SKU: BR.EB-8899

ISBN 9790004185261. 9 x 12 inches.

Brahms, Reger and the consequences Adolph Busch had already emigrated to the United States when he wrote the A-Major Clarinet Sonata . Shortly thereafter he revised the work once again until it was completed in its final form in spring 1941. Busch, a brilliant and sought-after solo violinist of the 1920s and 30s, concertized regularly in England and had become friends there with the clarinetist Reginald Kells, to whom he also dedicated the piece in three movements. Demanding in its musical idiom and no doubt inspired by the expressive playing of his friend, the sonata evidences a strong proximity to the works of Brahms and Reger. A long and demanding piece, edited with great care - a valuable addition to the repertoire for A clarinet. (Luigi Magistrelli, The Clarinet).

SKU: BR.EB-32111

The first edition of a forgotten treasure

ISBN 9790004186763. 9 x 12 inches.

There are many composers of whom it is said today that they had gone back in time or had composed against contemporary taste. Today, the question arises, though, as to what of value is to be extracted, rediscovered, or re-edited. Camillo Schumann (1872-1946) is one of these nearly forgotten composers. His works are still largely unknown today. Schumann's tonal language combines the Brahmsian sound scape with the grand late romantic Liszt school. His piano pieces range even to sounds reminiscent of Rachmaninoff and are of tremendous power and virtuosity. The pronounced and inventive melody makes the works the testimony of a composer who has not yet come to the fore. His two sonatas for clarinet and piano have hitherto remained completely unknown. This is astonishing, for they are on the level of the sonatas of Johannes Brahms, who probably contributed the most essentially to this genre. Surfacing as a special treasure from the estate of the Saxon musicologist and collector Harald Schurz were the autographs of both clarinet sonatas, now to be published for the first time. Remember falling in love with the expressive qualities of the Brahms sonatas? You can rekindle that feeling with these works by Camillo Schumann. Commentators have compared Schumann's works not only to Brahms, but also to Liszt and Rachmaninoff. Run to your shop and order now.(Gregory Barrett, The Clarinet)

The first edition of a forgotten treasure.

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.

SKU: HL.50490264

ISBN 9790080145494. 8.5x11.25x0.927 inches. Adam Kondor.

Variations on a Double is a real musical leviathan: almost an hour long, it is a sound-monstrosity that makes exceptional demands of the performers, and is the product of an unusual degree of fusion of the clarinet with the piano. Composed in 2005 for Csaba Klenyan and Gabor Csalog, the work interprets the meaning of the musical +double+ in an unconventional way: in it there is not a union of two independent instrumental characters, each with its individual identity - as in a grandiose sonata; instead, its artistic form tends in exactly the opposite direction. A single, monodically conceived unit of musical material passes over and over again through the doubling; they do not form two parts, yet do not unite in unison, but present the split face of a single endless - fragmented and episodic - monologue, like Siamese twins. Beware, this is only for the musically mature!

SKU: ST.C143

ISBN 9790570811434.

Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov (1865-1936) trained under Rimsky- Korsakov and became the most illustrious Russian composer and conductor immediately succeeding Tchaikovsky. Glazunov’s close affinity with the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, of which institution he would later become Director for more than two decades, placed him ideally to assist in the Institute’s transition to the Petrograd Conservatory in the immediate wake of the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. For the last six years of his life, Glazunov left the USSR, feeling hemmed in by propagandist restrictions and at the same time out of kilter with the Modernist movement.

He lived in exile for a time, touring the USA, before eventually settling in Paris, though his stoical brand of Russian Romanticism never waned. Despite being partly remembered for having taught Shostakovich, Glazunov was never known as a revolutionary composer, more inclined to align himself with 19th century ideologies than with the thrusting new compositional paths forged by Prokofiev and others. Indeed, the nationalistic movement so successfully espoused by Balakirev found a new energy in Glazunov’s hands, and he discovered an opulence of scale which leaned more in the direction of Borodin.

There can be no doubting Glazunov’s technical mastery, which successfully drew together contrapuntal, lyrical and virtuosic skills, and which were admired by the likes of Liszt. Glazunov steered a steady course at a time when it was most sorely needed; one need only hear the marvellous Violin Concerto in A minor to experience the full power and authority of his writing, though he possessed an enviable touch with more intimate forms too, such as those readily to be heard in these three charming Miniatures Op.42, originally composed for piano.
Clarinet and Piano
Transcribed by Mark Tanner
Grades 6 & 7 (Trinity Grades 6 & 7 syllabuses)
Former Spartan Press Cat. No.: SP1360.

SKU: HL.14022667

8.5x11.0x0.049 inches.

Herbert Howells (1892-1983) was an English composer and teacher, who is perhaps best known for his choral music in the Anglican tradition.

A Near Minuet, however, was written for Clarinet and Piano, and is one of Howells' most charming small-scale works. It was composed in 1946, while Howells was Director of Music at St Paul's Girls' School, for one of his pupils there.

SKU: P2.30006

Joshua and Stefanie Gardner have arranged Johannes Brahms' first violin sonata, op. 78 for clarinet and piano. As much as possible the work is unchanged from the original violin part, though there are several sections notated with an optional 8vb part when the violin's range becomes prohibitively high. For the clarinetist who's always wanted more Brahms to play, this arrangement is an excellent choice.

SKU: ST.H488

ISBN 9790220224560.

Though much to be feared, dragons by definition are rarely encountered, living at the furthest corners of the known world, or further even than that. As Bilbo Baggins discovered, to go in search of one can be an epic journey; and though Christopher Maxim, composer of the popular Toccata Nuptiale for organ, does not reveal whether Smaug, or Fafner, or the dragon slain by Saint George, is the particular beast in view, Here be Dragons! has the dramatic atmosphere of an adventure to remote and mythical places. Darkly chromatic roulades for clarinet, perhaps the creature's fiery breath, set the scene for an exciting duet on a gripping theme that stalks through the music in a variety of menacing variations, including a dragonish fugue. In the energetic arpeggios and trills that embellish the tune there is much for players of around Grade 8 standard to relish, in a showpiece that will undoubtedly lend enchantment to any concert.

The world premiere can be enjoyed on YouTube.