Serenade by Three: Orion Beginnings

Program Notes

Featuring music composed for a clarinetist by a clarinetist, Orion performs Edward Yadzinski's (b. 1940) Bartók Dances for clarinet and piano. Yadzinski speaks of the "cryptic detunings" and "tender legatos" in these wonderfully exotic works. Anyone who has enjoyed the originality and vitality of Bartók's music will find delight in knowing these pieces are based on Bartók's beloved Romanian Folk Dances, Sz 56 (1915).

Isaac Albeniz, a child prodigy, was an adept improvisor and composed very quickly. "Granada" from Suite Espagnole , op. 47 (1886) and "Córdoba" from Chants d'Espagne, op.232 (1892) are typical of his middle-period nationalistic music. Although he admits that they are not grand works, he likes the "sunshine, color, and flavor of olives" that they contain. His biographer notes that these works all use dance rhythms, exotic scales, guitar idioms, and "canto jondo" (i. e. deep or profound song that deals with death or grief, like flamenco). In short, they transport the listener to Spain!

Franz Liszt's Rigoletto Fantasy (1859) is a paraphrase of the quartet from Act 3 of Verdi's opera "Rigoletto." In the quartet, each of the four characters has a different emotional content to his or her theme, which intertwines with the themes of the others. In this transcription, Liszt works his inimitable magic on the themes, enlivening them with grand pianistic virtuosity, which in the minds of some, improves on the original.

Aram Khachaturian's Trio for Clarinet, Violin and Piano (1932) displays highly varying emotions and is based on Armenian and Uzbek folk melodies. The first movement, Andante con dolore, yearning and freely rhythmic, is followed by the passionate Allegro, featuring crashing storms and poetic interludes. The Trio concludes with an equally exotic finale featuring nine colorful variations.

Srul Irving Glick's The Klezmer's Wedding for Clarinet, Violin and Piano (1996) entices the listener with the yearning strains of Klezmer-based elements and styles. A wonderful dialogue between violin and clarinet in the opening movement is complemented by rhythmic accentuations from the piano.

Academy Award-winning composer John Williams arranged three pieces, based on his score for the film Schindler's List (1993), for violin and piano in 1994. The theme from Schindler's List, known by millions, is dedicated to Itzhak Perlman. Anyone who has heard the music of this award-winning cinematic masterpiece will recognize the deeply heartfelt strains of Williams' original score.