Andreas
Ottensamer is a clarinetist with a distinctive sound. His lines have a strongly
vocal inflection, and a controlled sense of lyrical articulation with an
unforgettable ease in legato is characteristic of his playing. His new
recording, “Portraits; The Clarinet Album,” released on Mercury Classics label
in partnership with Deutsche Grammophon is a showcase for his sound.
The disc opens
with a charismatic performance of the first Gershwin Prelude arranged for
clarinet and orchestra. Ottensamer speaks American music without an accent.
Conductor Yannick Nezet-Seguin and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra also
contribute to the wit and humor of this sparkling beginning. The sound of the
recording is big and spacious.
Moving directly to the Copland Clarinet Concerto from Gershwin makes the opening of the
Copland sound too much like a second movement, thereby diminishing some of its uniqueness. But the performance of the Copland is
pleasing, especially the engaging balance between melancholy tenderness and
fierce expressive outbursts. Listen also for the full-bodied sound even at the
quietest dynamics, as for instance in the restatement at [1:46] where the
orchestra is listening and the violins enter ghostly quiet.
Three movements
on this disc, including the Gershwin Prelude and “La fille aux cheveux de lin”
from Debussy’s Préludes Book 1, were arranged for clarinet and orchestra by
Stephan Koncz, who is a cellist and colleague of Ottensamer in the Berliner
Philharmoniker. These arrangements are musical, often imaginative, and are a
welcome addition to the disc.
“La fille aux
cheveux de lin” is transposed a half-step down from Gb to F (so she is not the
“girl” you knew from childhood), but once you become used to the new key the
color proves resonant and richly vibrant in the orchestra.
The greatest
surprise on this disc is the Cimarosa Concerto for Clarinet and Strings which
was “freely arranged” from keyboard works by Arthur Benjamin made in 1942.
Benjamin’s fabulous transcription of this work was written for either oboe or
clarinet as the solo instrument. The work is well known and often recorded as
an oboe concerto, but Ottensamer makes a convincing case for hearing the work
as a clarinet concerto.
One can never
have enough Beach, and the arrangement of Amy Beach's “Berceuse,” the central movement
of the “Three Works for Violin and Piano Op. 40 No. 2” makes for a very
effective sonic sorbet as palette cleanser between concerti. The dialog between
clarinet and orchestral strings in the performance is enchanting.
The disc closes
with the Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra No.?1 in C minor op. 26 by Louis
Spohr [1784–1859]. “Several times in this concerto,” said Ottensamer in the
well-written program booklet, “a long build-up in the melody is followed by a
technically challenging passage with no space to breathe. There are certainly
ways of taking a breath somewhere in between, but here – when it supports the
musical line – circular breathing can be very useful.” Long, fluid lines that
defy gravity are something of his trademark and the detail in passage work made
possible by his breath support continues to amaze, even on repeated listenings.
The Spohr
requires a particular musical intelligence and both conductor and soloist
tracked and disentangled the contours its form in order to bring clarity. When
the music first finds its way to E-flat major [2:25] there is a preface that is
like a musical parenthesis; like an emcee who arrives to announce that the
second theme group will begin momentarily. Most performances grab for this
mirage and land like it was a matter of survival. Ottensamer and Nezet-Seguin
knew that the music must first move into the colorful key of G-flat major
[2:36] before finding the real second theme group [3:18]. Listen for the way
they focus all parameters of the score to mark the occasion. They make it worth
the wait.
I am happy to add
this disc to my collection. Ottensamer is known for his work as clarinetist
with the Berliner Philharmoniker, and his sound is well-documented in the
Digital Concert Hall. This disc provides
an opportunity to hear how his playing can sparkle in an extended narrative as
soloist.
