Fantasie
by Jörg Widmann
The composer in 2006
PeriodContemporary
Composed1993
Published2005 (2005): Mainz
PublisherSchott Music
Duration7:00[1]
Scoringclarinet in B♭
Premiere
Date1 March 1994 (1994-03-01)
LocationBayerischer Rundfunk, Munich
PerformersJörg Widmann

Fantasie for Solo Clarinet is a solo instrumental work by Jörg Widmann and was composed in 1993. The work is largely based on the usual Romantic melodious sound, though this time with ironic side trips into dance, klezmer and jazz music, the clarinet's equivalent of light music.[1] Widmann’s clarinet showpiece offers wild antics and a Harlequin spirit.[2]

History

The Fantasie for Solo Clarinet, composed in 1993, is one of Widmann’s earliest compositions.[3] He was inspired by Igor Stravinsky's Three Pieces for Solo Clarinet (1919) and Pierre Boulez's Dialogue de l'ombre double (1985) for clarinet and tape.[4] When writing the Fantasie, Widmann had an image of the Harlequin figure from the traditional form of Italian improvised comedy known as commedia dell'arte.[4][a] The piece was premiered by the composer on 1 March 1994 at Bayerischer Rundfunk in Munich.[1]

Music

Written when Widmann was just twenty years old, the Fantasie is filled with virtuoso flourishes and youthful exuberance.[3] He combines conventional playing with extended techniques, and non-pitched sounds.[3] Widmann’s abilities as a clarinetist aided him in composing his Fantasie.[5] The virtuosic work is full of extremes in dynamic, tempo, and character.[6] According to Widmann, the opening multiphonic of the Fantasie is being a parody of new music, since many new works of that time begin in a similar manner.[4] Widmann identifies harmony as the central theme of the work.[7] One very striking sound is the sliding between pitches (glissandos) in the upper registers, sometimes evoking klezmer, at other times "exaggeratedly jazzy" and certainly fun music.[2] Silences are so important, that Widmann carefully notates them in three ways: a breath mark, a breath mark with a fermata (a hold), and actual rests.[2] Near the beginning there was a doleful melody straight out of The Rite of Spring.[8]

Structure

Sections:[9]

  1. Free, rhapsodically
  2. Fast, brilliant
  3. Presto possible
  4. Tempo come prima, ma poco più mosso

Reception

The Fantasie is one of Widmann’s most frequently performed works, both by himself as well as by clarinetists around the world, earning it a place in the standard repertory of unaccompanied works for clarinet.[6] Zachary Woolfe from The New York Times wrote: "...sounding like the most beautiful circus music ever written."[8]

Recordings

Notes

  1. ^ Widmann was not aware of the unaccompanied clarinet work Harlekin (1975) by Karlheinz Stockhausen.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Fantasie". Schott Music. 3 June 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "Jörg Widmann's "Fantasie" with Andrew Lowy". LA Phil. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  3. ^ a b c Dierickx 2018, p. 24.
  4. ^ a b c d Dierickx 2018, p. 103.
  5. ^ Dierickx 2018, p. 76.
  6. ^ a b Dierickx 2018, p. 102.
  7. ^ Dierickx 2018, p. 104.
  8. ^ a b Woolfe, Zachary (15 April 2013). "On Clarinet, the Composer". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved 22 August 2017. (subscription required)
  9. ^ Dierickx 2018.

Sources

Further reading

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