Clarinet Concerto

Commissioned by Tim Thorne for BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Generously funded by the Worshipful Company of Musicians with sincere thanks to Hugh Lloyd, Chris Lawrence, John Cranmer & Rob Plane. 

I - Adrenaline

II - Isotonic

III - Threshold

IV - Hypertension

When BBC NOW approached me about a commission for their 90th Birthday Celebration I asked producer Tim Thorne about the possibility of writing a clarinet concerto for principal clarinettist Rob Plane. Rob and I are both keen distance runners and I used this as a starting point for the structure of the concerto (which loosely relates to running a marathon).

The first movement ‘Adrenaline’ is full of recurring energetic principle lyrical themes interspersed with wilder outbursts of energy from the orchestra. ’Isotonic’ begins with short fragmented gestures in the solo clarinet before sparse woodwinds instruct with short stabs of counterpoint. The initial energetic material exhausts itself and is eventually replaced by slower repetitive grooves in the strings and bass instruments. The movement concludes with a particularly energised and sprightly passage for the soloist. ‘Threshold’ provides significant contrast to the remaining movements. Based upon two interlocking chorales, the movement is essentially a set of variations and is much sparser, delicate and overtly lyrical than the surrounding movements. A sense of energy returns in ‘Hypertension’ where cascades of woodwinds figures swirl through hexachords with the highly animated solo clarinet articulating a range of contrasting gestures which move in an unpredictable manner.