Search - Copland, Barber, Ginastera :: Two Pieces for String Orch / Adagio for Strings

World-class strings and a clarinet sensation

Stephan Borgehammar (stephanb@hem3. | Uppsala, Sweden | 06/22/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Buy this record in order to hear fascinating compostitions played by a world-class ensemble from an obscure Swedish town, under a world-class Hungarian conductor. Buy it for its excellent technical quality. Above all, buy it because it features Karin Dornbusch, bright new star on the clarinet heavens.Miss Dornbusch performs the concerto in two movements by Aaron Copland, one of the best concertos ever written for clarinet. In the first movement her playing is hesitant and vulnerable. She sings her song with a tender fragility that hurts, and Musica Vitae creates a paradisical backdrop.The cadenza at the end of the first movement effects a miraculous metamorphosis: the ewe-lamb becomes a she-wolf! A supercharged jam-session ensues. The final build-ups will take you to the edge of your chair and beyond... (A sedative has thoughtfully been included on the record, in the form of the soothing Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber.)Some might prefer Richard Stoltzmann's supremely confident all-honey rendering of the Copland concerto. But Karin Dornbusch has obviously learnt much from him, and while her clarinet doesn't ooze quite as much honey she is more versatile. This is a very colourful recording, and it's sure to create a lot of Dornbusch fans. I'm one!"