Clarinet, piano
SKU:
FG.55011-334-3
Frolic per clarinetto
e piano. Composed by
Kirmo Lintinen. Fennica
Gehrman #55011-334-3.
Published by Fennica
Gehrman (FG.55011-334-3).
ISBN
9790550113343.
Comp
oser, pianist and
conductor Kirmo Lintinen
is equally at home in
jazz as in the world of
classical music. Since
the turn of the
millennium, his main job
has specifically been
composing concert music.
Stylistically, he has
found his biggest
inspiration in the
Baroque and in early
20th-century
Neoclassicism. He
composed Rieha (Frolic)
as a commission from the
Crusell Music Festival in
Uusikaupunki, Finland, as
the obligatory piece for
its international
clarinet competition, and
it was premiered by the
semi-finalists in July
2009.
The first part
of Rieha is dominated by
spurting arpeggios,
trills and changing
tempos. Following this
impulsive opening is a
brief respite, after
which the piano and
clarinet begin competing,
tossing each other quick,
accented semiquaver
figures. The rhythm soon
becomes syncopated and
the piece enters the
longest section, a sort
of hypertuned, lurching
ragtime. The closing
section recalls all the
work's motifs before
burning itself out and
vanishing like smoke.
Rieha is a consummate
virtuoso piece demanding
nimble fingers, sharp
articulation and a
command of tone in all
the clarinet's registers.
The piano is more than
just an accompanying
instrument; it is an
equal partner. The
biggest challenge for the
players is synchronising
their parts: the changing
tempos and metres, and
the alternation of quick
figures keep the
performers on their toes
and the audience
alert.