Copland Concerto for Clarinet
AARON COPLAND 1900 - 1990
CONCERTO FOR CLARINET AND ORCHESTRA (WITH HARP AND PIANO)
Andante Sostenuto
Molto Moderato (Molto Rubato)
Copland himself provided the following analysis of this concerto:-
“The first movement is simple in structure, based upon the usual A-B-A song form. The general character of this movement is lyrical and expressive. The cadenza that follows provides the soloist with considerable opportunities to demonstrate his prowess, at the same time introducing fragments of the melodic material to be heard in the second movement.
Some of this material represents an unconscious fusion of elements obviously related to North and South American popular music (For example, a phrase from a currently popular Brazilian tune, heard by the composer in Rio, became embedded in the secondary material in F major.) The over-all form of the final movement is that of a free rondo, with several side issues developed at some length. It ends with a fairly elaborate coda in C major.”
The concerto was written specifically for Benny Goodman, the style of whose playing inevitably influenced much of the solo writing; the cool, lyrical quality of the first movement, the incisive rhythmical attack and “hot” jazz of the cadenza, and, in the second movement, the exploitation of the highest register (including an optional double top B flat), and the final glissando.
Copland began work on the concerto in 1947, finished the first movement in Rio de Janiero while on a goodwill tour of South America, (presumably when he heard the popular song referred to above),and completed the whole concerto in New York State early in the autumn of 1948.
Benny Goodman gave the first performance in November 1950, and the concerto was used in the following year for a ballet Pied Piper, choreographed by Jerome Robbins for the New York City Ballet.
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