It’s been a very good couple of years for the clarinet repertoire, what with magnificent new concertos written by Lindberg, Rautavaara, and now this one by Kalevi Aho. Intensely lyrical, thematically memorable, and beautifully scored, this piece easily should find a home in concert halls throughout the world. Aho has said that he writes melodically because it is still the best tool for the musician to convey the most expressive information in the smallest space; the truth of his observation is evident in every bar of this evocative concerto. It covers a huge range of moods, from a Tempestoso opening to its emotional core, an Adagio mesto (“sad”), that leads to a Mysterioso conclusion. Along the way there’s plenty of virtuosity, of which Martin Fröst takes full advantage.
The Nielsen Concerto, perhaps the greatest work in the medium, also receives an outstanding performance, though I have one small reservation. This is an eruptive, often angry work–I’m thinking of such moments as the cadenza after figure 7, marked “passionato”, and in some of the duels between clarinet and snare drum. Fröst plays all of these passages with consummate technique, but with such nimbleness and ease of articulation that some of the music’s inherent stridency and combattiveness seems to get lost. This is only obvious in direct comparison to such performances as Olle Schill’s (also on BIS), or perhaps the Drucker/Bernstein (Sony), where the two soloists manage to turn admittedly more effortful performances to more intense expressive effect.
I suspect that for most listeners this won’t be a big deal, and Fröst’s musicianship is such that he’s a joy to listen to in any circumstances. There isn’t a minute in either work where you will find your attention wandering, particularly with such sympathetic accompaniments from Vänskä and the Lahti Symphony Orchestra, never mind the spectacular sonics in both stereo and SACD surround formats. This is an excellent release, then, irrespective of one’s personal take on the individual merits of various versions of the Nielsen. For the Aho alone, it certainly belongs in the collections of clarinet fans.
