The Virtuoso Clarinet Vol 2

The Virtuoso Clarinet Vol 2
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Artist: Michael Collins, Michael McHale, Claude Debussy, Charles-Marie Widor, Leonard Bernstein, Darius Milhaud, Gabriel Pierné, Bohuslav Martinu, Robert Muczynski, Henri Rabaud
Genre: Classical
Label: Chandos

Wind players are heavily indebted to the Paris Conservatoire's tradition of commissioning test pieces from the leading composers of the day. Debussy's probing Première rapsodie of 1910 (sadly, there never was a second) is the best-known included here. Rabaud's Solo de Concours (1901) and Widor's Introduction et rondo (1898) are both more self-consciously showy. Milhaud's Duo Concertant (1956) brings a sometimes cheeky, sometimes bluesy mid-20th-century twist. Bernstein's 1942 Sonata, Martinu's 1956 Sonatina and Robert Muczynski's 1983 Time Pieces don't seriously disturb the mood any more than they strain the svelte virtuosity of both Michael Collins and Michael McHale. The lightest work here is also the earliest – Pierné's mildly frothy, carefree Canzonetta of 1888. url.ie/f1f2

Michael Dervan

Michael Dervan

Michael Dervan is a music critic and Irish Times contributor