Frigyes Hidas, Simon Milton, David Maslanka, Satoshi Yagisawa; Peter Cigleris, Györ Symphonic Band, László Marosi, Ferenc Szabó; SOMM
Reviewed 9 September 2025
4 contrasting up to date works for the intriguing mixture of clarinet and wind orchestra performed by a British clarinettist with a superb Hungarian ensemble
In 2021, clarinettist Peter Cigleris launched Rediscovered, a disc of forgotten British clarinet concertos from the Nineteen Thirties and Nineteen Forties [see my review], and his subsequent recordings on SOMM included a disc of music by Ruth Gipps, and a disc of British chamber music, Eclogue.
He’s persevering with his quest, however his newest disc Clarinet Concertos on SOMM casts its internet reasonably additional afield. Together with the Hungarian ensemble, Győr Symphonic Band, Cigleris has recorded 4 works for solo clarinet and wind orchestra, together with two world-premiere recordings. These are carried out by László Marosi, the world’s foremost authority on Hungarian wind music, and Ferenc Szabó, the founding father of the Györ Symphonic Band.
The concertos are Concerto Semplice by Hungarian composer Frigyes Hidas, Concerto for Clarinet and Band by British composer Simon Milton, the Concerto for Clarinet and Wind Orchestra by American composer David Maslanka, and the Clarinet Concerto by one of many main Japanese composers of music for wind devices, Satoshi Yagisawa.
Györ Symphonic Band is sort of a considerable ensemble with over 50 gamers being listed within the booklet. The disc has a wonderful booklet observe by Robert Matthew-Walker which presents every of the composers and their works, however fails to reply an intriguing query. What got here first? Is that this a disc geared toward presenting Györ Symphonic Band in a number of numerous repertoire, or is it geared toward presenting concertos for clarinet and wind band? If this latter, Matthew-Walker’s observe fails to clarify the fascination of this style, why it’s usually so uncared for and why concentrate on it now? Thus, although the disc is remarkably fulfilling, there are questions hanging over it.
Regardless of his prolific output, music by Frigyes Hidas stays little identified outdoors his native Hungary. His Concerto Semplice (Clarinet Concerto No. 2) was written in 1977 in a model for clarinet and string orchestra. It was so effectively obtained, that the composer create a brand new model for clarinet and wind orchestra which appeared in 1996. The work is in three actions, Allegro giocoso, Sostenuto and Allegro.
Frigyes Hidas spent a lot of the Fifties to the Seventies working as musical director in first the Hungarian Nationwide Theatre and the Budapest Operetta Theatre, and judging by this concerto his music has an immediacy and approachability. Greater than that, there’s nearly a flavour of a Mild Music composer comparable to Eric Coates right here too. The opening Allegro giocoso is stuffed with color and motion, with a preferred really feel to it, but all completed with quite a lot of allure. The second motion, Sostenuto is sluggish and lyrical with lengthy clarinet traces interweaving with the orchestral wind, crating one thing touching. The Allegro finale is nice enjoyable, filled with participating, perky drama.
Born in Cornwall, Simon Milton studied with John Pickard and in 1999 he received the Cornish Younger Composers Competitors. His output contains a lot of works for clarinet, and Peter Cigleris gave the premiere of his Sonatina in One Motion. The work is in three motion, Fragments with Cadenza, Ecstasy: Reasonably and expressively and Finale: With humour.
The primary motion, Fragments with Cadenza, begins with fragments of reasonably edgy percussion materials, the extraordinary clarinet solo then being accompanied by some reasonably haunted music which total offers a really filmic really feel to the drama which climaxes in an intense cadenza, once more with some reasonably eerie percussion. The second motion, Ecstasy: Reasonably and expressively, is intense and edgy, actual highly effective stuff. The ultimate is vigorous, but has a darkish reasonably filmic edge to it. The motion is marked ‘with humour’ but I discover it reasonably intense, and because the materials develops there’s a relentlessness to it. Highly effective, however not likely humorous.
David Maslanka was born in Massachusetts and died in Montana. He studied with H Owen Reed, the composer and instructor who was a pupil of Schoenberg, Copland and Roy Harris. He wrote a big variety of works for live performance band together with the Concerto for Clarinet and Wind Orchestra in 2014. The work is in two substantial actions, Lamentation and Dance. Lamentation begins with a way of sluggish construct, and a clarinet half which appears to trace at Spanish influences. When the piano arpeggio figures are available, the ear is straight away drawn to a Bach/Gounod Ave Maria-like sound phrase, although for causes that aren’t obvious. The motion has an odd, unresolved really feel and although the composer describes it as free improvisation there appears a hidden story someplace. Dance begins vivid and vigorous with hints of Bernstein, but is all of a sudden vibrantly hymn-like. A quick, intense clarinet solo results in a cadenza and, after some quietly touching materials with piano, finally to an enticing up tempo finish. As with the primary motion, we really feel that we’re lacking the story.
Satoshi Yagisawa has written a number of concertante works for devices and wind orchestra together with piano, trumpet, trombone, saxophone and percussion. His Clarinet Concerto was written in 201 for Shinsuke Hashimoto, principal clarinettist of the Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra and the Higashi-Hiroshima Wind Ensemble who premiered the work in 2010. The work is in three actions or sections, Allegro, Intermezzo:Adagio and Vivacissimo which play with out a break
The work begins with an unaccompanied rhapsodic clarinet solo as a prelude with the vivid orchestral introduction the place the music has a really massive band sound. When the clarinet returns the fabric is remarkably perky and Yagisawa efficiently balances his massive orchestral sound with the solo half. The music could be very conventional, to not say backwards-looking but filled with character and drama. The sluggish center part is all quiet and calm, the clarinet solo unfolding towards a richly sustained backdrop. There are moments of a ‘massive tune’ however all the time the sense of the clarinet unfolding. The finale has an enormous, vibrant sound with a busy clarinet cadenza. For a lot of the motion the music has a rhythmic catchiness too.
The massive benefit of this disc is the mixture of Peter Cigleris’ enjoying which is admirably virtuosic but sympathetic to the varied completely different types, together with the superb sound of the wind orchestra itself.
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