Aaron Copland

   American composer, pianist and conductor

   born: 14 November 1900, Brooklyn; died: 2 December 1990, North Tarrytown

      Concerto for Clarinet and String Orchestra, with Harp and Piano

              Slowly and expressively

              Cadenza

              Rather fast

     Aaron Copland's Clarinet Concerto of 1948 is a tribute to both the era of the big-band and to the great American clarinetist Benny Goodman, to whom the piece is dedicated. Goodman was also responsible for the introduction of other important works to the clarinet repertoire, including Bartók's Contrasts for clarinet, violin and piano, and the Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra by Paul Hindemith. In sum, Goodman is already recognized as the most influential clarinetist of the 20th century, evident as well in dozens of CD releases from his era, including a superb issue of the current work under Copland's baton. About the piece the composer noted:

     "The Clarinet Concerto is cast in a two-movement form, played without pause, and connected by a cadenza for the solo instrument. The first movement is simple in structure, based upon the usual A-B-A song form. The general character of this movement is lyric and expressive. The cadenza that follows provides the soloist with considerable opportunity to demonstrate technical prowess, at the same time introducing fragments of the melodic material to be heard in the second movement. Some of this material represents an unconscious fusion of elements obviously related to North and South American popular music. (For example, a phrase from a currently popular Brazilian tune, which I heard in Rio, became embedded in the secondary material in F major.)  The overall form of the final movement is that of a free rondo, with several side issues developed at some length. The work ends with a fairly elaborate coda in C major."

     With regard to style, Copland has crafted a work which opens with a trace of French Impressionism, painting the air with a crystal-soft mix of clarinet timbres and strings. The adventurous cadenza serves as a link to the very sassy and jazzy passages of the second section marked Rather fast. Notable is Copland's use of the high harmonic register of the clarinet, one of the elements which has made this by far one of the most difficult concertos in the woodwind repertoire.

program notes by Edward Yadzinsky