music in general, and not just for the clarinet. Two dances, a stately Recruiting Dance, and a whirlwind Fast Dance frame a haunting, still, central movement that, though it's entitled "Relaxation", sounds far from relaxing, and fits very much into Bartók's eerie 'night music' pieces.
Clarinet trios are not all that common in the first place, but it was an additional, and major bonus to have works well off the beaten track. These three pieces worked very well together, all composed within the same decade, all with folk influences, yet all quite different, and were given fine, sympathetic performances.
[Next : 16th May]
Khachaturian : Clarinet Trio
Bartók : Contrasts
Josef Pacewicz, clarinet
Tamás Fejes, violin
Scott Mitchell, piano
Milhaud's Op. 157b Suite is derived from the incidental music he wrote for an early Anouilh play, Le voyageur sans bagages, created in 1937. It's a sunny work, on the whole, rich with Milhaud's easy gift for melody, and hints of Provençal folk music here and there, but Stravinsky's influence is also quite clear. The piano part is relatively discreet, more accompanying than significantly partnering, and the third movement (of four) actually does without the piano altogether, just a lively duet for violin and clarinet.
The Khachaturian Trio is from 1932, while he was at the Moscow Conservatory studying composition with Myaskovsky. Khachaturian's love of folk-music, particularly that of his native Armenia is evident even at this early stage of his career. The melancholy first movement's yearning theme has that faintly oriental colour to it, enhanced by the melismas in the violin and clarinet parts, while in the other two movements, dance rhythms come to the fore, sometimes quite mercurial in mood, changing frequently. Listening closely, it's possible to discern hints of the Piano Concerto that was to come four years later, and is considered his first major composition. There's a lot of charm in this piquant music, well worth discovering.
Finally, Bartók's Contrasts, commissioned by Benny Goodman via the violinist Josef Szigeti, in 1938. It was Bartók's first, and only significant work for a wind instrument. The original parameters of the commission were for a work in two movements, lasting around six or seven minutes, with cadenzas for both violin and clarinet, and the commissioning parties may have been expecting something short and virtuosic, but what Bartók delivered turned out to be one of the masterpieces of 20th Century chamber music in general, and not just for the clarinet. Two dances, a stately Recruiting Dance, and a whirlwind Fast Dance frame a haunting, still, central movement that, though it's entitled "Relaxation", sounds far from relaxing, and fits very much into Bartók's eerie 'night music' pieces.
Clarinet trios are not all that common in the first place, but it was an additional, and major bonus to have works well off the beaten track. These three pieces worked very well together, all composed within the same decade, all with folk influences, yet all quite different, and were given fine, sympathetic performances.
[Next : 16th May]