24-year-old clarinetist Andreas Ottensamer was recently appointed as principal clarinetist of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. That achievement is a huge accomplishment for such a young man. What’s certainly impressive is that his father and older brother are both principal clarinetists with the Vienna Philharmonic. Great musical DNA!
On this CD, Mr. Ottensamer plays works spanning from the 18th to the 20th century. His style is sensitive and full of charm. He can play swing, as displayed in an excellent reading of the Copland Clarinet Concerto. He has a distinctive instrumental voice that isn’t a copy of any famous predecessor, such as Richard Stoltzman or Sabine Meyer.
The program on this diverse recording is:
Beach:
- Berceuse, Op. 40 No. 2
(From Three Compositions for violin and piano op. 40, arr. for clarinet and orchestra by Stephan Koncz)
Cimarosa:
- Clarinet Concerto in C minor, freely arranged by Arthur Benjamin.
Aaron Copland:
- Clarinet Concerto
Clause Debussy:
- Préludes – Book 1: No. 8, La fille aux cheveux de lin.
(From Préludes, Book 1, arr. for clarinet and orchestra by Stephan Koncz)
Gershwin:
- Prelude No. 1
(From Three Preludes for piano solo, arr. for clarinet and orchestra by Stephan Koncz)
Spohr:
- Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in C minor, Op. 26
Here is Andreas, as he explains and plays Debussy’s ‘La fille aux cheveux de lin’, which was originally written for solo piano, and has been adapted by arranger Stephan Koncz to be performed on the clarinet. Andreas demonstrates why the music works so well with the clarinet’s tonal palette:
And next, Andreas Ottensamer performs Gershwin’s Three Preludes:
Tags: Andreas Ottensamer, Clarinet, Copland, Gershwin, Spohr, Debussy, Cimarosa, Beach