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WA CONCERT SERIES Re-debut March 1st at 8pm at the Tenri Cultural Institute
Dear Music Lovers,
Yes, for all of you wondering and for all music lovers, Ayako Oshima and yours truly, Charles Neidich, are excited to announce that the WA Concert Series is re-starting with our re-debut concert March 1st at 8pm at the Tenri Cultural Institute under the auspices of our newly formed non-profit corporation, Artena Foundation, Inc. Our March 1st concert is titled "The World of the Expanded Clarinet."
We are very happy to be joined by the wonderful pianist, Mohamed Shams, and the guru of the bass clarinet, Michael Lowenstern.
LATEST REVIEWS
WA Concert Series Presents “The World of the Expanded Clarinet” in Review
Charles Neidich, clarinet; Ayako Oshima, clarinet
Michael Lowenstern, bass clarinet; Mohamed Shams, piano
Tenri Cultural Institute, New York, NY
March 1, 2024
The Tenri Cultural Institute was packed this Friday as the WA Concert Series presented a “re-debut” program entitled “The World of the Expanded Clarinet” led by WA co-founders Charles Neidich and Ayako Oshima. It reminded us of how much we’ve been missing since March of 2020, when the onslaught of COVID-19 forced their hiatus (apart from some virtual offerings). I am happy to report that they are back and better than ever!
WA concerts have always been known for their fascinating, sometimes eclectic, programs, performed by dazzling musicians, with clarinetists Charles Neidich and Ayako Oshima (Mr. Neidich’s wife and partner) at the helm. Your reviewer (along with most of the music world) has admired the virtuoso playing of Charles Neidich for over four decades now (his biography being too crammed with honors and distinctions to relay but found here: Charles Neidich), and the brilliant Ayako Oshima has established herself as a formidable force in her own right – but Friday’s “dream team” was made still stronger with the inclusion of rock-solid pianist Mohamed Shams and ingenious bass clarinetist Michael Lowenstern. Continue reading
Daniel Saidenberg Faculty Recital Series: Charles Neidich & Robert Levin in Review
Charles Neidich, clarinets
Robert Levin, piano, fortepiano
Morse Recital Hall, Juilliard School, New York, NY
January 31, 2024
As part of the Daniel Saidenberg Faculty Recital Series, clarinetist Charles Neidich and pianist Robert Levin joined forces at Morse Recital Hall at The Juilliard School on January 31, 2024. The pairing of two such noted and scholarly musicians promised not only technically masterful performances, but deeply informed musical ones as well. In addition to some of the favorites of the clarinet repertoire, the program included two premieres: the world premiere of Mr. Neidich’s own composition, Lament for basset clarinet in A and piano, and a U.S. premiere of Landscape by the Light of the Moon by Russian composer Edison Denisov. Continue Reading
HIGHLIGHTS
Mozart Clarinet Quintet in A Major, K. 581 (Mvt II & IV) - Telegraph Quartet with Charles Neidich
From the October 2021 Naumburg Gala, celebrating Naumburg's rich 50 year history of chamber music
In a review of the new album "Mozart 1791", The New York Times said "Charles Neidich’s reading of Mozart’s Concerto for Basset Clarinet in A (KV 622) radiates sunny serenity."
FROM ALBUM NOTES:
The History and Mystery of Mozart ’s Basset Clarinet Concerto , KV.622
An often neglected, yet very important aspect of Mozart’s prodigious musical output was how revolutionary so much of it was. The inspiration for this most often came from the fact that he wrote for his friends: friends who were the outstanding musicians of his time and also the “cutting edge” of instrumental and musical innovation. Of these friendships, none was as significant as that with the clarinetist, Anton Stadler, inspiring works which today form the core of woodwind chamber music and culminating with his great concerto for basset clarinet KV 622. Anton Stadler, whose tone was described as “closest to the human voice,” and who loved the warm quality of the basset horn, worked with the Viennese instrument maker, Theodor Lotz, to combine the best features of the basset horn and the clarinet, extending the clarinet’s low range down 4 semitones. Stadler’s basset clarinet inspired Mozart to compose a subtly new kind of concerto, more connected to opera than to instrumental music. It is more than possible that Stadler’s very vocal approach to playing inspired Mozart as much as the extended range of his basset clarinet. There are 2 mysteries surrounding the concerto. The first: what did Stadler’s instrument look like and the second: what happened to the manuscript. The first, luckily has very much been solved thanks to the discovery of a program of a concert Stadler played in Riga in 1794. On it there is drawing of Stadler’s instrument – a long instrument with a slightly bent neck and a bowl shaped bell facing inward. The second remains the big mystery. The manuscript for the concerto KV 622 is lost. Stadler, very likely, played the premiere of the concerto in Prague on October 16, 1791. He spent the next years touring Europe almost certainly performing the concerto in several cities. Stadler mentioned that a case containing scores and instruments was stolen while he was on that tour. Luckily, a fragment of a preliminary version exists. This fragment not only establishes that Mozart used all the chromatic low notes, it also shows the way to reconstruct the original version. By checking through the score, we can recreate with a fair degree of certainty the remarkable operatic work Mozart created for his friend Anton Stadler. (text: Charles Neidich)