I was introduced to this piece by my colleague and lets just call him by his nick name "Ah Lau" as I have not sought permission to include his name. He is far from being what a typical "Ah Lau" and has a strong interest in classical music and also engages in bird photography. A cultured person in that sense.
I did not know that this 3 part clarinet concerto has been used on numerous occasions as a them song of several movies especially the 2nd movement in Adagio. This could partially explains the familiarity of this piece with the general populace especially the second movement and it is definitely one of the many good means to get introduced to classical music.
This concerto is very lyrical and easy on the ears. In a sense, it is like the twin brother of Carb Sav in wine terms as it is difficult to go wrong and difficult to be very right as well. Please do nor mistaken that this parallel is to belittle Mozart but in praise of his wisdom and artistic capability to appeal to both the so called cultured and the general populace.
I own a total of 5 versions of this piece and the 6th is borrowed from "Ah Lau". Here are my humble comments about the recordings.
1. This recording made by Wiener Philharmoniker under the baton of the famous Leonard Bernstein with Peter Schimdl on the clarinet. It is a good display how a strong conductor could impose his interpretation on the piece. It actually helps a lot that this concerto does not have a cadenza where the soloist takes centre stage. Very coherent recording.
2. The second recording is an old one by conductor Thomas Beecham with soloist Jack Brymer and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra accompanying. This is one of the slower interpretation and it could be that in that age, it is played that way. The recording moved me and it fairly emotive in character in my humble opinion.
3. Karl Leister partnered Neville Marriner conducting his Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Just the opposite of the former piece; this recording appear a bit rushed especially in the first movement. The saving grace is the second movement where is good balance of technical brilliance and lifting the spirit out of the piece experience if I may say.
4. If lyricalism is your cup of tea, you must listen to this recording by soloist Jacques Lancelot and conductor Jean-Francois Pillard. It is a very soothing recording to play as background music while you work especially the second movement. I can put the second movement on repeat for many times and not get sick of it.
5. If you want to hear the soloist on the pedestal even in a piece without a cadenza, it would have to be the recording by soloist Martin Frost, conductor Peter Oundijan taking care of Amsterdam Sinfornia. Martin Frost definitely shows who is the boss in this recording as it was very soloist and clarinet centric. The orchestra seems just to play a small accompaniment to Martin Frost brilliant interpretation of the piece. I do find it overwhelming at times though.
6. This last piece loaned to me by "Ah Lau" with Anton Pay on the clarinet and Christopher Hogwood doing his stuff with The Academy of Ancient Music is my favorite as it appears to be sonically well balance even though the Martin Frost recording being an SACD is supposed to be better but the miking could be too pronounced perhaps due to the close miking for the soloist in the Frost recording. In addition, the soloist, conductor seems to be one spirit in this recording.
Safe Harbor. Please note that information contained in these pages are of a personal nature and does not necessarily reflect that of any companies, organizations or individuals. In addition, some of these opinions are of a forward looking nature. Lastly the facts and opinions contained in these pages might not have been verified for correctness, so please use with caution. Happy Reading. Peter Lye