| Fantasie | |
|---|---|
| by Jörg Widmann | |
 The composer in 2006 | |
| Period | Contemporary |
| Composed | 1993 |
| Published | 2005: Mainz |
| Publisher | Schott Music |
| Duration | 7:00[1] |
| Scoring | clarinet in B♭ |
| Premiere | |
| Date | 1 March 1994 |
| Location | Bayerischer Rundfunk, Munich |
| Performers | Jörg Widmann |
Fantasie for Solo Clarinet is a solo instrumental work by Jörg Widmann and was composed in 1993. It is a showpiece.[2] It offers a Romantic melodious sound with dance, klezmer and jazz music elements[1] in a "Harlequin spirit".[2]
The Fantasie for Solo Clarinet, composed in 1993, is one of Widmann's earliest compositions.[3] He was inspired by Igor Stravinsky's Three Pieces for Solo Clarinet (1919) and Pierre Boulez's Dialogue de l'ombre double (1985) for clarinet and tape.[4] Widmann had in mind the Harlequin figure from the Italian commedia dell'arte.[4][a] The piece was premiered by the composer on 1 March 1994 at Bayerischer Rundfunk in Munich.[1]
Widmann wrote the Fantasie, when he was just twenty years old. It's an expression of "youthful exuberance" with "virtuoso flourishes".[3] He combines conventional playing with extended techniques (multiphonics, flutter-tonguing, key clicks),[5] and non-pitched sounds.[3] Widmann's skills in clarinet playing helped him in composing his Fantasie.[6] The piece is full of extremes in dynamic, tempo, and character.[7] Widmann disproved with a sustained four-note chord, that the clarinet is only a one-voice instrument.[8] According to Widmann, the opening multiphonic of the Fantasie is being a parody of new music, since many new works of that time begin in a similar manner.[4] Widmann identifies harmony as the central theme of the work.[9] A typical sound are glissandos in the upper registers, in a klezmer or "exaggeratedly jazzy" style.[2] Silences are important, Widmann notates them as a breath mark, a breath mark with a fermata, and an actual rest.[2] Near the beginning the composer cites a melody from The Rite of Spring.[10]
Sections:[11]
The Fantasie is one of Widmann's most frequently performed works and is standard repertory of unaccompanied works for clarinet.[7] Zachary Woolfe from The New York Times wrote: "...sounding like the most beautiful circus music ever written."[10]
