Dimitri Ashkenazy, the clarinetist, is a polyglot, speaking fluent English, German, French, Italian, and Spanish, and can get by in Icelandic and Norwegian.
Recording & Production
The recordings for this album were made in three different venues: Corbett Auditorium in Cincinnati, Aula Cher in Sarnen, and Alte Kirche Fautenbach in Achern.
Performer Biography
Dimitri Ashkenazy, the clarinetist on this album, was born in New York in 1969 and is one of the children of the famous pianist and conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Jean Françaix described his Clarinet Concerto as an 'acoustical aerobatics show, with loops, spins and quite frightening dives for the soloist'.
Critical Reception
Françaix's Clarinet Concerto was initially considered too difficult to be played, with clarinettist Jack Brymer describing it in 1976 as 'a work for the future'.
Compositional Technique
Françaix often connects movements by starting the next one in the same key as the preceding one, and in his finales, he frequently reprises main themes from other movements.
Composition History
Jean Françaix wrote his Clarinet Concerto in 1967-68 for Jacques Lancelot, who premiered it soon after its completion.
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