Maureen Pytlik, Clarinet
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CARLETON UNIVERSITY School for Studies in Art and Culture: Music presents a Fourth-Year Recital Maureen Pytlik, clarinet with Nick Rodgerson, piano Sunday, May 6, 2012, 2pm, First Unitarian Congregation Programme Maureen Pytlik, clarinet soloist Nick Rodgerson, piano Cantilène Louis Cahuzac (1880 – 1960) Sonata for Clarinet and Piano Leonard Bernstein (1918 – 1990) II. Andantino – Vivace e leggiero Clarinet Concerto in A major, K. 622 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 1791) I. Allegro Clarinet Sonata No. 2 in E flat major, Op. 120 Johannes Brahms (1833 – 1897) I. Allegro amabile II. Allegro appassionato III. Andante con moto – Allegro A post-concert reception will be held in the Fellowship Hall. Louis Cahuzac (1880 – 1960) Cantilène Louis Cahuzac was a French clarinettist and composer whose work contributed to the longstanding efforts of his fellow countrymen to bring the clarinet to the forefront of the French music scene. A graduate of the Paris conservatoire where he studied with Cyrille Rose (1830 – 1902), Louis Cahuzac’s playing was imbued with much liveliness and had a fuller tone than audiences were accustomed to hearing at the time. Perhaps this is the reason that Cahuzac was one of the few clarinettists to have a solo career in the first part of the twentieth century; he played first clarinet for the Concerts Colonne and Concerts Symphoniques Fouche. His musical career also included work as the conductor for the Luchon Casino concerts and for radio orchestras in his native southern France. Although originally written for solo clarinet and full orchestra, Cantilène was later rescored for B Flat clarinet and piano. Cahuzac himself premiered the orchestral version and can also be heard performing it with the pianist, Folmer Jensen, on “The French Clarinet School Revisted” released under the Grenadilla label (RGP-10008CD). This charming, light-hearted work has a simple ternary (or “ABA”) form and is filled with rippling lines that soar brilliantly through the clarinet’s upper register. Leonard Bernstein (1918 – 1990) Sonata for Clarinet and Piano (1941 – 42) Leonard Bernstein was a musician who wore many hats over his lifetime. In 1941, as a new graduate from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, Bernstein was struggling to continue in his career as a musician and composer, being under immense pressure from his father to join the family business. Fortunately, he was offered and accepted a position at the Tanglewood Summer Institute as assistant conductor to Serge Koussevitzky, but by September he was once again looking for work. It was during this period of unemployment, in the fall of 1941, that the young Bernstein took a trip to Florida where he began composing his clarinet sonata. Bernstein’s clarinet sonata was completed back in Boston in February of 1942. The sonata reveals Bernstein’s strong attachments to Tanglewood. It was there that he met the works’ dedicatee, clarinettist David Oppenheim, and the clarinettist to premiere the work, David Glazer, had been Leonard Bernstein’s roommate at Tanglewood. This first performance took place at Boston’s Institute of Modern Art in April, 1942, with the composer himself on the piano. As his first published work, the clarinet sonata secured the public recognition of his compositional talent that Bernstein was looking for. The sonata has only two movements with the second being the longer one. This movement begins with a few delicate phrases that morph swiftly into a vigorous, slightly jazzy, rhythmic section, predominantly in 5/8 time. After a return of the opening phrases, at a slower tempo than before, the main rhythmic section drives forward relentlessly – and with incredible interlocking precision between the clarinet and piano – to a spectacular ending. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 1791) Concerto in A Major for Clarinet and Orchestra, K. 622 (1791) As his final contribution to orchestral repertoire, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart completed his clarinet concerto just two months before his untimely death in 1791. The concerto was written for his long-time friend, and fellow Free Mason, Anton Stadler (1753 – 1812). Although Anton and his brother Johann both played clarinet in the Viennese court orchestra, it was in Anton Stadler’s virtuosic playing that Mozart saw the clarinet’s potential as a solo instrument. The clarinet of Mozart’s time was still in its infancy; several modified versions of it with extended lower registers were produced experimentally by Anton Stadler. These “basset clarinets,” however, have always been extremely rare; the only surviving works for such clarinets happen to be the ones that Mozart wrote for Stadler. Today, these pieces are virtually always modified slightly so that they can be performed on a standard A clarinet. The premiere of Mozart’s clarinet concerto took place on October 16, 1791, at the Royal Old City Theater in Prague with Anton Stadler having had the manuscript in hand for less than a week. Tragically, Stadler lost Mozart’s original manuscript shortly after the premiere, and so even the version of the concerto that was originally published posthumously in 1801 had to be reconstructed from earlier incomplete sketches. As music from the classical era, the substantial opening movement is highly formulaic. The beauty of Mozart’s melodic lines, the exquisite technical precision required of the soloist, and the exploitation of the clarinet’s full range of tone are what make this concerto arguably the greatest work ever written for the clarinet. Johannes Brahms (1833 – 1897) Sonata in E Flat Major for Clarinet and Piano, Op. 120, No. 2 (1894) Johannes Brahms was born in Hamburg one hundred and seventy nine years ago tomorrow – on the seventh of May, 1833. The young Brahms received early musical training on both the violin and cello before establishing a career for himself as a pianist and composer. Although the late works in Brahms’ oeuvre are highly celebrated as masterworks of great musical depth and maturity, the ever self-doubting Brahms became convinced in 1891 that his career as a composer had come to an end. Fortunately, a concert by clarinettist Richard Muhlfeld (1856 – 1907) inspired Brahms so deeply that he felt compelled to compose a final series of chamber works for clarinet. Brahms’ two clarinet sonatas were written towards the end of his life and premiered on September 19, 1894, at the home of the Duke of Meiningen’s sister at Berchtesgaden by Richard Muhlfeld, accompanied by Brahms on piano. The second sonata is filled with what might be termed “remembered passion,” seemingly expressing the reminiscences of a musician who had reached his unmistakable mature compositional style. Maureen Pytlik Maureen has enjoyed playing the clarinet since the age of 13, when she first picked up the instrument following many years of piano lessons. She joined the Ottawa Youth Orchestra Academy in 2004 as a member of the Senior Winds Ensemble, and progressed through the levels of the OYOA until her final year of high school, when she played with the Ottawa Youth Orchestra. With the OYO, she found herself playing bass clarinet for the world- premiere of Maya the Bee in the spring of 2007. Since starting her B.Mus. degree program (and a concurrent B.Math program) at Carleton in September 2007 Maureen has been studying with Nicolas Tremblay. She has performed in masterclasses with Kimball Sykes and at the Orford Arts Centre Summer Music Academy with James Campbell in 2008 and Guy Yehuda in 2009. Maureen currently plays a pair of Leblanc Symphonie clarinets (in B Flat and A.) Maureen will be continuing her undergraduate studies at Carleton University in the fall, following a 16-week position as a research assistant in the Mathematics Department this summer. Special Acknowledgements I would like to thank all of the many people who have helped me to see this recital come to fruition. There are a few people whose contributions I wish to especially acknowledge. My clarinet teacher, Nicolas, has been amazingly supportive of my ambitions over these past few years; without his guidance I would not be performing in this afternoon’s recital. For always pushing me to achieve my best as a clarinettist and urging me to relax when I need that advice too I am sincerely grateful. My collaborative pianist, Nick, has been tremendously fun to work with over the past year. The obvious enjoyment that he gets out of tackling challenging repertoire is contagious, and I thank him for sharing his musical talent with me. Everyone in the Music Department at Carleton deserves a special thank-you! In particular, Dr. Wright, Dr. Luko, Dr. Hoefnagels, Dr. McGowan, and Nicole Presentey have been especially supportive. My friends, Megan Graham and Nadine Badets, (who kindly distributed these programs) have also assisted me in preparation for this recital. For generously giving of their time I thank them both. For gifting me with such wonderful musician’s portraits for this program I thank Alan Dunlop, professional photographer. For using their audio and video expertise to produce a recording of this afternoon’s recital I thank my brother, Tim, and Jack Coghill. Finally, from the bottom of my heart, I thank my parents for all that they do to support me in all of my endeavours. I appreciate very much the extent to which they have accommodated their schedules to fit my own, and the number of clarinet lessons and rehearsals that they have driven me to leading up to today! I thank my Mom for organizing the “small” post-concert reception and hope that everyone will take the time to enjoy it! Carleton Music The Carleton University Music Department has existed since 1967, and the performance program was introduced in 1975. In 1991, the School for Studies in Art and Culture – of which Music is a division, together with Art History and Film Studies – was formed.