NIELSEN; DEBUSSY; FRANÇAIX Clarinet Concertos
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Jean Françaix, Carl Nielsen, Claude Debussy
Genre:
Orchestral
Label: MDG
Magazine Review Date: 11/2016
Media Format: Super Audio CD
Media Runtime: 57
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: MDG901 1964-6
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra |
Carl Nielsen, Composer
Carl Nielsen, Composer Hamburg Symphony Orchestra José Luis Gomez, Conductor Vladimir Soltan, Clarinet |
Rhapsody for clarinet & piano (or orchestra), L. 116 'Première rapsodie' |
Claude Debussy, Composer
Claude Debussy, Composer Hamburg Symphony Orchestra José Luis Gomez, Conductor Vladimir Soltan, Clarinet |
Author: Mark Pullinger
In the Nielsen, Soltan is up against stiff competition, not least from star names such as Martin Fröst and Sabine Meyer, but holds his own in a pugnacious reading. His sinewy tone suits this knotty work and his playing – scrupulously observed dynamics and precisely tongued staccatos – is impressive. Soltan is superb in the terrifying cadenzas, especially his lightning leaps between registers in the third ‘movement’ (tr 3, 4'59"). José Luiz Gomez and the Hamburg SO provide keen support, particularly the first bassoon and the tenacious snare drum.
Debussy’s Première Rhapsodie began life as an examination piece for the Paris Conservatoire but took on a concert life of its own. It is sinuous and sexy – the clarinet equivalent of the flute in Debussy’s Faune. Soltan could afford to be a little more sensuous here, revelling in the languour more. He excels, however, in the larky 1967 concerto by Jean Françaix, ducking and diving through the first movement with insouciant ease. Everything about this concerto is fun, the clarinet even hopping, skipping and trilling through the ‘slow movement’. The Allegrissimo finale finds Soltan strutting down the boulevard in finest dandy mode, making Françaix’s ‘aerial acrobatics’ sound easy. A fun ending to a fine disc.
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