THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA SCHOOL OF MUSIC Roy Barnett Recital Hall Friday, April 2, 2021 6:30 p.m. MASTER'S STUDENT RECITAL* Samuel Shanbo He, clarinet with Maggie Lu, piano Sonata for Clarinet and Piano Op. 120 No. 1 Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) Fantasie Jörg Widmann (b. 1973) – INTERMISSION – Concerto for Clarinet in A (K. 622) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Allegro (1756-1791) Andante Rondo * In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Music degree with a major in Clarinet. We acknowledge that the University of British Columbia is situated on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Musqueam people The story behind Brahms’ works for clarinets began when the then-retired composer listened to Richard Mühlfeld’s performance of the first Weber clarinet concerto in F minor, as well as the Mozart clarinet quintet and other works. It is no surprise that Brahms was directly inspired by these works, as the two sonatas that were produced as part of his collaboration with Mühlfeld are written in the keys of F minor and Eb major; identical keys to the Weber concertos. The Brahms compositions for clarinet are a special addition to the chamber music repertoire, and for clarinetists holds a special significance as Brahms produced no sonatas for any other wind instrument. In contrast to the other works on the program, German composer Jörg Widmann’s Fantasie for solo clarinet was written when the composer was very young; at 19 years old. His intention with the piece was to combine together all the things he found fun with the clarinet. Glisses, multiphonics, extended staccato techniques and a great sense of wilderness, along with introverted and extroverted flair are all required for an effective performance. The Mozart clarinet concerto (K. 622) is the starting point and standard of significant clarinet repertoire. Mandatory on nearly every festival and job audition, it is an essential and extremely personal part of practically every clarinetist’s journey. As Mozart’s final instrumental work before its death, it holds a special place in the heart of clarinetists, and was premiered in 1791 October Prague with Anton Stadler on the clarinet, just under two months before the composer’s death. Anton Stadler was the inspiration for Mozart behind the clarinet compositions. As close friends, they were both members of the freemasons society. To underscore Stadler’s influence on Mozart, aside from the clarinet concerto, other important clarinet works were written with Stadler in mind such as the clarinet quintet (K. 591) and Kegelstatt Trio (K. 498), both of which were also premiered with Anton Stadler. While the clarinet concerto is originally intended for a basset clarinet in A (clarinet with its range extending down to a low written C or B rather than an E), most modern day performances are done with a regular A clarinet with octave compensations to accommodate for the pitches out of range. As a final note of importance, considering the pairs of Mozart and Stadler, Brahms and Mühlfeld, and other unmentioned pairs such as Weber and Baermann as well as Spohr and Hermstedt, many of the masterworks of the clarinet repertoire were created as a result of inspiration by the clarinet sound that was able to move these composers and the friendships that emerged from the artists that created them..