Sonata for clarinet and piano - one of the last works by Francis Pulenka , written in 1962 . This is one of the most popular pieces in the repertoire of modern clarinetists.
The sonata is dedicated to the memory of Arthur Onegger and was first performed on April 10, 1963 (three months after the death of Pulenk himself) in Carnegie Hall ( New York ). Clarinet part performed by Benny Goodman , piano part - Leonard Bernstein
The first performers of this composition in the USSR were Lev Mikhailov and Maria Yudina .
The work consists of three parts:
- Allegro tristamente (Allegretto - Très calme - Tempo allegretto)
- Romanza (Très calme)
- Allegro con fuoco (Très animé)
This sonata is the second in a series of Pulenka sonatas for wind instruments and piano, along with the Sonata for Flute ( 1956 ) and the Sonata for Oboe ( 1962 ). Judging by the correspondence, Pulenk worked on two sonatas (for clarinet and piano and for oboe and piano) in parallel.
“Two sonatas are thoroughly advanced. Noise will complete the rest. In cut, they look like a Sonata for flute, but more piquant - a tribute to the used two wooden instruments,” he wrote on August 6, 1962 to singer Pierre Bernak [1] .
- ↑ Francis Poolenc. Letters. - Leningrad: Soviet composer, 1970 .-- S. 254.