solomon: Clarinet Sonata

Languid, playful, lush, ecstatic — this sonata started life in 2013 as a gift to a dear friend of mine who shared my cheekily irreverent stance towards the classical canon. It took a few years after that to find its final form (and a few years after that to get to this recording), but the final piece keeps that lighthearted spirit close to its core, juxtaposing winsome, heartfelt moments with passages of just plain fun.

And so the first movement opens with a mock-tragic introduction before the clarinet nudges things into an off-beat sonata form with a scampering first theme and lyrical second one. The central aria takes a moment to plumb the unconscious depths of dreams, finding joy and sorrow, freedom and bittersweet yearning amid the shrouded mysteries there before the third movement brings everything home with a mercurial rondo that features the raucously squawky honks of the tiny baby of the clarinet family, the obstreperous Eb.

Music written by brin solomon it/itself.
Music performed by Andy Hudson, clarinet, and Ināra Zandmane, piano.
Produced, engineered, and mixed by Andrew M. Rodriguez.
Album artwork by Raffi Marhaba.