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El caleidoscopio romántico… fábula, fantasía y drama
CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS | Sonata para clarinete y piano, Op. 167
LEOŠ JANÁČEK | Pohádka (Fábula) en tres movimientos para violonchelo y piano
NINO ROTA | Trío para clarinete, violonchelo y piano
ROBERT KAHN | Serenata para clarinete, violonchelo y piano, en Fa menor, Op. 73
Clarinet: Félix Romero Ríos
Violoncello: Orna Carmel
Piano: Elena Braslavsky
Program notes
Throughout the evening, the French clarinet of Saint-Saëns and the Moravian cello of Janáček take turns in their duet with the piano, ultimately converging in the trio and serenade by the Italian Nino Rota and the German Robert Kahn, blending timbres into pure poetry.
Our fascination with musical child prodigies, from Mozart to Korngold, often leads us to overlook the extraordinary late works of some composers. The Serenade for Clarinet and Piano was written by Saint-Saëns at the age of 85. Composed in 1920, nearly a decade after Proust published the famous passages on the apocryphal Vinteuil Sonata, this piece could easily be described with words that encapsulate the French musical spirit of the Belle Époque (Fauré, Franck, Debussy, and Saint-Saëns himself). Belonging to an earlier era than the one in which it was composed, the serenade reflects the sensibilities of this classical and romantic elder, a contemporary of the "Philistines" Stravinsky and Schoenberg. As Proust wrote in Swann’s Way: “The musical phrase expanded his soul, much like certain rose fragrances lingering in the moist atmosphere of night have the power to widen our nostrils. Perhaps because he did not know music, he could experience such a vague impression—one of those impressions that may be the only truly musical ones: concentrated, utterly original, and irreducible to any other category of impressions”.
Pohádka means “Fairy Tale” in Czech and is inspired by the poem “The Tale of Tsar Berendey” by Russian Romantic poet Vasily Zhukovsky, a precursor to Pushkin. The poem tells the sorrowful story of a tsar without an heir. Leo Janáček (1854–1928), who had lost his first son at the age of two, began composing this piece after the death of his daughter Olga, aged 21, in 1910. Written in Janáček’s uniquely original language—achieved in his maturity after freeing himself from nationalist influences—the piece reflects echoes of Russian folklore and exhibits a singular rhythmic drive over a serene, almost resigned, backdrop.
It should not be unusual for film composers’ works to appear in concert halls, especially in the case of Nino Rota (1911–1979), who illuminated cinematic masterpieces by Fellini (La Strada, La Dolce Vita, 8½ Otto e mezzo, Amarcord and Casanova) and won an Oscar for The Godfather Part II. Alongside his film career, Rota developed a substantial body of classical and operatic works. His Trio for Clarinet, Cello, and Piano (1973) is one of his most frequently performed chamber pieces. Consisting of three movements—1. Allegro, 2. Andante, 3. Allegrissimo—it boasts a classical structure and rich melodic invention, undoubtedly a hallmark of his style, with an inevitable cinematic resonance.
The German composer Robert Kahn (1865–1951) grew up under the influence of Johannes Brahms, who even offered to teach him as a child and supported him in his early career. Inspired by the Hamburg master, Kahn devoted himself primarily to chamber music in a style that was no longer contemporary with his time. Yet, this does not detract from the beauty of works like the Serenade for Cello, Clarinet, and Piano, Op. 73, written in 1922. This piece, which appears in every anthology for this ensemble, is celebrated for its lyrical beauty. It comprises three movements: 1. Allegretto grazioso e moderato, 2. Vivace, 3. Variations on an Original Theme.
José María Jurado García-Posada