Arias & Barcarolles; Sonata for Clarinet and Piano; Touches: Chorale, Eight Variations and Coda; Prelude, Fugue & Riffs
1:00 pm
Saturday, January 27, 2018
Guildhall School of Music & Drama
Milton Court
London, England
Two works for clarinet reveal Bernstein’s innate feeling for jazz; his Clarinet Sonata has echoes of Aaron Copland while the Prelude, Fugue and Riffs, written for Benny Goodman, has become a much loved concert-work for our time. Touches, written for the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 1980, tests the pianist – literally! – in many different techniques but always with charm and wit. And as song-writer, Bernstein’s love of and feeling for words and his gift for melody come together perfectly.