Amici Ensemble - Works for Clarinet / Cello & Piano - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Romanian pianist Catalin Serban writes of his new InchWhile looking for exciting correlations and comparisons of works and composers who, for a long time, have touched and inspired me, I discovered these three compositions - stylistically completely different, and yet united by their bell-like motifs and sounds. Geroge Enescu's Suite op. 10 No. 2 even has the title Des cloches sonores (Eng. Sonorous Bells), and the bell sounds are unmistakeably audible in all four movements of the Suite, albeit in very differing dynamics and atmospheric sound colors. The G major Sonata op. 78 D 894 by Franz Schubert is a piece with which I have a long and close association. What greatly influenced my interpretation of the famous first movement was my contemplation of the long, expansive chords - these sounds as if they are produced by a far-away bell in a quiet, profound landscape. The impressive ending and the highlight of the Sonata No. 5 op. 53 by Alexander Scriabin uses the very gentle harmonies and individual notes of the beginning, which develop from distant tolling bell to become an overpowering, mighty peal of bells.Inch

Robert Schumann drew inspiration from other leading Romantic voices of his day, and Manfred is the dramatic overture to a work based on verses by Lord Byron. Schumann's wife Clara was an extremely accomplished musician, and the Piano Concerto in a minor is one of the most eloquent and highly regarded legacies of their relationship. Lacking only a slow movement, the Overture, Scherzo and Finale is a symphony in all but name. Gramophone described these performances as Inchextremely fineInch.

This fascinating and wide-ranging program of 20th century works for clarinet and piano begins with the jazz and folk-inspired Two Dances for Andrew Simon by the Romanian composer Serban Nichifor, followed by a selection of works by Joseph Horovitz with whom both artists worked closely prior to this recording. Based on folk-songs from Northern Poland, Lutoslawski's Dance Preludes are the composer's official 'farewell to folklore for an indefinite period,' and the recital concludes with Arnold Cooke's Hindemith-inspired Sonata and Malcolm Arnold's accessible and light-hearted Sonatina.