Fantasie (Widmann)

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Fantasie
by Jörg Widmann
The composer in 2006
PeriodContemporary
Composed1993
Published2005 (2005): Mainz
PublisherSchott Music
Duration7:00[1]
Scoringclarinet in B♭
Premiere
Date1 March 1994 (1994-03-01)
LocationBayerischer Rundfunk, Munich
PerformersJörg Widmann

Fantasie for Solo Clarinet is a solo instrumental work by Jörg Widmann and was composed in 1993. It is a showpiece.[2] It offers a Romantic melodious sound with dance, klezmer and jazz music elements[1] in a "Harlequin spirit".[2]

History[edit]

The Fantasie for Solo Clarinet, composed in 1993, is one of Widmann's earliest compositions.[3] He was inspired by Igor Stravinsky's Three Pieces for Solo Clarinet (1919) and Pierre Boulez's Dialogue de l'ombre double (1985) for clarinet and tape.[4] Widmann had in mind the Harlequin figure from the Italian commedia dell'arte.[4][a] The piece was premiered by the composer on 1 March 1994 at Bayerischer Rundfunk in Munich.[1]

Music[edit]

Widmann wrote the Fantasie when he was just twenty years old. It is an expression of "youthful exuberance" with "virtuoso flourishes".[3] He combines conventional playing with extended techniques (multiphonics, flutter-tonguing, key clicks),[5] and non-pitched sounds.[3] Widmann's skills in clarinet playing helped him in composing his Fantasie.[6] The piece is full of extremes in dynamic, tempo, and character.[7] Widmann disproved with a sustained four-note chord, that the clarinet is only a one-voice instrument.[8] According to Widmann, the opening multiphonic of the Fantasie is being a parody of new music, since many new works of that time begin in a similar manner.[4] Widmann identifies harmony as the central theme of the work.[9] A typical sound are glissandos in the upper registers, in a klezmer or "exaggeratedly jazzy" style.[2] Silences are important, Widmann notates them as a breath mark, a breath mark with a fermata, and an actual rest.[2] Near the beginning the composer cites a melody from The Rite of Spring.[10]

Structure[edit]

Sections:[11]

  1. Free, rhapsodically
  2. Fast, brilliant
  3. Presto possible
  4. Tempo come prima, ma poco più mosso

Reception[edit]

The Fantasie is one of Widmann's most frequently performed works and is standard repertory of unaccompanied works for clarinet.[7] Zachary Woolfe from The New York Times wrote: "...sounding like the most beautiful circus music ever written."[10]

Recordings[edit]

  • Bettina Aust and Robert Aust, Bettina Aust – Deutscher Musikwettbewerb, Laureate 2015, Clarinet, Recorded at Ehemalige Sendestelle des Deutschlandradios, 16–19 October 2015, GENUIN classics, GEN 16432, 2016, compact disc. OCLC 987272763
  • Eduard Brunner, Music for Solo Clarinet, Recorded in Studio 2, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Munich, 14–15 December 2009, Naxos, 8.572470, 2011, compact disc. OCLC 1080882095
  • Stefan Neubauer, Solitary Changes, Recorded between 2012 and 2013, Orlando Records, or 0006, 2013. OCLC 887469607

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Widmann was not aware of the unaccompanied clarinet work Harlekin (1975) by Karlheinz Stockhausen.[4]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Fantasie". Schott Music. 3 June 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d "Jörg Widmann's "Fantasie" with Andrew Lowy". LA Phil. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  3. ^ a b c Dierickx 2018, p. 24.
  4. ^ a b c d Dierickx 2018, p. 103.
  5. ^ Schmidl, Christina (28 October 2013). "Kritik: Jörg Widmann Gesprächskonzert". Klassikinfo.de (in German). Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  6. ^ Dierickx 2018, p. 76.
  7. ^ a b Dierickx 2018, p. 102.
  8. ^ Kaiserkern, Babette (16 October 2020). "Solist, Komponist, Dirigent: Jörg Widmann ist eine Ausnahmeerscheinung der Musik". Der Tagesspiegel (in German). Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  9. ^ Dierickx 2018, p. 104.
  10. ^ a b Woolfe, Zachary (15 April 2013). "On Clarinet, the Composer". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved 22 August 2017. (subscription required)
  11. ^ Dierickx 2018.

Sources[edit]

Further reading[edit]

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