Julius Rietz isn’t well known as a composer. He was an excellent conductor, he succeeded Mendelssohn in several of his positions. He also edited a lot of Mendelssohn’s works for publication. However, he wrote a masterpiece for us clarinet players. It’s his concerto op.29 in G minor. The first movement is quite virtuosic, but in…
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When classical musicians decide to play klezmer music, it’s always a risky challenge. But with the Sirba Octet, it’s just a great pleasure for us listeners! These 8 musicians from the “Orchestre de Paris” are perfectly aware of their classical background, and they don’t pretend to play “pure” klezmer music. The octet mixes the traditions…
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A thread on the Facebook group of the International Clarinet Association about an April Fool’s concert made me remember a post I wrote in french almost a year ago. I think it’s time for me to translate it! Carmen Strips is a humoristic fantasy piece, with an obligatory ‘undressing’ of the clarinet. The piece is…
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Do you remember Watchdog? I told you about this duo a few days ago. They were about to release their debut album, “You’re Welcome”. Well, it has been released since yesterday. I listened to it on line via bandcamp, and it’s a really great album. Especially for clarinet lovers! The various combinations of the instruments…
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Why does a cylindrical tube play a lower note than a conical tube of the same length? Why is it difficult to play the lowest notes on the saxophone softly? What is the influence of the wall material on wind instruments? An oboe goes to the octave, a clarinet goes to the fifth. But why?…
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In a galaxy far far away… is Martin Fröst new album, Roots. His quest to “create new programmes which move beyond traditional concert formats” lead him to the roots of classical music, and to his own roots, too. Mission accomplished. Brilliantly. It’s like you were visiting sort of a museum, with alive, animated artworks. You…
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After Emilien Véret, Ismail Lumanovski & Inspector Gadje and Klarthe Quintet, all in various styles, here’s another great find! Watchdog’s debut album, “You’re welcome”, has nothing to do with any of the other albums I discovered lately, but it’s definitely worth listening. Watchdog is a duo, with Anne Quillier (piano, Fender Rhodes, Moog) and Pierre…
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Designed around four French composers of the nineteenth and twenty-first centuries, “French Touch” is the debut album of Klarthe Quintet. It was released in October 2015 and if you were looking for a present for a lover of wind instruments, you just found it! Clement Dufour (flute), Marc Lachat (oboe), Julien Chabod (clarinet), Guillaume Bidar…
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Remember Ismail Lumanovski? I discovered him last spring in a video where he played with the “New York Gypsy All Star” balkanic music with amazing energy. He is now in a new partnership with “Inspector Gadje” Brass Band (what a joke!). A series of concerts in the next few days in L.A. and the recording…
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Here it is! Émilien Véret’s debut album “Clarinettes urbaines” is now available: iTunes amazon deezer The videos of “Quartier Est” and “La ville” made me think that the whole album would be interesting, as I said in this post. And I wasn’t wrong! But the incredible variety of styles of the album was something I…
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