Search - Ida Kavafian, Peter Serkin, Fred Sherry :: Toru Takemitsu: CANTOS - Fantasma/Cantos / Water-Ways / Waves / Quatrain II - Richard Stoltzman, Clarinet

A rare treat for clarinetist wannabes.

B. Marold | Bethlehem, PA United States | 07/18/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm not sure I would have done any better with my adolescent music lessons if I'd selected the high profile violin, piano, or guitar, but I certainly could not have done worse than with my lowly clarinet choice. I can count on one hand the interesting pieces of classical music written with the clarinet as the featured soloist, and the most famous uses are in 'highbrow' American Jazz compositions, the most famous being the opening to Gershwin's 'Rapsody in Blue'. So, I bought this particular album not for any interest in composer Takemitsu, or even in Clarient virtuoso Stoltzman, but simply in the fact that it featured my beloved licorice stick as a solo instrument.

Much of these cantos would be what a friend of mine describes as sci-fi music, but since they feature the clarinet, they also take on a very 'film noir' air about them. If you, like me, are starved for interesting clarinet music, this album is definitely for you. And, if, also like me, you simply like out of the way musical styles, this one is also a winner on that score."