Clarinet Concerto (2022)

For Clarinet and Orchestra,

22*2*2 - 3231 - Timp. + 1 - Strings

Duration: 32 min.

Premiered by The Chelsea Symphony on September 23rd, 2022 with

Angela Shankar, soloist and Matthew Aubin, conductor

Composer’s Note:

This piece was born of the pandemic and reflects the troubled times in which it was written.  The first movement, entitled “Storm & Stress,” takes its inspiration from the agitated, minor-key Sturm-und-Drang music of Haydn and Mozart, which combines classical poise and violence of expression.  The form is a throwback to the classical concerto, a movement in sonata form with a double exposition.  Following a turbulent development and recapitulation, the soloist’s cadenza serves as both a meditation on the musical ideas heard previously and foreshadows what is to come.  

The second movement, entitled “Chaconne Fantasy,” uses a repeated bass line as its foundation.  It opens with a mournful melody in the English horn, followed by the solo clarinet rhapsodizing above the chaconne bass, and culminates in a passionate orchestral outburst.  The solo clarinet then re-enters, breaking free of the chaconne bass to present a new tranquil melody that acts as a reprieve from an otherwise gloomy atmosphere.  The orchestra takes up this melody, growing in intensity, only to have the chaconne bass reemerge after a dissonant climax.  The music slowly winds down, with the solo clarinet in dialogue with bassoon and English horn, each playing fragments of melody.

The third movement, entitled “Toccata & Trio,” features a jagged and rhythmically irregular theme in the solo clarinet and woodwinds, reminiscent of the first movement.  This leads to a whimsical trio, with the solo clarinet in dialogue with the brass, followed by a return of the toccata.