Par SPOHR LOUIS. Louis Spohr?s technically, extremely demanding concertos have long been part of clarinetists? standard repertoire. Like the first clarinet concerto, this second concerto was composed for the clarinetist Johann Hermstedt, probably in the spring of 1810. Critics praised the concerto at its premiere, stating that it was ?undeniably one of the most accomplished works of art of its kind.? Emphasized was also the ?great and brilliant treatment of the solo instrument, combined with a very original orchestra accompaniment, where every part, even the timpani, is obbligato.? The concerto was even then a great success with the audience. For publication, Spohr supplemented the solo part with various ossia passages as simplifying alternatives. These can of course be found in the score as well as in the piano reduction presented in Ullrich Scheideler?s new critical Urtext edition in collaboration with G. Henle Verlag, now for the first time in a reliable edition. / Date parution : 2022-10-12/ Répertoire / Orchestre et Clarinette

Davies's feeling for the potency and bravura of the clarinet goes back to works of the 1960s; his concerto for the instrument is predictably a big ranging piece in two linked movements. The first fast with a brief slowintroduction has the soloist in propulsive melodic flights slipping over into florid runs but it is a virtuoso piece for the orchestra especially for the marimba and pair of horns. The Adagio that follows is in the spare cold birdcall-riven style of other recent Davies slow movements exploiting first the clarinet's low register and then at its climax the instrument's high extremes. A cadenza leads to the coda where Davies introduces a Scots tune previously hinted at with which he brings the work to an end in F sharp major.Miniature score.