Sharon Kam - Weber, Kurpiński & Crusell: Works for Clarinet & Orchestra (2020) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

Together with Bernhard Henrik Crusell’s concerto (composed in the same year - 1811 - as Weber’s) and that by the Polish composer Karol Kurpiński (which still remains unknown), this album is a diverse survey of early Romantic-era clarinet concertos.

“After 20 years of recording the Weber concerto with Kurt Masur, I see and feel this piece very differently. I now try to play it more lightly, more ‘Rossini-like’, than the heavier romantic approach I previously adopted”, she explains.

Sharon Kam is one of the world’s leading clarinet soloists and has been working with renowned orchestras in the United States, Europe, and Japan for over 20 years. Mozart’s clarinet masterpieces have been an object of artistic focus for Ms. Kam since the beginning of her career. At the age of 16, she performed the Mozart Clarinet Concerto in her orchestral debut with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and Zubin Mehta. A short time later, she performed the Clarinet Quintet with the Guarneri String Quartet in Carnegie Hall, New York. As a passionate chamber musician, Sharon Kam regularly works with artists such as Lars Vogt, Christian Tetzlaff, Enrico Pace, Daniel Müller-Schott, Leif Ove Andsnes, Carolin Widmann and the Jerusalem Quartet. She is a frequent guest at festivals in Schleswig-Holstein, Heimbach, Rheingau, Risør, Cork, Verbier, and Delft, as well as the Schubertiade festival. On this newest release, she performs the works of Weber, Kurpinski, and Crusell alongside the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Tracklist:
01. Clarinet Concerto No. 2 in E-Flat Major, Op. 74, J. 118: I. Allegro (8:32)
02. Clarinet Concerto No. 2 in E-Flat Major, Op. 74, J. 118: II. Andante con moto (6:39)
03. Clarinet Concerto No. 2 in E-Flat Major, Op. 74, J. 118: III. Alla polacca (6:35)
04. Clarinet Concerto in B-Flat Major (12:10)
05. Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in E-Flat Major, Op. 1: I. Allegro (48kHz) (10:10)
06. Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in E-Flat Major, Op. 1: II. Adagio (3:24)
07. Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in E-Flat Major, Op. 1: III. Rondo. Allegretto (48kHz) (6:11)

Personnel:
Sharon Kam, clarinet
ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra
Gregor Bühl, direction

Please note: Tracks "5,7 are in 48kHz/24bit format.