Composer John Corigliano’s Clarinet Concerto is one of contemporary classical music’s most important — and notoriously difficult — pieces to play.
Taking center stage to perform the work with a symphony orchestra is a major moment in any musician’s career.
“So I just sent him an email, out of the blue, and told him a little about myself and that I was playing this work.”So Shafer headed to New York with his clarinet and played for the composer, who is widely considered one of the most consequential figures of American music. Corigliano has written multitudes of classical offerings in his career, orchestral and chamber pieces, choral works, operas and film scores.
Denver audiences will get to hear the result on three occasions starting on Nov. 3. The program will be led by the orchestra’s Principal Conductor Peter Oundjian and opens with Beethoven’s overture to “Egmont.” The closing work is Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6, also known as his “Pathétique Symphony.” It was the composer’s final work and known for its dramatic highs and lows.
Shafer offered some advice to audience members on how to approach the piece as listeners, noting “the wild, unpredictable cadenzas” of the first movement, which can simply be dazzling. The third movement brings it all home with more than a few audacious moments, giving the piece its final “wow effect,” as Shafer put it. That is where some of the most surprising elements show up.
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