J.S. Bach, Berio & Boulez: Music for Solo Clarinet - CD

Bach - Berio - Boulez: Marek svejkar's bold and brilliant debutThe clarinet is one of the instruments with the broadest spectrum of sonicpossibilities in terms of it's range of dynamics and pitches. It receivedthe greatest attention during the era of Classicism both in solo parts inconcertos and in the roles of a chamber music partner and an orchestralinstrument. It had to wait until the 20th century for works featuring it'sunaccompanied solo voice in it's full range of colours. Outstanding amongthe composers who created such works are two figures who fundamentallyshaped musical thinking in the latter half of the 20th century: Luciano Berioand Pierre Boulez. Commemorating the 100th anniversaries of both men'sbirth, this recording covers their complete music for solo clarinet. Berio andBoulez sought new ways to organise music in time and space, and both tookinspiration from poetry. Boulez gave symbolic expression to their quest:"It must be our concern... to jettison the concept of a work as a simple journeystarting with a departure and ending with an arrival." One of the things thatinspired Berio's idea of "polyphonic music for a monophonic instrument"were works by J. S. Bach. One of them, Partita in A minor for solo flute, isheard on this recording in juxtaposition with the modernism of the 20thcentury. The clarinettist Marek svejkar is a laureate of the Premier Prix fromParis's prestigious Conservatoire National Superieur, and he has been a winnerof international competitions including events in Markneukirchen, Germany,and in Carlino, Italy. He has appeared as a soloist with the Czech Philharmonicand with Jiri Belohlavek, and having participated at the Karajan Academyof the Berlin Philharmonic, he is now enrolled at the Accademia Nazionaledi Santa Cecilia in Rome under the tutelage of Alessandro Carbonare.The elite circle of European clarinettists is now within Marek svejkar's reach.