Search - Othmar Schoeck, Olivier Messiaen, Frits Celis :: Bass Clarinet

It's An Interesting Collection of Bass Clarinet Music

Jonathan Smith | San Diego, CA | 12/19/1999

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Renate Rusche has compiled an interesting collection of bass clarinet music for her CD, SCENE. There are solo pieces, a piece with piano accompaniment, one with a chamber group (Celis' Op. 27 for Bass Clarinet and String Quartet), and one concerto for Bass Clarinet and Orchestra (Dietrich Erdmann). Her playing is flawless, her tone is perfect and correct, but a little stiff at times. I'd like to hear less pure tone and more style.Several of the pieces involve interplay between the soloist and the accompanist, and this could have been developed further or emphasized more. Still, they are all excellent performances, and this collection is well worth purchasing just for the exposure to the material (bass clarinet music is hard to find).The most successful of the pieces are the solo pieces, where the capabilities of the instrument come out, especially the Sonata for Bass Clarinet Solo by Harald Genzmer. This one, plus the Abyss of the Birds solo by Messianen, are also successful because they avoid the tendency of the listener to hear the treble instruments over the bass ones (in some of the accompanied pieces the accompaniment stands out over the bass clarinet).But definitely make this part of your library!"