Arnold/Britten/Maconchy Clarinet Concertos
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Elizabeth Maconchy, Malcolm Arnold, Benjamin Britten
Label: Helios
Magazine Review Date: 12/1993
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 65
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: CDA66634
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Concerto for Clarinet and Strings No. 1 |
Malcolm Arnold, Composer
Barry Wordsworth, Conductor English Chamber Orchestra Malcolm Arnold, Composer Thea King, Clarinet |
Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra |
Malcolm Arnold, Composer
Barry Wordsworth, Conductor English Chamber Orchestra Malcolm Arnold, Composer Thea King, Clarinet |
You know what sailors are |
Malcolm Arnold, Composer
Barry Wordsworth, Conductor English Chamber Orchestra Malcolm Arnold, Composer Thea King, Clarinet |
Movements for Clarinet Concerto |
Benjamin Britten, Composer
Barry Wordsworth, Conductor Benjamin Britten, Composer English Chamber Orchestra Thea King, Clarinet |
Concertino No. 1 |
Elizabeth Maconchy, Composer
Barry Wordsworth, Conductor Elizabeth Maconchy, Composer English Chamber Orchestra Thea King, Clarinet |
Concertino No. 2 |
Elizabeth Maconchy, Composer
Barry Wordsworth, Conductor Elizabeth Maconchy, Composer English Chamber Orchestra Thea King, Clarinet |
Author: Edward Greenfield
Designed in part as a tribute to Frederick Thurston, who died just 40 years ago, this collection of short concertante works for clarinet makes an exceptionally attractive disc, beautifully recorded and superbly performed, with Thurston's widow and star-pupil, Thea King, as soloist. It is a splendid addition to the growing list of discs of English clarinet music, solo and chamber as well as concertos, that Thea King has now recorded for Hyperion.
Though Thurston died tragically early at the age of 52, his influence not just on clarinet playing in Britain but on composers inspired by his artistry can hardly be exaggerated. Sadly he made all too few solo recordings, but Thea King with her ever-seductive tone, at once sensuously beautiful yet clear, never letting you forget that this is a reed instrument, perpetuates the qualities he sought to instil, not least in the works on the disc written for him. These include the first of Arnold's concertos and the first of Maconchy's concertinos, while theScherzetto, a delightfully jaunty piece adapted by Christopher Palmer from Arnold's music for the film, You know what sailors are, also seems to have been inspired directly by Thurston's playing. Palmer in his note deduces that Arnold in writing the sequence must have had Thurston in mind as a member of the studio orchestra being used, presumably the Philharmonia.
The other direct influence here is Benny Goodman. Though they met only once, he and Thurston greatly admired each other's work and artistry. Goodman, having become the King of Swing in the 1930s, increasingly sought to display his musicianship in more traditional areas, playing and recording the Mozart and Brahms masterpieces, as well as commissioning new works. Having commissioned Bartok to write Contrasts, he turned in 1942 to the young Benjamin Britten, then in the United States, to write a concerto for him. Sadly, just before Britten returned to England, Goodman suggested a delay, and the composer never even sorted out the sketches. Colin Matthews, who worked closely with Britten during his last three years, has here fathomed what Britten intended, and orchestrated the result to make a highly attractive short piece, alternately energetic and poetic, with material adroitly interchanged, and with percussion used most imaginatively.
The second of the Arnold concertos was written for Goodman too. That was in 1974, and like the first, dating from 26 years earlier, it shows him at his most endearing, with sharp ideas leading to broad, memorable melodies that echo popular music, without ever cheapening the result. So in the Second Concerto a lusciously bluesy slow movement leads to riotous rag-music in the finale. Palmer in collaboration with the soloist worked out the first movement cadenza, seeking to carry out the composer's instruction to make it ''as jazzy and as way-out as you please'', but basing it on the concerto's themes.
The two Maconchy concertinos, each in three movements and under ten minutes long, have a characteristic tenseness, sharp and intense, that runs no risk whatsoever of seeming shortwinded. One keeps wishing that other composers could be as crisp in their material and argument. Both Thea King and the ECO (the orchestra in which she has been a distinguished principal for many years) under Barry Wordsworth bring out the warmth as well as the rhythmic drive of all this music. Currently, only the first Arnold concerto is listed in a rival version, on Conifer with Michael Collins as soloist, but that comes with a totally different coupling, other concertos by Arnold. The Hyperion sound is warm and well-balanced.'
Though Thurston died tragically early at the age of 52, his influence not just on clarinet playing in Britain but on composers inspired by his artistry can hardly be exaggerated. Sadly he made all too few solo recordings, but Thea King with her ever-seductive tone, at once sensuously beautiful yet clear, never letting you forget that this is a reed instrument, perpetuates the qualities he sought to instil, not least in the works on the disc written for him. These include the first of Arnold's concertos and the first of Maconchy's concertinos, while the
The other direct influence here is Benny Goodman. Though they met only once, he and Thurston greatly admired each other's work and artistry. Goodman, having become the King of Swing in the 1930s, increasingly sought to display his musicianship in more traditional areas, playing and recording the Mozart and Brahms masterpieces, as well as commissioning new works. Having commissioned Bartok to write Contrasts, he turned in 1942 to the young Benjamin Britten, then in the United States, to write a concerto for him. Sadly, just before Britten returned to England, Goodman suggested a delay, and the composer never even sorted out the sketches. Colin Matthews, who worked closely with Britten during his last three years, has here fathomed what Britten intended, and orchestrated the result to make a highly attractive short piece, alternately energetic and poetic, with material adroitly interchanged, and with percussion used most imaginatively.
The second of the Arnold concertos was written for Goodman too. That was in 1974, and like the first, dating from 26 years earlier, it shows him at his most endearing, with sharp ideas leading to broad, memorable melodies that echo popular music, without ever cheapening the result. So in the Second Concerto a lusciously bluesy slow movement leads to riotous rag-music in the finale. Palmer in collaboration with the soloist worked out the first movement cadenza, seeking to carry out the composer's instruction to make it ''as jazzy and as way-out as you please'', but basing it on the concerto's themes.
The two Maconchy concertinos, each in three movements and under ten minutes long, have a characteristic tenseness, sharp and intense, that runs no risk whatsoever of seeming shortwinded. One keeps wishing that other composers could be as crisp in their material and argument. Both Thea King and the ECO (the orchestra in which she has been a distinguished principal for many years) under Barry Wordsworth bring out the warmth as well as the rhythmic drive of all this music. Currently, only the first Arnold concerto is listed in a rival version, on Conifer with Michael Collins as soloist, but that comes with a totally different coupling, other concertos by Arnold. The Hyperion sound is warm and well-balanced.'
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