Talivaldis Keninš (1919–2008) is a name that is not known to most classical listeners despite of his long international career as a composer. This album presents three orchestral works by one of Latvia’s greatest 20th century composers performed by the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Andris Poga and Guntis Kuzma.

Although born in Latvia, Keninš lived most of his life as an exile. He was educated in Paris, where he studied under Tony Aubin and Olivier Messiaen, and won several awards. Keninš emigrated to Canada in 1951and became a respected pedagogue and a very influential figure in Canada’s music life.

Alongside his pedagogic work he wrote a sizeable catalogue of works, including several symphonies and concertos. According to Keninš, chamber music was the highest form of art. His Concerto di camera No. 1 (1981) reveals his love for chamber music. The work contains hints of Bartók. The composer himself mentioned Mozart’s concertos as his model when writing the work. Concerto for Piano, Strings and Percussion (1990) was completed shortly after the composer’s first visit to Latvia since the 1940s. Latvia was struggling to regain its independence and the work has a particularly tense and tragic atmosphere. When the work was premiered in Canada, the composer drew attention to the events unfolding in his home country when describing the work. Keninš wrote his First Symphony in 1959. This expressive work represents well the element of Latvian folk music in the composer’s work fusing it together with contemporary elements. Upon its premiere, the work received several performances in Canada, including CBC radio broadcasts.

Clarinetist Stephan Siegenthaler brings Max Reger's complete works for clarinet back to life, 100 years after his death. Reger barely had 20 productive years of composition however you'd never know it looking at his vast oeuvre, comprised of all genres with the exception of opera. Siegenthaler, born in Switzerland has studied music and performed all throughout Europe including Germany, Geneva and Bratislava.

REVIEW:

All chamber works of Max Reger for clarinet, one with string quartet, the others with piano, are comprised in this compilation. The music is not easy and one has to listen carefully until getting the point, even though the artists on this CD come up with very fine performances.

– Pizzicato

In 2008, Carolin Widmann, Jörg Widmann, Nicolas Altstaedt and Alexander Lonquich performed Olivier Messiaen's Quartet for the end of time for violin, clarinet, cello and piano with the seriousness of spirit and subtle understatement that the work requires. Composed in 1940 in a German prisoner-of-war camp, Messiaen here reached a pinnacle of his composing career at the age of just 31. In this work he conveys to his listeners his spiritual interpretation of (musical) time and plays of colour. With these four exceptional chamber musicians, all masters of their art, the Salzburg Festival was treated to an exemplary performance of this work.

The composing career of Simon Bainbridge (born in London in 1952) is spanned by the four chamber works in this album, all of them cast as single narrative spans. The First String Quartet, written when its composer was not yet twenty, blends lyricism and pointillism, rather as if it were recasting abstract poetry in sound; and the recent Second offers a kaleidoscopic tableau of color and nervous energy inspired by visual art. In his Cheltenham Fragments, as the title suggests, Bainbridge uses mosaic technique to build up textures and thematic outlines. And the long lines of the virtuosic Clarinet Quintet generate fleetfooted whirlwinds as they unfold. Linda Merrick and the Kreutzer Quartet worked closely with the composer on the preparation of these recordings.

The human factor determines the path. The Clarinet Trio op. 114 by Johannes Brahms more or less represents the DNA of the Quantum Clarinet Trio, and the piece was one of the driving forces behind the founding of this young chamber ensemble, whose members first met at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg in 2014. At that time, Italian clarinettist Elena Veronesi had been searching for fellow musicians to collaborate in a late work trio, and she found them in the German cellist Johannes Przygodda and Korean pianist Bokyung Kim. What started as a project has now evolved into a permanent ensemble. This great Brahms trio has continued to be a enterprise in which life converges with art.

Cellists, pianists and clarinettists usually come together when a work requires such a constellation, the line-up going their own separate ways once the project is completed. Compared to piano trios or string quartets, these particular instruments unfortunately rarely come together as a fixed ensemble. The Quantum Clarinet Trio is a welcome exception to the rule, making this encounter with one of Brahms' most important works much more than just a "fleeting liaison".

Around Baermann sees historic clarinet specialist Maryse Legault spotlight the early 19th century clarinet virtuoso Heinrich Baermann, who was one of the most important yet overlooked clarinetists in the history of the instrument.

Born in Potsdam in 1784, Heinrich Baermann honed his skills under the tutelage of virtuoso clarinetist Josef Beer, who was a key figure in the development of the clarinet and its repertoire. B Baermann went on to tour extensively and significantly impacted the clarinet's role in classical music, particularly in France. Around Baermann is Legault’s tribute to Baermann; a giant in his field and one of the more important developers ofthe clarinet’s style, technique, and repertoire.

The starting point for the recording of the album ROOTS was a concert in which Shirley Brill performed Mieczyslaw Weinberg's Sonata for the first time and was deeply moved by its overwhelming emotional power. Being Jewish herself, she resonated deeply with the rich Klezmer folkloric elements expressed so intensely in this Sonata. This experience ignited her passion to explore the integration of national sentiments into classical music, with a particular focus on the neighbouring countries of Germany and Poland.

In ROOTS, Shirley Brill has curated a collection of pieces that demonstrate a masterful integration of folkloric elements, exuding pride in original folk music and a healthy sense of national identity. Yet, this aspect also belongs to the folklore within the music that is heard here: over the course of the 100 years in which the recorded works were composed, an excessive embrace of radical ideologies has slipped into dangerous nationalism.

Weinberg's life and his Clarinet Sonata composed in 1945 serve as a poignant reminder of the catastrophic consequences of such extremism. The range of works presented on the album ROOTS sheds light on the delicate balance between the celebration of cultural heritage (as in the music of Schumann and Lutoslawski) and the intrusion of the destructive forces of nationalism (Weinberg). ROOTS testifies to the power of music to promote unity while simultaneously cautioning us to remain vigilant against the pitfalls of extremist doctrines.

Sounds of COVID-19 is a musical translation of the genetic code of COVID-19, the virus of the 2020 global pandemic. Every segment of the virus is assigned musical pitches. In this way, the sounds reflect the sequence of the virus. When listening from beginning to end, the listener hears nearly the entire genome of COVID-19.

The project centers around Eddy Vanoosthuyse's clarinet artistry, showcasing a personalized and immersive musical experience. There is a unique and reciprocal connection between Eddy Vanoosthuyse as a clarinetist and the contemporary Belgian clarinet repertoire, forming the heart of the 'Belgian Clarinet Heritage'. The artist's lifelong fascination with Belgian and Flemish music speaks to a deep-rooted passion and commitment to the local musical heritage.