Articles

12 Days of Clarinet Christmas, Part II

Vandoren Christmas Tree

Back by popular demand – the 12 Days of Clarinet Christmas, repertoire edition!

My original 12 Days of Clarinet Christmas (which you can read here) is a countdown of scale, etude, and other exercises to improve clarinet fundamentals. This second installment is a collection of (mostly) standard repertoire for clarinet. This is by no means a comprehensive list, and I hope my suggestions give you ideas for what pieces to play next. Whether you’re looking for new pieces to perform in 2017 or searching for music to add to your bucket list, I hope these ideas inspire you and help you to share the greatest gift of all – music!

12 Orchestral excerpts

  1. Beethoven – Symphony No. 6
  2. Beethoven – Symphony No. 8
  3. Brahms – Symphony No. 3
  4. Kodály – Dances of Galanta
  5. Mendelssohn- “Scherzo” from A Midsummer Night’s Dream
  6. Prokofiev – Peter and the Wolf
  7. Rachmaninov – Symphony No. 3
  8. Respighi – Pines of Rome
  9. Rimsky-Korsakov – Capriccio Espagnol
  10. Rimsky-Korsakov – Scheherazade
  11. Shostakovich – Symphony No. 9
  12. Stravinsky – Firebird

11 Sonatas

  1. Arnold – Sonatina
  2. Bax – Sonata in D Major ; Sonata in E Major
  3. Bernstein – Sonata
  4. Brahms – Sonatas, Op. 120, No. 1 and No. 2
  5. Hindemith – Sonata
  6. Martinů – Sonatina, H. 356
  7. Poulenc – Sonata
  8. Reger – Sonatas, Op. 49, No. 1 and No. 2 ; Sonata, Op. 107
  9. Saint-Saëns – Sonata, Op. 167
  10. Stanford – Sonata, Op. 129
  11. Weinberg – Sonata, Op. 28

10 Concerti

  1. Bozza – Concerto
  2. Copland – Concerto
  3. Corigliano – Concerto
  4. Finzi – Concerto, Op. 31
  5. Francaix – Concerto
  6. Mozart – Concerto in A Major, K. 622
  7. Nielsen – Concerto, Op. 57
  8. Spohr – Concerto No. 1, Op. 26 ; Concerto No. 2, Op. 57 ; Concerto No. 3, WoO 19 ; Concerto No. 4, WoO 20
  9. Tomasi – Concerto
  10. Weber – Concerto No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 73 ; Concerto No. 2 in E-flat Major, Op. 74

9 Unaccompanied solos

  1. Berio – Sequenza IXa
  2. Carter – Gra
  3. Denisov – Sonata for Clarinet Solo
  4. Donatoni – Clair
  5. Martino – A Set for Clarinet
  6. Osbourne – Rhapsody (originally for bassoon)
  7. Rozsa – Sonatina for Clarinet Solo
  8. Stravinsky – Three Pieces
  9. Sutermeister – Capriccio

8 Solos for clarinet & piano

  1. Babin – Hillandale Waltzes
  2. Berg – 4 Stücke, Op.5
  3. Dunhill – Phantasy Suite, Op. 91
  4. Francaix – Theme and Variations
  5. Gade – 4 Fantasiestücke for Clarinet and Piano, Op.43
  6. Lutoslawski – Dance Preludes
  7. Muczynski – Time Pieces, Op. 43
  8. Schumann – Fantasy Pieces, Op. 73

7 Solo de concours

  1. Bozza – Bucolique
  2. Busser Cantegril, Op. 72
  3. Debussy – Premiere Rhapsodie
  4. Mazellier – Fantaisie Ballet
  5. Messager – Solo de concours
  6. Rabaud – Solo de concours, Op. 10
  7. Rueff – Concertino, Op. 15

6 Encore pieces

  1. Chopin – Fantaisie-impromptu, Op. 66
  2. Giampieri – Carnival of Venice
  3. Monti – Czardas
  4. Rimsky-Korsakov – Flight of the Bumblebee
  5. Schreiner – Immer Kleiner
  6. Williams – Viktor’s Tale

5 Quintets for clarinet and strings

  1. Brahms – Quintet in B Minor, Op. 115
  2. Fuchs – Quintet in E-flat Major, Op. 102
  3. Mozart – Quintet in A Major, K. 581
  4. Reger – Quintet in A Major, Op. 146
  5. Weber – Quintet in B-flat Major, Op. 34

4 Quartets for clarinet and strings

  1. Crusell – Quartet No. 1 in E-flat Major, Op. 2 ; Quartet No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 4 ; Quartet No. 3 in D Major, Op. 7
  2. Hummel – Quartet in E-flat Major, S. 78
  3. Messiaen – Quatuor pour la fin du temps
  4. Stamitz (Carl) – Quartet in D major, Op.8 No.1

3 Trios for clarinet, string, and piano

  1. Bartok – Contrasts, Sz. 111, BB 116
  2. Beethoven – Trio in B-flat Major, Op. 11
  3. Bruch – 8 Pieces, Op.83

2 Duos for clarinet

  1. Larsen – Yellow Jersey
  2. Poulenc – Sonata for Two Clarinets, FP 7

1 Piece to rule them all (the clarinets, that is)

  1. Balentine – The Devil’s Advice to Storytellers (unaccompanied solo for clarinets in E-flat, B-flat, A, and bass clarinet)

One Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.