We haven’t gone to the TSO in a long time, but since we were going to be downtown this weekend, decided to go for the first time this season. The programme was Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, an orchestral arrangement of Leonard Berstein’s Clarinet Sonata and Vaughan Williams’ Symphony #4. Reading the program, we thought we had heard the symphony before because of its war themes. But I think we were just confused with the theme and the fact that we did hear Vaughan William’s Symphony #5 before.
The programme was kind of weak, but I did want to hear the 2nd movement of the Clarinet Concerto. Perhaps you’ve heard of it?
I normally don’t enjoy the timbre of a clarinet but I really enjoy the phrasing and sound in this movement.
The soloist was the TSO’s principal clarinetist Joaquin Valdepeñas whom this year is in his 30th year as the principal clarinetist of the TSO! He doesn’t look that old either, so he probably started holding the chair when he was in his 20s!
Here’s The Star’s review of the concert (but I guess it was the Thursday one).
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