Originally published in The Clarinet 52/2 (March 2025).
Copies of The Clarinet are available for ICA members.
Audio Reviews:
March 2025
RECORDINGS
Between Two Worlds. Guy Yehuda, clarinet; Dmitri Berlinsky, violin; Yvonne Lam, violin; Eric Nowlin, viola; Suren Bagratuni, cello; Kevin Brown, bass; Jon Weber, percussion; Eric Zuber, piano. S. Prokofiev: Overture on Hebrew Themes, op. 34 for clarinet, string quartet, and piano; J. Engel: The Dybbuk Suite, op. 35 for clarinet, strings, and percussion; P. Ben-Haim: Quintet, op. 31a for clarinet and string quartet. Reference Recordings, FR-754. Total Time: 59:09.
Guy Yehuda’s new album Between Two Worlds on Reference Recordings is a tour de force, setting a high standard for clarinet music in 2024. Along with Yehuda on this album, his collaborators on strings, percussion, and piano give committed and virtuosic performances.
The album starts with Prokofiev’s classic Overture on Hebrew Themes. On this track, Yehuda shows his full palette of skills as a musician. Strong and vocal, with a lovely and shimmering tone throughout, he is also a consummate chamber musician; musically generous and collaborative with his colleagues. The pacing of the Prokofiev is impressive, never peaking too soon, but always aware of the monumental power of the build and direction of this piece. Transitions that could catch other performers unaware sound easy and effortless with this group.
Joel Engel’s The Dybbuk Suite is lesser known, but makes a powerful pairing with the Prokofiev. Rarely performed, this work tells the tale of the Dybbuk, a wandering soul that can inhabit the bodies of the living to fulfill their purpose. Engel’s work is based on ethnographic recordings from the shtetls of eastern Europe. To refer to this as an opera in chamber music form would not be an understatement, as the movements take us to the “Beggars’ Dances,” the “Wedding March,” “The Veiling of the Bride,” and the “Hassidic Melody.” The full inclusion of these multiple movements makes this recording an exceptional gem.
The ensemble playing on these tracks is nothing short of stunning and a masterpiece of musical storytelling. The group captures the sad and haunting tale of the wandering spirit perfectly through their expressive playing. Yehuda’s clarinet playing is impeccable. The ultimate storyteller, he plays with consummate charm and sensitivity. Yehuda always keeps the pacing and emotion exciting, alternating between sounding folk-like and a moment later as if he were playing with one of the top orchestras in the world. To top this off, he does so with an immaculate tone and effortless virtuosity. He is a master of the instrument in every sense; able to readily convey his well-informed intentions through his expression and control.
Rounding out the album with a satisfying conclusion is the Quintet for clarinet and string quartet of Paul Ben-Haim. After the raucous wit of the Prokofiev and unrest of The Dybbuk Suite, the Ben-Haim is meditative, expansive, and noble. In this last track, Yehuda and his colleagues play with such sensitivity and warmth that the listener leaves this experience with a deep sense of comfort and beauty.
In addition to the strong work by the performers, the production value of this album is also notable. With so much tonal variety, the engineers do a good job of keeping the balance throughout. Between Two Worlds takes us on a journey through so many emotionally moving moments that the listener is left feeling like they have dined at a feast for the musical senses. This album is an important addition to any classical music fan’s collection.
– Stephanie Zelnick
forgotten sounds. Graeme Steele Johnson, clarinet; David Shifrin, clarinet; Ji Weon Ryu, flute; Stella Chen, violin; Bora Kim, violin; Siwoo Kim, violin; Rachel Loseke, violin; Matthew Cohen, viola; Matthew Lipman, viola; Samuel DeCaprio, cello; Yun Han, cello; Sam Suggs, double bass; Kohei Yamaguchi, double bass; Bridget Kibbey, harp; Han Lash, harp. C. Debussy/arr. G.S. Johnson: Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune; C.M. Loeffler/rev. G.S. Johnson: Octet for two clarinets, harp, two violins, viola, cello, and double bass; C.M. Loeffler/adapt. G.S. Johnson and B. Kibbey: Timbres oubliés. Delos, DE3603. Total Time: 45:17.
Graeme Steele Johnson has released an absolutely gorgeous album titled Forgotten Sounds on the Delos label. Johnson is a versatile, talented clarinetist whose playing shines throughout this exceptional recording and whose artistic endeavors range from a TEDx talk to chamber music arrangements and performances with the award-winning WindSync ensemble. By joining forces with other distinguished musicians, the album features the Brahmsian and French Impressionist sounds of Claude Debussy (1862-1918) and Charles Martin Loeffler (1865-1935). The high standard of music making, outstanding musical blend, and impeccable sound recording quality are quite impressive, as are the trifold CD holder and separate program booklet with wonderfully written program notes and biographies by Johnson. Like so many recording projects, the roots of this album began during the pandemic; in the notes Johnson describes his fascinating journey with Loeffler’s Octet and how it grew into Forgotten Sounds.
The album centers around Loeffler’s Octet (1897) which Johnson revised and reconstructed in 2021-2022. Johnson’s 2018 arrangement of Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun opens the album, and an adaptation of Loeffler’s titular song Timbres oubliés for clarinet and harp ends it. The Octet is scored for two clarinets, harp, two violins, viola, cello, and double bass, while the Debussy uses one flute and one clarinet plus the harp and strings.
Johnson’s arrangement of Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun for octet is delicate and subtle, and the ensemble gives a sophisticated performance that is warm, imaginative, and as engaging as the original orchestral version. The blend and musicianship of all the instrumentalists is outstanding. It is an exceptional arrangement and musical performance.
The Loeffler Octet is equally exceptional. Loeffler was an assistant concertmaster in the Boston Symphony Orchestra and a known composer of the era, but the work had not been performed for 125 years. We are fortunate that Johnson was curious enough upon encountering references to the Octet to seek out a score of the work in the Library of Congress. Loeffler’s heavily revised and hand-written score provided a challenge that Johnson met as he expertly managed to reconstruct and rearrange the Octet. It is puzzling why the work was unpublished and not performed after the premiere in 1897 which reviewers said, “took everyone by storm.” [See also Johnson’s article “Loeffler’s Forgotten Octet” in The Clarinet 51 no. 4 (Sept. 2024). Ed.]
The three movements of Loeffler’s heavily romantic Octet with its hints and touches of Impressionism are all around 10 minutes each. The first movement, Allegro moderato, features the lovely full sound of this ensemble of talented musicians, while the second movement, Adagio molto, begins with a lush, noble opening and continues in a soulful, heartfelt vein. The two clarinetists, Johnson and his former teacher—the venerable and amazing David Shifrin—sound as good as it gets, with lovely, dark legato tones that they weave within a layered texture of gorgeous, lush music-making of the highest order. The last movement, Allegro alla Zingara, begins with exquisite, expressive string playing and ends with a spirited dance.
Loeffler’s Timbres oubliés, originally for voice and piano, has been nicely adapted for clarinet and harp by Johnson and harpist Bridget Kibbey and richly conveys the tune in a new setting. In fact, the new setting of all three pieces in Forgotten Sounds is one of the best recordings I have heard and deserves the rave reviews it has received. Johnson and his ensemble have recorded a superb album that all clarinetists will want to have in their listening libraries.
– Karen Dannessa
Lines and Shadows. Eric P. Mandat, clarinet, bass clarinet; Andy Hudson, bass clarinet; Tim Fitzgerald, bass clarinet; Jon Goodman, bass clarinet; Anthony Taylor, bass clarinet; Jessica Speak, clarinet; Lynn Musco, clarinet. E.P. Mandat: Shadows from Flames for clarinet with bass clarinet quartet; Lines, Spaces, Planes for clarinet trio. Cirrus Music, CMCD 002. Total Time: 30:19.
Eric P. Mandat brings together a stellar assemblage of clarinetists for his album Lines and Shadows, released in June 2024 on Cirrus Music. Mandat is known both as a soloist and new music performer, with a long history as a composer exploring the forefront of extended techniques for clarinet in addition to his professorship at Southern Illinois University – Carbondale. Mandat is joined by clarinetists Andy Hudson, Tim Fitzgerald, Jon Goodman, Anthony Taylor, Jessica Speak, and Lynn Musco on this album consisting of two works: Shadows from Flames for clarinet and bass clarinet quartet and Lines, Spaces, Planes for three clarinetists. Lines and Shadows features Mandat’s flair both as a fantastic performer and multifaceted composer.
Shadows from Flames performed by Mandat (B-flat clarinet), Hudson, Fitzgerald, Goodman, and Taylor (bass clarinets) opens the first half of the album with five movements originally written in 2011 and recorded in September 2022 by Evan Richey at the University of North Carolina – Greensboro’s Tew Recital Hall. Mandat notes that the work was inspired by recordings of the Edmund Welles bass clarinet quartet, melded with a “heavy metal inspired aesthetic.” Mandat’s clarinet playing floats and riffs over a bass clarinet quartet that can vacillate between dark melodic passages and punchy articulated grooves. The first track, “Intensity,” blends some of the heavier articulations with Mandat’s grooving compositional style and some funk-inspired harmonic language that is demented in the best way possible. The slower movements highlight Mandat’s tone and beautiful shaping, with contrasted interjections of almost chorale-like multiphonics and other extended techniques. The last movement provides the necessary virtuosic twists and turns that Mandat’s music is known for, with multiple surprising quarter tone colorations that begin to groove but ultimately break into an almost chant-like finale.
Lines, Spaces, Planes, recorded at Stetson’s Tinsley Hall by Chaz Underriner, is a slightly more compact iteration of forms similar to Shadows from Flames. Intense grooves, soaring high riffs, and confident solos break into spacious expanses of quarter tones and long, murky, melancholic melodies that compound onto each other as slow 16th-note tremolos take over, leading to a quite beautiful clarinet solo in the second movement. Finally, the trio bursts into a cacophonous stream of notes.
If you are a fan of Eric Mandat’s music, this album is worth checking out and adding to your collection. Lines and Shadows gives listeners who have not heard Mandat’s music an entryway into new music that is enjoyable to listen to, shows the clarinet’s expanded tonal language, and features virtuosic playing that will push anyone to buy the score and try it out for themselves.
– Ford Fourqurean
Polyglot. Eric Schultz, clarinet; Han Chen, piano; Clare Monfredo, cello. I.E. Rodríguez: Sonata Santera; Críptico no. 9: DAVЯTHAN; J. Navarro: Danzón; C. Hsu: Summer Night in a Deep Valley; G.B. Caro: Escenas; J. Brahms: Trio in A Minor, op. 114. Navona Records, NV6655. Total Time: 67:00.
Eric Schultz’s album Polyglot was released in October of 2024 and is, as the title might suggest, a celebration of varied cultures and languages. The works included span cultures, styles, and time periods. Navona Records describes the album as “celebrating music as a language of cultural identity and the self.” Throughout the album, Schultz plays with emotion, panache, and enviable technique.
The album opens with Iván Enrique Rodríguez’s Sonata Santera, each movement of which evokes a ritual of the Afro-Caribbean religion Santeria. Schultz’s light, crisp technique is perfectly suited to the lively, Caribbean-inspired music, and is expertly supported by Han Chen on piano. The clarinet’s extreme altissimo moments and blistering technique in the first movement sound effortless, flowing beautifully into the more mysterious mood of the second movement, which Schultz plays with a dark, resonant tone, and musical sensitivity. The third movement features a fun and interesting use of percussive elements. This sonata is followed with Rodriguez’s Críptico no. 9: DAVЯTHAN for unaccompanied clarinet, in which Schultz again employs agile finger technique across the range of the clarinet, mixed with light, clear articulation and flutter tongue that mimics enthusiastic speech patterns.
Next on the album is Danzón by Puerto Rican composer Johanny Navarro. This work begins with lush harmonies in the piano and gives way to a charming, romantic melodic line in the clarinet that ranges from sweet and romantic to something more sultry and aggressive. Navarro’s clear gift for melody and Schultz’s commitment to phrase shape and style make this work a highlight of the album.
The next piece, Summer Night in a Deep Valley by Chia-Yu Hsu, provides the listener a stark contrast. This work is again for unaccompanied clarinet, and features substantial use of slap tongue, spoken sounds, multiphonics, and growls, which Schultz handles deftly. The work is intended to evoke the paintings of Chinese artist Guo Xi, and as such, exploits the clarinet’s natural tendency for articulation and color variance.
Gabriel Bouche Caro’s Escenas for clarinet and cello again leans in to extended clarinet techniques to create an atmosphere that fluctuates from anxious to meditative. Schultz and cellist Clare Monfredo are both adept at using extended techniques to convey emotion and direction, and they play beautifully together.
Monfredo’s rich cello tone and Schultz’s musical sensitivity are again showcased in the final work on the album, Brahms’s Trio, op. 114. While this is the most traditional piece on the album, when heard with these works by living composers of varied cultures, the Brahms provides fresh and comforting contrast for the listener. Schultz and Monfredo are again joined by pianist Chen, whose attention to balance and phrase is tasteful and impressive. The trio truly shines in the third and fourth movements with playful musical motion and a sense of ensemble communication that is palpable.
Overall, Polyglot achieves its goal of conveying the universal nature of music as a language and exploring differing cultures—both those frequently found in the classical music canon, and those that have been traditionally underrepresented. More than that, however, it is just plain enjoyable to listen to and would be an exciting addition to any playlist.
– Madelyn Moore
Connection. Marek Švejkar, clarinet; Lenka Korecká, piano. C.M. Widor: Introduction et Rondo, op. 72; O. Flosman: Highwaymen Sonatine (Zbojnická Sonatina); G. Fauré/arr. M. Švejkar: Trois Mélodies, Après un Rêve, op. 7; A. Skoumal: Variations on a Gypsy Melody for clarinet and piano; C. Saint-Saëns: Sonata, op. 167 for clarinet and piano; Z. Fibich: Idylle (Selanka), op. 16; P. de Sarasate/arr. N. Baldeyrou: Carmen Fantaisie, op. 25. Radioservis, MSK2024. Total Time: 58:36.
The Czech clarinetist Marek Švejkar studied not only in his home country, at the Prague Conservatory, but also in Paris—initially at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional, and then at the Conservatoire National, where he was the first Czech clarinetist to graduate with a Premier Prix. Švejkar’s connection with these two countries provided the inspiration for the creation of this recording. Most of the French works on the recording are familiar warhorses, but the Czech repertoire will likely be unknown to clarinetists, and it is on these works I will focus first.
The Highwaymen Sonatine of Oldřich Flosman, according to the recording’s limited liner notes, is “an idyllic portrayal of a band of brigands operating in [the] Valašsko region of Moravia.” It is in three short movements, each less than three minutes in duration. The idiom is tonal with a Czech folk flavor. There are some moderate technical demands, roughly equivalent to those found in the Lutosławski Dance Preludes, but for me this is a more interesting piece than the Lutosławski and would be an audience-pleasing addition to a recital.
Adam Skoumal’s Variations on a Gypsy Melody is a virtuoso work requiring substantial technical skill on the part of the soloist. The work was originally for violin and piano, and an internet search reveals that this arrangement was created by the composer. This approximately eight-minute work begins with an improvisatory-sounding opening, followed by a lengthy cadenza. A theme and a series of colorful variations then begins, challenging the soloist’s sense of style as well as their fingers. Several extended passages require flutter tonguing. This work is a wonderful showpiece.
The composer Zdeněk Fibich (1850-1900) is not as well-known as his contemporaries Dvořák and Smetana, but he composed a lovely quintet (op. 42) for clarinet, horn, violin, cello, and piano, as well as the earlier Idylle, op. 16 for clarinet and piano, presented on this recording. The work is a brief, lyrical salon piece in a late Romantic idiom.
The other works on this recording, familiar as they are, receive sensitive interpretations that make them worth hearing. Marek Švejkar is a very talented clarinetist, with sure technique, excellent intonation, and stylistic flair. He plays with a pure, French-influenced tone. His partner on this recording, pianist Lenka Korecká, plays with equal virtuosity and finesse. One wishes for more expansive information about the composers and works in liner notes accompanying the recording, but the fine playing eclipses this small complaint.
Connections has a puzzling sonic anomaly from the recording process: when the clarinet plays loudly, it often sounds as though there are two clarinets playing in unison. Perhaps this is related to the post-production addition of too much reverb to the recording mix. This recording is readily available through streaming platforms.
– Jane Ellsworth
NEW RELEASES
Notes of the Observer. Stefan Kristinkov, clarinet, synthesizers. Ulterground Records, SAE-0029.
Part of Me is Water. Jessica Pollack, clarinet; Galen Dean Peiskee Jr., piano. Digital Release.
Saudade Do Brasil. Elio Tatti Quartet; Stark Quartet; with several guest artists. Notami Jazz, NJ052.
The Dawn of the Bicameral Clarinetist. Gary Dranch, clarinet. Navona Records, NV6693.
bee sage. Fie Schouten, clarinets; Katharina Gross, cello. Attaca, ATT 2024171.
Cat Klezmer Trio. Xavi Pendón, clarinet; Xavi Torras, guitar; Joni Aldunate, double bass. LaLabelWeb, LAB00924.
Delaytudes. Christopher Mothersole, clarinet. Independent Digital Release.
She/Her. Maria du Toit, clarinet; Vera Kooper, piano. Channel Classics, CCS47024.
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