SKU: BT.EMBZ15061

Zoltán Kocsis (1952 - 2016) was not just a phenomenal pianist. He was also regarded as a musical 'polymath' whose genius embraced the activities of a composer, conductor, editor, instrumentalist, and arranger. In the last capacity, he added some 150 works to symphonic, chamber, song and piano repertoire. He gladly adapted music of the turn of the 20th century, as appears from his transcriptions of Richard Strauss, Ravel, Rachmaninoff, Enescu, and above all, Debussy. (Many of these are distributed by Editio Musica Budapest.) 'In Debussy's case, (...) I was always interested in works that offered possibilities beyond the bounds of the piano, possibilities for orchestration.Just as with Liszt it was often possible to see that certain of his works had been written for piano for publication purposes, so with Debussy it is clear that mainly his song accompaniments exceeded the bounds of possibility for the piano,' Kocsis stated in one interview. Perhaps that recognition also encouraged him to arrange the popular piano work Valse romantique (1890) for clarinet and piano. The arrangement superbly pinpoints the sensitive, almost ingratiating tunefulness of the Waltz, adding a piece that sounds great and is rewarding to perform to the clarinet repertoire.

Mit dem unlängst verstorbenen Zoltán Kocsis betrauert die Nachwelt nicht nur einen phänomenalen Pianisten, sondern auch einen 'Polyhistor der Musik': Sein außergewöhnliches Talent entfaltete sich ebenfalls in seiner Tätigkeit als Komponist, als Dirigent, als Herausgeber und nicht zuletzt auch als Arrangeur und Bearbeiter organisch. Durch letztere Aktivität bereicherte er die symphonische, Kammer-, Lied- und Klavierliteratur um etwa einhundertfünfzig Werke. Sehr gern adaptierte er die Musik aus der Zeit der Wende zum 20. Jahrhundert, wie auch seine Richard-Strauss-, Ravel-, Rachmaninov-, Enescu- und vor allem Debussy-Transkriptionen belegen. (Mehrere davon werden auch von unseremVerlag vertrieben.).

SKU: HL.14028056

ISBN 9788759861592. English.

Throne (1988) for Clarinet and Piano was composed on a commission from the Swedish clarinetist Hakon Rosenberg. Structurally it is organized in an arch form.
Although it begins in the piano, the work can be considered as one long clarinet solo, where the piano's role is that of extending and mirroring the clarinet, both in register and motif. As such the piano is treated as a monody throughout, until the last warm B Major chord embraces the final notes of the clarinet. On the title page the composer tells us that Throne is Elevation, Unity, Diamonds, Crown, Glory, Velvet, Frailty, Decline, Oblivion, Nothing.
In short Throne is and abstract tone-poem on the transitoriness of Life.
Poul Ruders 1988.

SKU: BT.ALHE31564

French.

Duo Concertante, Op. 351 by Darius Milhaud was composed in 1956 for the Paris Conservatoire Contest. Many influences can be recognised in this piece: from the Provence where he was born, to jazz and other melodies of SouthAmerica. Lasting approximately 7 minutes, Duo Concertante, Op. 351 is started by a fanfare with a strong energy reminiscent of the South of France, followed by a simple and moderate clarinet partly joined by piano chords. Theinitial theme is then repeated one last time for the finale. Darius Milhaud (1892-1974) was a French modernist composer and a teacher. He was also part of the Les Six and was strongly influenced by Jazz. His opus list ended at443.

SKU: FG.55011-573-6

ISBN 9790550115736.

Kalevi Aho's (b. 1949) Clarinet concerto (2005) has five movements played without pause. The beginning Tempestoso is dramatic and powerful, but there is also a beautiful, slow middle section. The second movement consists of a virtuosic solo cadenza, which is dominated by mysterious tremolos on the clarinet.The cadenza leads to Vivace, con brio, which is the central climax of the concerto and the most virtuosic movement both for the orchestra and the soloist. Then follows the slow, melancholic and lyrical fourth movement Adagio molto. The Epilogue is slow, too; the atmosphere of the last movement is unreal, mysterious. The solo part at the end consists largely of broken, multiphonic clarinet sounds before the concerto fades out into a silence. The orchestral study score (ISMN 9790550096332) is available for sale and the orchestral material for hire.