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- William Thomas McKinley
Concerto No. 1 for Clarinet (1977)
- Margun Music (World)
Programme Note
Composer note:
The Concerto is in one movement and to a very real extent could be perceived and interpreted as a concerto-rhapsody or grand rhapsody which develops a through-composed and rapidly modulating linear-melodic profile, set against exquisitely rich harmonies and presented in a virtuosic manner. This ‘rhapsodic’ nature is further enhanced by the fact that the clarinet carries the essential musical line most of the time, culminating the cadenza which echoes and develops the principal material, adumbrates the future material, and demonstrates in traditional fashion a musical display of the soloist’s technical abilities. The Concerto was written very definitely with Richard Stolzman’s talents in mind — his uncanny breath control, his strength to carry forth the long melodic lines, and, above all, his understanding of the melodic tessitura which in this particular work must continually ‘soar’ above the mighty support of the orchestral tapestry in order to sustain the enormous dialogue and dramatic antiphony which this score demands.
— William Thomas McKinley
The Concerto is in one movement and to a very real extent could be perceived and interpreted as a concerto-rhapsody or grand rhapsody which develops a through-composed and rapidly modulating linear-melodic profile, set against exquisitely rich harmonies and presented in a virtuosic manner. This ‘rhapsodic’ nature is further enhanced by the fact that the clarinet carries the essential musical line most of the time, culminating the cadenza which echoes and develops the principal material, adumbrates the future material, and demonstrates in traditional fashion a musical display of the soloist’s technical abilities. The Concerto was written very definitely with Richard Stolzman’s talents in mind — his uncanny breath control, his strength to carry forth the long melodic lines, and, above all, his understanding of the melodic tessitura which in this particular work must continually ‘soar’ above the mighty support of the orchestral tapestry in order to sustain the enormous dialogue and dramatic antiphony which this score demands.
— William Thomas McKinley