SKU: BT.YE0036

Four movements, top part advanced. Several recordings and many broadcasts. Duration c.13'.

Programme Notes:

The Swiss composer Joseph Lauber was born at Ruswil near Lucerne in 1864. After studying with Heger in Zürich and Rheinberger in Munich, Lauber worked with Diémer and Massenet in Paris. With Massenet he learnt a great deal about orchestration, a subject that he subsequently taught until the end of his life at the Geneva conservatoire as well as piano and composition. He died in 1952.

Lauber's 193 catalogued works are many and varied. He wrote for all instruments and in every genre except oratorio and opera. Among his output areseveral works for double bass, most written for Prof. Hans Fryba, a personal friend with whom he worked as a double bass and piano recital duo. Fryba was one of the leading players in Europe in his day and was principal of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. First was Theme and Variations (1936-7) and a Rhapsodie with orchestra (1937). Three Walzes followed in 1939, a Gavotte and Gigue, a Sonata and then in 1943 Fantasie de Concert, written for the Geneva Competition. Four Caprices appeared in 1942, the same date as the Quartet for double basses which was dedicated to Fryba and written for the Berlin Philharmonic Double Bass Quartet, one of the first ever such ensembles to exist.

The Quartet for double basses was revived by Klaus Stoll in the 1970s for the Philharmonic Double Bass Quartet at that time to play. It was subsequently published in 1975 by Yorke Edition by kind permission of the composer's son Edmund Lauber.

Rodney Slatford 2004

SKU: P2.30105

Dedicated to Prince Franz Joseph von Lobkowitz, String Quartet No. 1 in F Major, Op. 18, No. 1, was finished on June 25, 1799 with some revisions thereafter. Beethoven initially felt it to be a work in progress and commented that he had not yet learned to write quartets properly. Despite his perfectionism, only minor changes were made after the premier performance. The Adagio is impassioned, tragic, and dark. Karl Amenda, Beethoven's violinist friend, revealed that the composer contemplated the tomb scene from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet when composing this operatic second movement. Toward the end of the movement, the rhythms of the solo voices become faster and, as such, become more severe. The Scherzo third movement closely resembles the playful quality found in Haydn's quartets and is most closely aligned with the harmonic structures of the first movement.

A clarinetist approaching this work faces many of the same challenges of his string-playing colleagues including: interpretation, note length, tempi, dynamics, and all other musical decisions. To further complicate matters, clarinetists must also discuss and agree upon breathing strategies and alternative fingerings. While this work is orchestrated for three B-flat soprano clarinets and a B-flat bass clarinet with a low C extension, it may be performed by a larger clarinet-choir as well. Throughout the original work, there are places where a string player performs double or even triple stops and those notes have been included in this transcription for two reasons: the first is to provide options to the players performing in a quartet to add a slight variance in color, the second is to further enhance the harmony when the work is performed by more than four clarinetists. It is remarkable to observe the subtle variances in flexibility and tone when performed by a four-person ensemble as opposed to a larger group. This edition does not vary from the original in key or, to the extent possible, range with the exception of a few octaves that have been transposed to better promote facility on the clarinet.

SKU: P2.30107

Composer Jonathan Russell writes, My basic idea when I conceived of the Bass Clarinet Double Concerto was the Weber Clarinet Concertos meet heavy metal music. On the one hand, I have spent many hours over the years practicing Weber's clarinet concertos and have always enjoyed the over-the-top virtuosity and flashiness of these pieces. On the other, I have been a fan since middle school of Guns N' Roses, Metallica and other hard rock and heavy metal bands, and I already channel heavy metal through the bass clarinet as a member of the Edmund Welles bass clarinet quartet. When it came to writing a bass clarinet double concerto, it thus seemed logical (to me) to try and combine the heaviness and raw power of heavy metal with the dancing virtuosity and lyricism of Weber's concertos... The piece was composed for my bass clarinet duo Sqwonk, and was premiered in December 2007 by Sqwonk and the San Francisco Composers' Chamber Orchestra..