San Francisco Classical Voice

Every time I hear the Clarinet Sonata in f minor by Johannes Brahms, I am grateful to Richard Muhlfeld for luring Brahms out of retirement to write that glorious piece (and three others as well) for him. Last Monday evening, clarinetist Richard Stoltzman and pianist David Deveau rendered a flawless performance of the sonata to an appreciative audience at Herbst Theater. Stoltzman and Deveau played the piece as one person, capturing every nuance. I was particularly taken with their playing of the second movement, a richly detailed, rhapsodic song in A flat. Stoltzman received a Grammy in 1982 for his recording of both clarinet sonatas (with pianist Richard Goode) and a second Grammy recording in 1996 that also included Brahms' Trio in a minor.

Stoltzman is at his best with pieces of the Romantic period, where his dynamic control and expressiveness are brought to the fore. He displayed such subtlety in Robert Schumann's Phantasiestücke. I've always been surprised that they were not written for voice and piano; I hear the pieces as German Lieder. Stoltzman and Deveau played elegantly.

The first half of the program featured three twentieth century works by Lutoslawski, Carter and Prokofiev. The five dance preludes of Lutoslawski lack direction and provide little harmonic interest. Elliott Carter's Gra ("Play" 1993), for unaccompanied clarinet, was dedicated to Lutoslawski. The piece was quirky and rhapsodic, technically demanding, and employed the use of slap tongue, multiphonics and pitch bending. Before the intermission, Stoltzman and Devau also performed Prokofiev's Sonata in D Major (originally for violin or flute and piano). I particularly enjoyed the two middle movements, a lively scherzo and a calm andante. Stoltzman played the piece with ease; even frequent leaps into the altissimo register fazed him not at all.

Stoltzman is a remarkable clarinetist who never seems to break a sweat. He is so relaxed it is almost annoying, but his "aw shucks" response to applause is refreshing. His encores were transcriptions for clarinet and piano of Gershwin's Preludes.

(Robert Calonico is the Director of Bands at UC Berkeley and a professional free-lance musician in the Bay Area.)

©1999 Robert Calonico, all rights reserved