" Here is a beautiful sonata with accompaniement by a second clarinet. Work carefully ornaments (grace notes, trills with their endings, gruppetto...) in order to play them without haste. Keep in mind a beautiful sound; you are free to apply the nuances that you like; do not harden the staccato notes and sing well in the three movements. In the adagio movement, bar 28, do a little cadence on the second fermata, you will personalize even more your interpretation. " - Renaud ESCRIVA

" Here again is a beautiful sonata with accompaniement by a second clarinet. Work carefully ornaments (grace notes, trills with their endings, gruppetto...) in order to play them without haste. Keep in mind a beautiful sound; you are free to apply the nuances that you like; take care not to play music with the same nuances on repeats and answers. Vary your play and follow the phrasing and metronome markings. The second clarinet is very often in the spotlight and it must maintain and boost the tempo. " - Renaud ESCRIVA

This Sonata in 4 movements comes from a group of 3 Sonatas for wind instruments (oboe, clarinet and bassoon) composed in May and june 1921. They are the last in the catalogue of Saint-Saëns' works. - RENAUD ESCRIVA

This Andante is the 2nd movement of the Sonata in E flat Major composed by Mendelssohn in 1824 at the age of 15. It is very beautiful dialogue between Clarinet and Piano which demands deep understanding between the two musicians.

Here is a very beautiful Adagio written in 1821 by Heinrich Baermann, the celebrated dedicatee of works for clarinet written by Weber. For a long while considered to be a youthful work by Richard Wagner, it was only in 1964 that it was realised that this unsigned manuscript, discovered in 1922, was in fact the Adagio from the Quintet for Clarinet and Strings No. 3 Opus 23 which had become detached from the original score. - Renaud ESCRIVA

Here is the sight-reading test used for the Clarinet examination at the Paris Conservatoire in 1910. The "Première Rhapsodie" was the extract given. What a year! - Renaud ESCRIVA

The anglo-Irish composer, Sir Charles Villiers Stanford, composed seven works for clarinet. Of these compositions, the Three Intermezzi Op.13 and the Sonata Op.129 are well-known. - Renaud ESCRIVA

Charles Oberthür, virtuoso harpist born in Munich, wrote Six Nocturnes called "Wedding Presents" for the mariage of the Duke of Nassau. Le Désir - Opus 65 is one of these pieces, where the version for clarinet is dedicated to Henry Lazarus, for 50 years the "Clarinetto Supremo" during the reign of Queen Victoria. - Renaud ESCRIVA

Here is a very pretty Romance by Princess Marie-Elisabeth von Sachsen-Meiningen (1853-1923). A talented pianist, she was also a composer and in 1892 she wrote this Romance in F Major which was to be performed by Richard Mühlfeld, the dedicatee of Brahms clarinet works. This piece is a good introduction to Romantic music. - Renaud ESCRIVA

Niels Gade, the Danish composer and friend of Mendelssohn and Schumann, had a profound influence on the musical life of his country. Composed en 1864 and edited in 1865, the Opus 43 Fantasies for clarinet and piano are considered pearls of the Scandinavian Romantic School.

Niels Gade, the Danish composer and friend of Mendelssohn and Schumann, had a profound influence on the musical life of his country. Composed en 1864 and edited in 1865, the Opus 43 Fantasies for clarinet and piano are considered pearls of the Scandinavian Romantic School.

Niels Gade, the Danish composer and friend of Mendelssohn and Schumann, had a profound influence on the musical life of his country. Composed en 1864 and edited in 1865, the Opus 43 Fantasies for clarinet and piano are considered pearls of the Scandinavian Romantic School.

The anglo-Irish composer, Sir Charles Villiers Stanford, composed seven works for clarinet. Of these compositions, the Three Intermezzi Op.13 and the Sonata Op.129 are well-known. - Renaud ESCRIVA

The anglo-Irish composer, Sir Charles Villiers Stanford, composed seven works for clarinet. Of these compositions, the Three Intermezzi Op.13 and the Sonata Op.129 are well-known. - Renaud ESCRIVA

The anglo-Irish composer, Sir Charles Villiers Stanford, composed seven works for clarinet. Of these compositions, the Three Intermezzi Op.13 and the Sonata Op.129 are well-known. - Renaud ESCRIVA

First opus from the collection "The Must-haves for Clarinet", this Romance is a wonderful Piece to be played from 3 years of instrument practice.

"Address this wonderful Romance with softness and meditation, but without sentimentality. Your tone should be full. Never force, follow articulations and breaths. Go to the end of your sentences and from F onwards, make your game become bright. - Renaud ESCRIVA"

" This study is not fast, respect the tempo and play right on time. Accentuations should never be hard. Construct well your phrasing. Be sure to always have a full and ample sound, and above all never force nuances nor forzandi. " - Renaud ESCRIVA

" Play this study with calm and tenderness. Observe dynamics without exaggerating them, avoiding particularly aggressive forzandi. Be careful with phrasing, articulations and keep your musical speech. This Piece is the study of the Romantic era, so your tone should be rich, ample and free. " - Renaud ESCRIVA

" Play this study with energy and power, but never force. One way to do this is to think that your sound radiates around you as a soap bubble. You will thus avoid saturating your sound, your articulations will be more defined and your staccato much faster. Respect the character of these two movements and concentrate on the phrasing of the central part while keeping a rapid tempo. " - Renaud ESCRIVA

In this first movement of the sonata, be careful not to accent the quaver in the Barcarolle rhythm so that the phrase doesn't become too heavy. In the central section, you should be more "feverish" but master your touch carefully so that the result is always limpid. - RENAUD ESCRIVA

In this second movement of the sonata, the articulations should be carefully pronounced to remain clear and intelligible in spite of the tempo. Use a light homogeneous staccato across the whole range and don't force the sound when the dynamics are loud; you will achieve like that an ample sound which is well balanced with the piano. - RENAUD ESCRIVA

In this third movement, you should contrast the registers as if they are separate instruments responding to each other. Your bass "quasi funèbre" should be ample and sonorous, though without acidity, whilst for your treble you should look for a very gentle flute sound, distant and without vibrato. - RENAUD ESCRIVA

There is a mysterious anguish which floats throughout this brillant fourth movement. The agitation and feverishness of your playing should reflect this latent anguish. At the conclusion, which refers to the first movement, avoid accenting the quaver in the Barcarolle rhythm which risks making the phrasing too heavy. - RENAUD ESCRIVA