1 CONCERTO FOR CLARINET AND ORCHESTRA (1947) I. A wizardly weave of contrapuntal themes and rhythmic motives instantly engulfs us. The solo clarinet enters on the intervals that gave historic birth to the instrument: octave, fifth, and twelfth, its harmonic backbone. The theme creates a sweeping arch over seven measures long eloquently encompassing all the clarinet’s registers. The first movement coda ends with a twinkle as the clarinet giggles a bluesy trill; followed by a glockenspiel exclama- tion point and a timpani plop! I am reminded of my interview with Lukas Foss on his student memories of Hindemith at Tanglewood. “After class he took us down to the pond for a swim. I’ll never forget the sound of his plump little body landing in the water with a plop!” II. The ostinato takes a five note pizzicato pattern with a jazz syncopation before the fifth note. The groove slides over to another beat at each entrance making a simple steady 2/2 time excitingly elusive. Riding that groove is a rapid clarinet lick right out of the “King of Swing”’s bag. A rhythm section (timpani, snare drum, triangle, and tambourine) sets a “Krupa-like” complexity, and before you know it the ride ends with the band disappearing clean as a clarinet pianissimo. III. Perhaps the longest, most melancholic, beautiful melody ever written for the clarinet; twenty measures of breath- taking calm and majesty. Balancing this sweeping aria is a recitative (measures 51-71). Hindemith gives the return of the song to solo oboe surrounded by soft, tiny woodwind creatures and muted murmurings for two solo violins. The end is haunted by a return of the recitative and a chromatically convoluted cadence allowing the clarinet to resolve in the home tonality of A major. IV. A rondo reminiscent of Mozart’s K. 622, in meter, rhythmic phrasing, tonality, and gay spirit. The ability to leap tall intervals in a single bound which thrilled Mozart when he heard Anton Stadler launch into them also encouraged Hindemith. A gigantic fugata works its way through the entire symphony orchestra starting in measure 79. First every four bars in the brass, then in two bar entrances in the strings leading to a conflagration fortissimo. The concerto, written for Benny Goodman in 1949, was finally recorded by clarinetist Louis Cahuzac with the composer conducting. 2 Photo by William “PoPsie” Randolph copyright 2013 Michael Randolph www.PoPsiePhotos.com 3 Paul Hindemith with Benny Goodman QUINTET FOR CLARINET AND STRING QUARTET (1923)* Hindemith was only 28 when he wrote his Clarinet Quintet, which teems with energy and invention. The two minutes first movement launches the listener headlong into the composer’s kaleidoscopic world. A reflective cello solo sud- denly emerges to begin a rich contrapuntal section for the strings that opens the second movement. The clarinet joins the dialogue, the intensity increases and a brilliant clarinet cadenza leads to a cantabile solo with pizzicato accompani- ment. The five instruments rejoin in a lyric conclusion. Nothing previously heard has prepared us for the marvelous insanity of the third movement. The clarinet suddenly is playing the raucous and piercing E-flat instrument that was the voice of Till in Strauss’ Till Eulenspiegal. Folk songs careen among the instruments, many of which seem to be playing in slightly different keys from their partners. Echoes of Mahler and the German countryside flash by, with more than a hint of 1920’s Berlin decadence thrown in for good measure. The fourth movement is in yet another world as the muted first violin plays a melancholy solo above a pizzicato accom- paniment punctuated by three separated solo low notes from the clarinet (which has returned to its B-flat voice). How does Hindemith end the Quintet? – How about playing the first movement exactly backwards! (Notes provided by Max Wilcox) *Under license from Sony Music Commercial Music Group, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. 4 5 Paul Hindemith and Yehudi Wyner THE SONATA FOR CLARINET AND PIANO (1939) is performed here by Yehudi Wyner, pianist, Pulitzer Prize winning composer, and a student of Hindemith at Yale. Later Yehudi joined the Yale faculty, which is how I first had the honor and excitement of attending his classes in opera. Now I have the great good fortune to work, learn, and perform with him the literature for clarinet and piano. He has magnificently expanded that literature with Commedia written for Emmanuel Ax and me and Trio 2009 for Robert Levin, Lynn Harrell, and myself. Delving into Hindemith’s Sonata with Yehudi has been a uniquely rewarding experienc. Drawing on his own personal relationship with the man has helped me get behind the notes to the sensibilities of Hindemith’s exuberant way with music as he conducted the Yale Collegium. And studying and performing this music with Yehudi Wyner has enriched and deepened the connection I had hoped to make with this Sonata. Lastly I must dedicate RESOLVE and our performance to the memory of Keith Wilson, my clarinet teacher at Yale, col- league of Hindemith and Wyner, and master of an expressive singing sound on his instrument – inspiring us with his musicianship and humanity. Richard Stoltzman 6 RICHARD STOLTZMAN Two-time Grammy® Award winning clarinetist Richard Stoltzman’s vir- tuosity, technique, imagination, and communicative power have revo- lutionized the world of clarinet playing, opening up possibilities for the instrument that no one could have predicted. He was responsible for bringing the clarinet to the forefront as a solo instrument, and is still the world’s foremost clarinetist. Stoltzman gave the first clarinet recitals in the histories of both the Hol- lywood Bowl and Carnegie Hall, and, in 1986, became the first wind player to be awarded the Avery Fisher Prize. As one of today’s most sought-after artists, Stoltzman has been a soloist with more than a hun- dred orchestras as well as a recitalist and chamber music performer, innovative jazz artist, and prolific recording artist. A two-time Grammy Award winner, he has amazed critics and audiences alike in repertory spanning many musical genres. Stoltzman’s talents as a jazz performer as well as a classical artist have been heard far beyond his annual tours. He has performed and record- ed with such classical, jazz, and pop greats as Emmanual AX, Yo-Yo Ma, Gary Burton, the Canadian Brass, Chick Corea, Judy Collins, Eddie Go- mez, Keith Jarrett, the King’s Singers, George Shearing, Wayne Shorter, Mel Tormé, and Spyro Gyra founder Jeremy Wall. Stoltzman frequently performs with his son Peter John Stoltzman, a talented classical and jazz pianist and composer. With his wife, marimbist and force of nature, Mika Stoltzman, they are introducing delighted audiences all over the world to their “Duo for Love,” marimba and clarinet. Stoltzman graduated from Ohio State University with a double major in music and mathematics. He earned his Master of Music degree at Yale University while studying with Keith Wilson, and later studied with Kalmen Opperman at Columbia University. He makes his home in Mas- sachusetts and is a passionate Boston Red Sox fan. He is also a Cordon Bleu-trained pastry chef whose specialty is the Linzer Torte. www.richardstoltzman.com Photo by Lisa Marie Mazzuco 7 KIRK TREVOR Internationally known conductor, recording artist and conducting teacher, Kirk Trevor is a regular guest conductor in the world’s most prestigious concert halls. He has been Music Director of the Missouri Symphony since 2000 and the India- napolis Chamber Orchestra since 1988. He was Music Director of the Knoxville Symphony from 1987-2003 and now serves as Conductor Laureate. Born and educated in England, Trevor studied at London’s Guildhall School of Music where he graduated cum laude in Cello Performance and Conducting. He went on to pursue cello studies in France with Paul Torte- lier and came to the U.S. on a Fulbright Exchange Grant. It was in the U.S. that his conducting skills let him to the position of Resident Conductor of the Dallas Symphony. In 1990 he won the Leonard Bernstein Conducting Competition. Maestro Trevor has been widely recognized as one of the leading conducting teachers in the world. In 1991 he co-founded and has been Artistic Director of the International Workshop for Conductors held each summer in the Czech Republic. Trevor has been Director of Orchestras at both the University of Tennessee and Ball State University and is a frequent guest teacher at universities around the globe focusing on baton techniques and the psychology of the orchestra. As a recording artist, Trevor has recorded more than one hundred CD’s for Naxos, EMI and Albany records among others. He has recorded more than sixty CD’s of music by living composers as well as working with the world’s leading soloists including Richard Stoltzman, Chloe Hanslip, Joshua Pierce among others. He also has recorded music for numerous video games including Diablo II. He regularly records with the Slovak National Symphony in Bratislava where he has been princi- pal conductor. His recordings are regularly featured on NPR and leading radio stations around the world. Maestro Trevor has appeared as a guest with more than forty orchestras in fourteen countries, including the London Sym- phony, the Israel Chamber Orchestra, OSUSP, the Symphony Orchestras of Warsaw, Sofia, Basel, Prague, Indianapolis, Baltimore and St. Louis among others. Maestro Trevor is married to Slovak harpist Maria Duhova and they have three young children,seven-year-old Sylvia, five-year-old Daniel and one year old Aidan. Mr. Trevor’s daughter Chloe Trevor frequently appears as a solo violinist on the world stages, often with her father as conductor.