Album insights
In the almost inconceivable era of grace experienced by humanity before the dawn of the 20th century—prior to atonality and the atomic bomb—only a few composers thought about the clarinet and its higher registers. The high E-flat clarinet, hardly known except in military bands, was seldom explored. Harshness was frowned upon as uncivilized. However, composers like Mozart, Weber, Brahms, Reger, along with lesser but noteworthy ones such as Romberg, Fuchs, and Stanford, favored the clarinet for its melodic and resonant qualities, its expressive warmth, and its rich, versatile tonal range. Prior to the invention of the saxophone, the clarinet most closely emulated the human voice among woodwind instruments. With its exceptional control of dynamics—especially in diminuendos and pianissimos—it blends seamlessly with other instruments (strings and brass), almost as if it belongs to the same family. An added advantage is that the human ear does not tire as quickly of the clarinet compared to any other wind instrument. This makes Thea King's presented concert a sheer delight, with the works arranged in chronological order, offering not a punishment but a bright pleasure.