Concerto for Clarinet, Viola, and Orchestra

The Concerto for Clarinet, Viola, and Orchestra in E minor, Op. 88, is a composition by Max Bruch which was composed in 1911. It premiered on 5 March 1912 in Wilhelmshaven by the piece's dedicatees, violist Willy Hess and the composer's son and clarinet soloist, Max Felix Bruch.^[1] However, the score was not published until 1942, 23 years after the composer's death.^[2][3]

Concerto for Clarinet, Viola, and Orchestra
by Max Bruch
Max Bruch c. 1920, a few years after composing the concerto.
Opus	M. 88
Composed	1911
Published	1942
Duration	20 minutes
Movements	Three
Scoring	Solo Clarinet, Viola, and Orchestra
Premiere
Date	5 March, 1912
Location	Wilhelmshaven, Germany
Performers	Willy Hess, Max Felix Bruch (son of composer)

Instrumentation

The concerto is scored for solo clarinet in A and viola, two flutes, two oboes, cor anglais, two clarinets in A, two bassoons, four horns in F, two trumpets in B-flat, timpani, and strings.

Bruch also arranged the solo clarinet part for violin.

Movements

The concerto is written in three movements:

1. Andante con moto (E minor, B major, ⁴
   ₄)
2. Allegro moderato (G major, B minor, ³
   ₄)
3. Allegro molto (E major, G major, ²
   ₄)

All three movements feature the Swedish folksong "Ack Värmeland Du Sköna." A typical performance lasts approximately 20 minutes.

Recordings

• Bruch: Concerto for Clarinet, Viola, and Orchestra; Eight Pieces for Clarinet, Viola, and Piano; Schumann: Märchenerzählungen / Tommaso Placidi (conductor), Steven Kanoff, Paul Coletti, Hanover Radio Philharmonic / 2005 / Asv Living Era
• The Clarinet in Concert / Alun Francis (conductor), Thea King, Nobuko Imai, London Symphony Orchestra / 1997 / Hyperion
• Bruch: Works for Clarinet and Viola; Concerto for Clarinet, Viola and Orchestra in E minor; Eight Pieces for Clarinet, Viola and Piano; Romance for Viola and orchestra in F major / Paul Meyer, Gérard Caussé, François-René Duchâble (piano), Kent Nagano (conductor) / 1988–1989 / Apex
• In the Borderland of Romanticism / Mats Liljefors (conductor), Dimitri Ashkenazy, Anton Kholodenko, Baltic Symphony Orchestra / 1996 / Artemis