View source for Clarinet Concerto (Unsuk Chin)

{{Short description|Piece of music}}
[[Unsuk Chin]]'s '''Clarinet Concerto''' was written in 2014 on a joint commission from the [[Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra]], [[WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne]], [[Philharmonia Orchestra]] (with support of The Meyer Foundation), [[Barcelona Symphony Orchestra and National Orchestra of Catalonia|Barcelona Symphony Orchestra]], and the [[New York Philharmonic]] (with support of The Francis Goelet Fund). A partial premiere of piece was given by the clarinetist [[Kari Kriikku]] and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra conducted by [[Kent Nagano]] at the [[Gothenburg Concert Hall]] on May 8, 2014; the complete concerto was given its world premiere by Kriikku and the New York Philharmonic conducted by [[Alan Gilbert (conductor)|Alan Gilbert]] at [[David Geffen Hall|Avery Fisher Hall]] on September 23, 2014.<ref name="Score">{{Cite web |author=[[Unsuk Chin]] |date=2014 |title=Clarinet Concerto |publisher=[[Boosey & Hawkes]] |url=https://www.boosey.com/cr/music/Unsuk-Chin-Clarinet-Concerto/56093 |accessdate=July 11, 2023}}</ref>
==Composition==
The concerto has a duration of about 25 minutes and is cast in three [[Movement (music)|movements]]:<ref name="Score" />
#Mirage – Fanfare – Ornament
#Hymnos (Hymn)
#Improvisation on a Groove
===Instrumentation===
The work is scored for solo [[clarinet]] and an [[orchestra]] comprising three [[Western concert flute|flutes]] (2nd doubling [[alto flute]]; 3rd doubling [[piccolo]]), three [[oboe]]s (3rd doubling [[Cor anglais]]), four [[clarinet]]s (4th doubling [[bass clarinet]]), three [[bassoon]]s (3rd doubling [[contrabassoon]]), four [[French horn|horns]], four [[trumpet]]s, three [[trombone]]s, [[tuba]], [[timpani]], four percussionists, [[piano]] (doubling [[celesta]]), [[Pedal harp|harp]], and [[String section|strings]].<ref name="Score" />
==Reception==
The concerto has been generally praised by music critics. [[Anthony Tommasini]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' described it as "haunting," writing, "At the opening, the solo clarinet plays breathy, staggered phrases, soon joined by quizzical stirrings in the orchestra. The effect is not spooky, but spellbinding. The music unfolds in fits and starts, with the clarinet breaking loose like some avant-garde jazz improviser, and the orchestra erupting in dense chords that sound like drive-by whooshes."<ref>{{cite web |last=Tommasini |first=Anthony |authorlink=Anthony Tommasini |title=Music Born of Dreams, a Concerto of Many Moods |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=September 24, 2014 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/25/arts/music/new-york-philharmonic-presents-an-unsuk-chin-premiere.html |accessdate=July 11, 2023}}</ref> Richard Fairman of the ''[[Financial Times]]'' similarly wrote, "At times the concerto feels like a musical, out-of-body experience."<ref>{{cite web |last=Fairman |first=Richard |title=Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Festival Hall, London: 'Volatile, playful, naughty' |work=[[Financial Times]] |date=October 25, 2015 |url=https://www.ft.com/content/01390d5c-7974-11e5-933d-efcdc3c11c89 |accessdate=July 11, 2023}}</ref> Ivan Hewett of ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' further remarked, "Normally the soloist is set up in heroic opposition to the orchestra. But here the dialogue was conducted on strikingly different terms. At the beginning, the virtuoso Finnish soloist Kari Kriiku let forth a quiet, unearthly sound, as if his instrument was possessed by ghosts. When he stopped, it seemed as if his sound had left a smear on the air. It was an astonishing aural mirage, brought on by a few players in the orchestra who picked up the clarinet's sound." He added, "This sort of game, where soloist and orchestra swap roles, and often you can't tell where a sound is coming from, is regularly played by modern composers. The game often does no more than tease one's ears, but here it actually engaged the heart and imagination. At times the music developed a threatening force, but just as it was about to explode, an unexpected calm descended – which made the violence more inexplicable, and more scary."<ref>{{cite web |last=Hewett |first=Ivan |title=Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Festival Hall, review: 'a treasure-trove of wonders' |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=October 23, 2015 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/classical-music/philharmonia-orchestra-unsuk-chin--festival-hall--review---/ |accessdate=July 11, 2023}}</ref>
Andrew Clements of ''[[The Guardian]]'' was more critical of the piece, however, remarking, "...for all the awe-inspiring pyrotechnics, musically the piece leaves a rather lightweight impression, and at first hearing it doesn't seem to be the major addition to the clarinet repertoire that, for instance, the concerto that Magnus Lindberg composed for Kriikku in 2002 most certainly is." He added, "Compared with some of Chin's other concertos, such as the outstanding work for cello that she composed six years ago for [[Alban Gerhardt]], there's little dialogue between the solo instrument and the orchestra, which plays a much more subdued and conventional background role than it usually does in her music. Here, there is little evidence of her fabulous ear for inventive sonorities or of her very personal take on tonality and harmony."<ref>{{cite web |last=Clements |first=Andrew |title=Philharmonia/Collon review – a glistening blend of menace and magic |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=October 23, 2015 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/oct/23/philharmonia-collon-review-a-glistening-blend-of-menace-and-magic-unsuk-chin |accessdate=July 11, 2023}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Unsuk Chin}}
[[Category:Concertos by Unsuk Chin]]
[[Category:2014 compositions]]
[[Category:Clarinet concertos|Chin, Unsuk]]
[[Category:Music commissioned by the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra and National Orchestra of Catalonia]]
[[Category:Music commissioned by the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra]]
[[Category:Music commissioned by the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne]]
[[Category:Music commissioned by the Philharmonia Orchestra]]
[[Category:Music commissioned by the New York Philharmonic]]