CLARINET GOES TO TOWN

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Composer: William Lloyd Webber

Artist(s): Carducci String Quartet, Emma Johnson, John Leneham, Paul Clarvis
Label: Nimbus

Details
The great thing about the clarinet is it can take you anywhere any country, any style, any era and accordingly Clarinet Goes to Town journeys from Brazil to China encompassing styles from Classical to Jazz. It’s basically me letting my hair down with my favourite musicians in party pieces we’ve honed in concert over the past few years. Emma Johnson

Review

This collection of two dozen lollypops provides a showcase for Emma Johnsons cultured style and impeccable technique. On six of the tracks she is joined by the Carducci Quartet; they contribute idiomatic string effects to fast an light accounts of Piazzollas Libertango and accompany a reflective reading of Rachmaninov s Vocalise … On six more she is accompanied by the excellent John Lenehan; these items include some genuine clarinet and piano repertoire such as William Lloyd Webber s pretty Frensham Pond and some new arrangements such as a successful make over of a Chopin Nocturne. The other dozen tracks are played by the trio of Johnson, Lenehan and the drummer Paul Clarvis. The percussion adds some unnecessary punctuation to Debussys Golliwogs Cakewalk, but lends momentum to Alec Templetons jazzy fugue Bach Goes to town. –BBC Music Magazine