3(pic).3(ca).3(bcl).3(cbn) - 4.3.3.1 - timp, mar, vib - hrp - pno - str
Clarinet Concerto
CONCERTO FOR CLARINET AND SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, OR CHAMBER ORCHESTRA (2002)
Solo clarinet in Bb
Premiered by Quincy Symphony Orchestra, Yoichi Udagawa, conductor
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3(pic).2.2.2 - 4.3.3.1 - timp+2perc - str
3(pic).2.2.2 - 2.2.0.0 - timp+2perc - str
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Duration: 12'
[In] Wachner's own Clarinet Concerto, the first movement begins with a pulse that generates cloudlike bursts of color and begins to push them around, like parts of a mobile; the other two movements are jazzy, energetic, and ingenious. Andrews offered big-time chops and wonderful subtlety of tonal coloration.
The Boston Globe
On a lighter plane, Wachner’s eclectic Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra receives loving treatment from St. Louis Symphony principal clarinettist Scott Andrews and the McGill Chamber Orchestra. Andrews’ clarinet manages to be Coplandesque, jazzy, klezmerish and more in the expressive introduction and motoric allegro.
The Whole Note
In contrast, the Clarinet Concerto, courtesy of Saint Louis Symphony Principal Clarinet Scott Andrews and the McGill Chamber Orchestra of Montréal, is a single-movement, 13-minute piece in two sections - the first mysterious contemplation, the second a lively dance with hints of jazz. Wachner is both an unapologetic modernist and an open-minded eclectic…his music has something to say.
American Record Guide
