This week on the car radio, I heard this sad but wonderful clarinet tune. It did sound familiar, but I couldn’t immediately put my finger on the composer name. The clarinet was accompanied by an orchestra and I heard a rather prominent sound of a harp, and of a piano in the second movement. The playlist of the radio station gave me the information : it was the Concerto for Clarinet and String Orchestra with Harp and Piano from Aaron Copland. A masterpiece, that’s for sure !
I found the original recording with Benny Goodman, for whom the work was written in the Deezer streaming service and now it is of course on my favourites list. In the end, it is a classic and one of the masterpieces of clarinet repertoire, that any clarinetist should at least know about.
There is more background information on the concerto, on Aaron Copland and Benny Goodman on the 1st-clarinetmusic website.
Enjoy
best greetings
Mary