A Clarinet in America Alexander Fiterstein, English Chamber Orchestra & Chris Hopkins

• Aaron Copland (1900 - 1990): Copland: Clarinet Concerto:
• 1 Copland: Clarinet Concerto: I. Slowly & Expressively 08:12
• 2 Copland: Clarinet Concerto: II. Rather Fast 07:55
• Leonard Bernstein (1918 - 1990): Bernstein: Clarinet Sonata:
• 3 Bernstein: Clarinet Sonata: I. Grazioso 03:45
• 4 Bernstein: Clarinet Sonata: II. Andantino - Vivace e leggiero 06:58
• Miklós Rózsa (1907 - 1995): Rózsa: Sonatina for Clarinet Solo, Op. 27:
• 5 Rózsa: Sonatina for Clarinet Solo, Op. 27: I. Tema con variazioni 06:35
• 6 Rózsa: Sonatina for Clarinet Solo, Op. 27: II. Vivo e giocoso 03:39
• Aaron Copland: Copland: Violin Sonata (Version for Clarinet & Piano):
• 7 Copland: Violin Sonata (Version for Clarinet & Piano): I. Andante semplice 07:31
• 8 Copland: Violin Sonata (Version for Clarinet & Piano): II. Lento 05:06
• 9 Copland: Violin Sonata (Version for Clarinet & Piano): III. Allegretto giusto 07:00
• Total Runtime 56:41

Info for A Clarinet in America

The clarinet has long been embraced by American composers for its jauntiness and jazzy flexibility (think of that slide opening Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue), qualities heard in abundance on this album. We hear Leonard Bernstein's Cuban-influenced Sonata, and the Sonatina by Budapest-born Miklós Rózsa, who made his name as a Hollywood movie composer. These pieces are bookended by two Aaron Copland works, his Concerto, for American jazz clarinettist and King of Swing, Benny Goodman, and his Sonata. Fiterstein's playing with the Tesla Quartet was praised by The Arts Desk as impressive and heart-stopping. The Washington Post described his playing as dazzling in its spectrum of colours, agility, and range. Every sound he makes is finely measured without inhibiting expressiveness and The New York Times described him as a clarinettist with a warm tone and powerful technique.

Alexander Fiterstein, clarinet
English Chamber Orchestra
Chris Hopkins, conductor, piano

Alexander Fiterstein
is considered one of today’s most exceptional clarinettists. Fiterstein has performed in recital, with distinguished orchestras, and with chamber music ensembles throughout the world. He won first prize at the Carl Nielsen International Clarinet Competition and received the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant Award. The Washington Post has described his playing as “dazzling in its spectrum of colors, agility, and range. Every sound he makes is finely measured without inhibiting expressiveness” and The New York Times described him as “a clarinettist with a warm tone and powerful technique.”

As soloist he has appeared with the Czech, Israel, Vienna, and St. Paul Chamber Orchestras, Belgrade Philharmonic, Danish National Radio Symphony, Tokyo Philharmonic, China National Symphony Orchestra, KBS Orchestra of South Korea, Jerusalem Symphony, Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Lincoln Center, Kansas City Symphony, and the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela. He has performed in recital on the Music at the Supreme Court Series, the Celebrity Series in Boston, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the Kennedy Center, the Louvre in Paris, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Tel Aviv Museum, and NYC’s 92d Street Y.

A dedicated performer of chamber music, Fiterstein frequently collaborates with distinguished artists and ensembles and regularly performs with the prestigious Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Among the highly regarded artists he has performed with are Daniel Barenboim, Yefim Bronfman, Mitsuko Uchida, Richard Goode, Emanuel Ax, Marc-Andre Hamelin, Pinchas Zukerman, and Steven Isserlis. He spent several summers at the Marlboro Music Festival and appeared at the Caramoor, Moab, Music@Menlo, Montreal, Toronto, Jerusalem, and Storioni Chamber Music Festivals. Fiterstein has a prolific recording career and had pieces written for him by Samuel Adler, Mason Bates and Paul Schoenfield. He was born in Belarus and immigrated to Israel at the age of two with his family. A Juilliard graduate, he won first prize at the Young Concert Artists International Auditions and received grants from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation. He is currently Associate Professor of Clarinet and Chair of Woodwinds at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University. Fiterstein is a Buffet Crampon and Vandoren Performing Artist.

Chris Hopkins
Equally at home on the concert stage as in the pit, conductor and pianist Chris Hopkins is engaged on a wide range of projects across many disciplines. Recently appointed principal conductor of the English Sinfonia, he is also a frequent face at the London Coliseum, following the success of his ENO conducting debut in 2017. He has since returned to conduct The Magic Flute, Iolanthe and the most recent revival of the legendary production of The Mikado (‘faultlessly conducted by the excellent Chris Hopkins’ London Theatre Reviews). Previously he has worked at the Royal Opera House, Glyndebourne Opera, Opera de Paris, Grange Festival Opera, English Chamber Orchestra, Royal Ballet Sinfonia, Crash Ensemble, WNO, NI Opera, HGO, Opera Holland Park, Wide Open Opera, Garsington Opera, Grange Park Opera, Opera Danube, London Mozart Players, and appeared at many festivals including Aldeburgh, Presteigne, and Latitude. He has performed throughout the UK, in the US, Asia and extensively in Europe as well as live and recorded appearances on BBC 1, Classic FM and BBC Radio 2, 3 and 4. Chris was honoured in 2013 to be made an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music.

The English Chamber Orchestra
is the most recorded chamber orchestra in the world, its discography containing 860 recordings of over 1,500 works by more than 400 composers.

The ECO has also performed in more countries than any other orchestra, and played with many of the world’s greatest musicians. The American radio network CPRN has selected ECO as one of the world’s greatest ‘living’ orchestras. The illustrious history of the orchestra features many major musical figures. Benjamin Britten was the orchestra’s first Patron and a significant musical influence.

The ECO’s long relationship with Daniel Barenboim led to an acclaimed complete cycle of Mozart piano concertos as live performances and recordings, followed later by two further recordings of the complete cycle, with Murray Perahia and Mitsuko Uchida.

Recent tours have included the USA, Bermuda, China, Finland, France, Greece, Slovenia and Austria (culminating in a concert at Vienna’s Musikverein) as well as concerts across the UK and at London’s Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Kings Place and Cadogan Hall.

The Orchestra has been chosen to record many successful film soundtracks including Dario Marianelli’s prizewinning scores for Atonement and Pride and Prejudice, and several James Bond soundtracks, and has taken part in a variety of other film and television projects.

The ECO is proud of its outreach programme, Close Encounters, which is run by the musicians in the orchestra and takes music into many settings within communities and schools around the UK and abroad.

Booklet for A Clarinet in America