Klarinette in B (Variazioni for Clarinet and Piano)

Variazioni for Bb Clarinet and Piano was composed in 2018. It provides a rich assortment of virtuosic passages for both the clarinetist and pianist while at the same time supporting an opportunity for the two musicians to engage in pure chamber music throughout the work. The structure is loosely centered around the concept of a classical set of variations, yet the music flows and develops its ideas simultaneously along a series of continuous melodic gestures and harmonic progressions from beginning to end. The opening 12-measure “Thema” is in 3/4 meter and outlines a jazzy rhythmic texture not unlike that of 1950’s American Bebop. It is followed by 12 variations that explore a variety of moods and character. For example, Variation 3 (at rehearsal C) features a cantabile clarinet melody. Variation 4 (at D) is a 12-measure segment marked “with a bit of Swing.” The piano is featured as a soloist in the “Agitato” section of Variation 6, but eventually the clarinet joins in. The clarinet gets a chance to shine with an impromptu unaccompanied solo section in Variation 9 (at I) with indications marked “Quasi Cadenza, con rubato.” After the work builds up to an intense and truncated climax in Variation 12 (at L), a sparce and quiet finale is suddenly revealed at the conclusion of the work. This 12-bar Coda – marked Tranquillo – consists of simple block chords tolling on the piano. The meditation is soon joined by a haunting rising melodic line played by the clarinet. The purpose of the Coda is to reveal in a more explicit way the harmonic structure that underline each variation of the work. The chordal sequence is hinted at implicitly in the texture of the variations, but function primarily as a fundamental background aspect of the cyclic musical structure. Thus, when the Coda in Variazioni is ultimately revealed at the end of the work, the listener should have a sense of homecoming and arrival since it reveals the structural foundation that the work is based on. The previous variations may be experienced as a step-by-step process of discovering - little-by-little - the basic harmonic flow.