phantom intermezzo (2021) for clarinet and piano
phantom intermezzo was written for the Willinger Duo in July 2021.
For me, it’s impossible to think about repertoire for clarinet and piano without thinking of Brahms, and as I was writing this piece his music was never far from my mind. phantom intermezzo is a kind of ghostly homage, a short and delicate piece which alludes to Brahms while never outright quoting, like a distant memory that has begun to fade. The work opens in a fragile sequence of descending arpeggios, a subtle nod to the melancholy downward runs from the Intermezzo in B Minor from Op. 119. There’s a rhythmic instability to the music, a changing sense of pulse that suggests Brahms’s swirling syncopations and crossrhythms. A lyrical clarinet line interweaves with these arpeggios, growing in intensity before fading into the shimmering resonance of the piano. phantom intermezzo may be played on its own, or programmed alongside the Intermezzo in B Minor, either of the Clarinet Sonatas, or another work by Brahms. phantom intermezzo was written in July 2021 for Elisha and Lior Willinger.
For me, it’s impossible to think about repertoire for clarinet and piano without thinking of Brahms, and as I was writing this piece his music was never far from my mind. phantom intermezzo is a kind of ghostly homage, a short and delicate piece which alludes to Brahms while never outright quoting, like a distant memory that has begun to fade. The work opens in a fragile sequence of descending arpeggios, a subtle nod to the melancholy downward runs from the Intermezzo in B Minor from Op. 119. There’s a rhythmic instability to the music, a changing sense of pulse that suggests Brahms’s swirling syncopations and crossrhythms. A lyrical clarinet line interweaves with these arpeggios, growing in intensity before fading into the shimmering resonance of the piano. phantom intermezzo may be played on its own, or programmed alongside the Intermezzo in B Minor, either of the Clarinet Sonatas, or another work by Brahms. phantom intermezzo was written in July 2021 for Elisha and Lior Willinger.
selected performances
May 2022 — Willinger Duo, New Voices, Peabody Conservatory of Music, Baltimore, MD [upcoming]
May 2022 — Willinger Duo, New Voices, Peabody Conservatory of Music, Baltimore, MD [upcoming]