Unsuk Chin: Clarinet Concerto

22nd October, 2015
Royal Festival Hall, London, United Kingdom

STRAVINSKY Fireworks
UNSUK CHIN Clarinet Concerto
WAGNER Tristan und Isolde - Prelude and Liebestod
LIGETI Atmosphères
RAVEL Daphnis et Chloe Suite No. 2

Kari Kriikku (clarinet)
Alwyn Mellor (soprano)
Philharmonia Orchestra
Nicholas Collon (conductor)



This is the sort of programme that messes up one's mind. To be honest, I only went because of Unsuk Chin's "Clarinet Concerto", the latest addition to her favourite genre of composition. She made it explicitly clear in the notes that it is neither traditional nor avant garde. It was 25 min of the soloist battling against a monstrous orchestra. This is a composition where every parameter in music was taken to the very extreme to form a fascinating survey of harmonics and timbre, and extended instrumental techniques were often called upon from both the soloist and the orchestra. It was less in-your-face as her other concertos, but, as far as I can tell, much more nuanced and polystylistic (in a tasteful way). The ephemeral sound mass in the second movement sets up nicely the ethereal "Atmosphères" by her teacher, Ligeti. However, I often find "clever" mammoth programmes like this more conceptually exciting than there is substance, and sadly it was true in the second half. The Wagner felt quite thin, the Ligeti way too dynamic and episodic and the Ravel was exciting with little depth or breathing. The playing was exceptional throughout starting from the shameless Stravinsky showpiece to the wild dances of the Ravel, and the winds in particular well deserve a couple of pints tonight, plus the Unsuk Chin must have been terribly difficult to put together. It is just that expectation is high when this sort of programme is presented and Nicholas Collon needs to age (it will happen). The Unsuk Chin was well worth it though.



This entry was originally published in my private Instagram account.