Benny Goodman, Swing Era bandleader, also had an interest in the classical arts. He commissioned Aaron Copland to write a concerto for Goodman's instrument, the clarinet.
What happens when hot jazz band leader and clarinetist Benny Goodman commissions a concerto from one of the leading American composers of the early-to-mid 20th century? Aaron Copland's Clarinet Concerto (also known as the Concerto for Clarinet, Strings, and Harp) is what we get.
This wasn't the first time that jazz and classical musicians had interacted: in fact, Benny Goodman himself had appeared with his band in Carnegie Hall in 1937, performing hit numbers such as "Sing, Sing, Sing" to enthusiastic reception. Goodman also maintained a keen love of classical music, recording Mozart's Concerto in A for Clarinet and Orchestra. Besides the Copland Concerto, Goodman also commissioned a clarinet work by Béla Bartók.
Written between 1947 and 1948, the Clarinet Concerto is arranged in two movements. Though written for Goodman and inspired by his jazz background, the concerto nevertheless resembles a classical symphony more than a jazz number. One of the primary reasons is orchestration: strings and harps are instruments not very typical in the jazz band, but a dominant feature of the symphony orchestra. Another difference is pacing: the lyrical, soaring, introspective clarinet melody interwoven throughout the first movement is much more contemplative than the quick tempo usually picked up by Benny Goodman's swinging band.
The cadenza which links the two movements offers a point of crossover between classical music and jazz: after all, the cadenza is the solo where the musician gets to show off his virtuosity, employing all the improvisational tricks at his disposal. But while earlier cadenzas were often truly improvisatory, beginning in the 19th-century, most cadenzas were written out and simply played with a looser feel, in order to suggest improvisation. This particular cadenza incorporates many leaps and runs, and bridges into the second movement.
The influence of Copland's travels to Rio de Janeiro while he was composing the score can be heard in the second movement. The rhythms are syncopated to imitate Latin American dances and Copland incorporated a popular Brazilian tune into the melodic material. And anyone familiar with Copland's unique brand of Americana, a kind of simplistic folk sound, will discover it hovering in the background, occasionally to burst forth in rather joyful abandon.
For those looking to enjoy this less well-known gem from Copland's repertoire, there are a few different versions of the Clarinet Concerto out there. Richard Stolzman has released a performance. Leonard Bernstein has also conducted the Concerto, with Stanley Drucker (the New York Philharmonic Principal Clarinet) performing the solo instrument.
