Clarinet Concerto (Unsuk Chin)

Last updated

Unsuk Chin's Clarinet Concerto was written in 2014 on a joint commission from the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, Philharmonia Orchestra (with support of The Meyer Foundation), Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic (with support of The Francis Goelet Fund). A partial premiere of piece was given by the clarinetist Kari Kriikku and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra conducted by Kent Nagano at the Gothenburg Concert Hall on May 8, 2014; the complete concerto was given its world premiere by Kriikku and the New York Philharmonic conducted by Alan Gilbert at Avery Fisher Hall on September 23, 2014. [1]

Contents

Composition

The concerto has a duration of about 25 minutes and is cast in three movements: [1]

  1. Mirage – Fanfare – Ornament
  2. Hymnos (Hymn)
  3. Improvisation on a Groove

Instrumentation

The work is scored for solo clarinet and an orchestra comprising three flutes (2nd doubling alto flute; 3rd doubling piccolo), three oboes (3rd doubling Cor anglais), four clarinets (4th doubling bass clarinet), three bassoons (3rd doubling contrabassoon), four horns, four trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, four percussionists, piano (doubling celesta), harp, and strings. [1]

Reception

The concerto has been generally praised by music critics. Anthony Tommasini of The New York Times described it as "haunting," writing, "At the opening, the solo clarinet plays breathy, staggered phrases, soon joined by quizzical stirrings in the orchestra. The effect is not spooky, but spellbinding. The music unfolds in fits and starts, with the clarinet breaking loose like some avant-garde jazz improviser, and the orchestra erupting in dense chords that sound like drive-by whooshes." [2] Richard Fairman of the Financial Times similarly wrote, "At times the concerto feels like a musical, out-of-body experience." [3] Ivan Hewett of The Daily Telegraph further remarked, "Normally the soloist is set up in heroic opposition to the orchestra. But here the dialogue was conducted on strikingly different terms. At the beginning, the virtuoso Finnish soloist Kari Kriiku let forth a quiet, unearthly sound, as if his instrument was possessed by ghosts. When he stopped, it seemed as if his sound had left a smear on the air. It was an astonishing aural mirage, brought on by a few players in the orchestra who picked up the clarinet's sound." He added, "This sort of game, where soloist and orchestra swap roles, and often you can't tell where a sound is coming from, is regularly played by modern composers. The game often does no more than tease one's ears, but here it actually engaged the heart and imagination. At times the music developed a threatening force, but just as it was about to explode, an unexpected calm descended – which made the violence more inexplicable, and more scary." [4]

Andrew Clements of The Guardian was more critical of the piece, however, remarking, "...for all the awe-inspiring pyrotechnics, musically the piece leaves a rather lightweight impression, and at first hearing it doesn't seem to be the major addition to the clarinet repertoire that, for instance, the concerto that Magnus Lindberg composed for Kriikku in 2002 most certainly is." He added, "Compared with some of Chin's other concertos, such as the outstanding work for cello that she composed six years ago for Alban Gerhardt, there's little dialogue between the solo instrument and the orchestra, which plays a much more subdued and conventional background role than it usually does in her music. Here, there is little evidence of her fabulous ear for inventive sonorities or of her very personal take on tonality and harmony." [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Esa-Pekka Salonen</span> Finnish conductor and composer (born 1958)

Esa-Pekka Salonen is a Finnish conductor and composer. He was the music director of the San Francisco Symphony and conductor laureate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra in London and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. He resigned from the San Francisco Symphony in 2024.

Unsuk Chin is a South Korean composer of contemporary classical music, who is based in Berlin, Germany. Chin was a self-taught pianist from a young age and studied composition at Seoul National University as well as with György Ligeti at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kari Kriikku</span> Musical artist

Kari Kriikku is a Finnish classical clarinetist.

Tevot is a one-movement symphony for orchestra by the British composer Thomas Adès. The work was commissioned by the Berlin Philharmonic and Carnegie Hall. The world premiere was given by the Berlin Philharmonic under the direction of Simon Rattle at the Berliner Philharmonie on February 21, 2007. The United States premiere was given by the same ensemble at Carnegie Hall on November 14, 2007.

The Piano Concerto is a concerto for solo piano and orchestra in three movements by the Finnish composer Esa-Pekka Salonen. The work was jointly commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, the BBC, the NDR Symphony Orchestra, and Radio France. It was premiered February 1, 2007 in Avery Fisher Hall, New York City, with Salonen conducting the pianist Yefim Bronfman and the New York Philharmonic. Salonen dedicated the piece to Yefim Bronfman.

The Percussion Concerto No. 2 is a concerto for solo percussion and orchestra by the Scottish composer James MacMillan. The work was jointly commissioned by the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse, the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and the São Paulo State Symphony. It was first performed on November 7, 2014 at TivoliVredenburg in Utrecht, the Netherlands, by percussionist Colin Currie and the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic under conductor James Gaffigan. The composition is MacMillan's second percussion concerto after 1992's Veni, Veni, Emmanuel.

Notes on Light is a cello concerto by the Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho. The work was commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra and was first performed at Symphony Hall, Boston on February 22, 2007, by the cellist Anssi Karttunen and the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the conductor Jukka-Pekka Saraste.

D'Om le Vrai Sens is a clarinet concerto by the Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho. The work was jointly commissioned by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the BBC, the Fundação Casa da Musica, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Radio France. It was given its world premiere by the clarinetist Kari Kriikku and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra under the conductor Sakari Oramo in Finlandia Hall, Helsinki, on September 8, 2010. The concerto is dedicated to Kari Kriikku.

The Piano Concerto No. 2 is a composition for solo piano and orchestra by the Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg. The work was jointly commissioned by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic, for which Lindberg was then composer-in-residence. It was given its world premiere at Avery Fisher Hall on May 3, 2012 by the pianist Yefim Bronfman and the New York Philharmonic under the direction of Alan Gilbert.

The Clarinet Concerto is a composition for solo clarinet and orchestra by the Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg. It was written for the Finnish clarinetist Kari Kriikku. The piece was given its world premiere in Finlandia Hall, Helsinki, on September 14, 2002 by Kari Kriikku and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Jukka-Pekka Saraste. The composition is one of Lindberg's most frequently performed works.

Kraft is a composition for solo ensemble, electronics, and orchestra by the Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg. The work was commissioned by the Helsinki Festival and was first performed on September 4, 1985 by the Toimii ensemble and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Esa-Pekka Salonen. The piece was awarded the International Rostrum of Composers in 1986 and won the Nordic Council Music Prize in 1988.

Scottish composer James MacMillan composed his Viola Concerto in 2013. The work was jointly commissioned by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Its world premiere was given by the violist Lawrence Power and the London Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Vladimir Jurowski in the Royal Festival Hall, London, on 15 January 2014. The piece is dedicated to Lawrence Power.

The Concerto for Piano and Orchestra is a composition for solo piano and orchestra by the Polish composer Witold Lutosławski. The music was commissioned by the Salzburg Festival. It was first performed at the festival on August 19, 1988 by the pianist Krystian Zimerman and the Austrian Radio Orchestra under the direction of the composer. Lutosławski dedicated the piece to Zimerman.

The Violin Concerto No. 2 is a composition for violin solo and orchestra by the Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg. The work was jointly commissioned by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Radio France, and New York Philharmonic. Its world premiere was given by the violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann and the London Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Jaap van Zweden at Royal Festival Hall, London, on December 9, 2015. The piece is dedicated to Zimmermann.

The Percussion Concerto is a composition for solo percussion and orchestra by the Scottish composer Helen Grime. The work was commissioned by the Southbank Centre, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and the Swedish Chamber Orchestra. It was first performed by the percussionist Colin Currie and the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Marin Alsop at the Royal Festival Hall, London, on 16 January 2019.

Unsuk Chin's Piano Concerto was composed between 1996 and 1997 on a commission from the BBC for the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. The piece was first performed by the pianist Rolf Hind and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by Mark Wigglesworth at St David's Hall, Cardiff, on 6 June 1997.

Unsuk Chin's Violin Concerto No. 1 was written in 2001 on a commission from the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, where she was then serving as composer-in-residence. It was given its world premiere by the violinist Viviane Hagner and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin conducted by Kent Nagano at the Berliner Philharmonie on January 20, 2002. The piece was awarded the prestigious Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition in 2004. Unsuk Chin later composed a second Violin Concerto, Scherben der Stille , in 2021.

The Violin Concerto No. 2, Scherben der Stille , is the second violin concerto by the Korean composer Unsuk Chin. It was written for the violinist Leonidas Kavakos in 2021 on a joint commission from the London Symphony Orchestra supported by the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation, the Boston Symphony Orchestra supported in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council's New Works Fund, and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. The piece was given its world premiere by Kavakos and the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Simon Rattle at the Barbican Centre, London, on January 6, 2022.

SPIRA—Concerto for Orchestra is an orchestral composition written in 2019 by the South Korean composer Unsuk Chin. It was commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, which gave the piece its world premiere under the direction of Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla at the Walt Disney Concert Hall on 5 April 2019.

Rocaná is an orchestral composition written in 2008 by the South Korean composer Unsuk Chin. The work was commissioned by the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Bavarian State Opera, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Beijing Music Festival. Its world premiere was given by the Montreal Symphony Orchestra conducted by Kent Nagano at the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, Montreal, on March 3, 2008.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Unsuk Chin (2014). "Clarinet Concerto". Boosey & Hawkes . Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  2. ↑ Tommasini, Anthony (September 24, 2014). "Music Born of Dreams, a Concerto of Many Moods". The New York Times . Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  3. ↑ Fairman, Richard (October 25, 2015). "Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Festival Hall, London: 'Volatile, playful, naughty'". Financial Times . Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  4. ↑ Hewett, Ivan (October 23, 2015). "Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Festival Hall, review: 'a treasure-trove of wonders'". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  5. ↑ Clements, Andrew (October 23, 2015). "Philharmonia/Collon review – a glistening blend of menace and magic". The Guardian . Retrieved July 11, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.