Ian Mitchell, the clarinetist, has known William O. Smith since the early 1970s and has worked with Christian Wolff since the 1980s, finding personal contact with composers important for his interpretations.
Compositional Technique
William O. Smith systematically explored multiphonics on the clarinet, creating a card index of fingerings and sounds graded by difficulty and timbre, inspired by Luciano Berio's Sequenza 1.
Interpretation
The performer, Ian Mitchell, chose pieces that challenge the performer with different musical and practical questions, rather than focusing solely on unaccompanied clarinet works.
Composer Biography
Christian Wolff, a self-taught composer, studied classics at Harvard University and became an expert on Euripides, later teaching Classics, Comparative Literature, and Music at Dartmouth College.
Composer Biography
William O. Smith, a distinguished clarinetist and composer, was a co-founder of the Dave Brubeck Octet in 1946/47 and was instrumental in creating the 'Third Stream' style of music.
Recording & Production
This album features several premiere recordings, including William O. Smith's "Reflection" and Christian Wolff's "Isn't This a Time."
Composer's Artistic Vision
The album's featured composers share a strong personal creative spirit and a continuous desire to explore diverse interests.
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