Carl Nielsen's Clarinet Concerto features a reduced orchestra, with the clarinet and snare drum acting as the two main protagonists, accompanied by strings, two horns, and two bassoons.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Carl Nielsen's insight that 'Music is Sound' was inspired by the cracking sounds of protective wrapping around a painting, leading him to explore music beyond fixed pitches and traditional techniques.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Carl Nielsen described the clarinet as an instrument that 'can be warm and downright hysterical at the same time, mild as balm or screeching like a tramcar on poorly greased rails'.
Composition History
Carl Nielsen's Clarinet Concerto was composed in 1928, when the 63-year-old composer was still actively pursuing innovation.
Performer Biography
Jonas Frølund, the clarinetist on this recording, has won numerous awards, including the Artist Prize from the Danish Association of Music Critics in 2021 and the Danish Composers' Association's Fair Practice Award in 2023.
Interpretation
Jonas Frølund, the clarinetist, plays a passage in the concerto in one breath, fulfilling the original intention of Carl Nielsen and Aage Oxenvad, the work's dedicatee.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Carl Nielsen, the composer, viewed the clarinet in his concerto as a 'musical persona' or character in a play, inventing motifs that other instruments then respond to.
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