CAROLIN WIDMANN & JÖRG WIDMANN, DENIS KOZHUKHIN

Weber’s lyric romanticism meets the dynamic dance-inspired rhythms of Bartók and the stark sound world of Schoenberg’s final years in this trio program featuring clarinetist and Pierre Boulez Saal artist-in-focus Jörg Widmann, violinist (and sister) Carolin Widmann, and pianist Denis Kozhukhin. Written in 1949 in Los Angeles, Schoenberg’s "Phantasy for Violin with Piano Accompaniment" was his last instrumental work, composed two years before his death. Bartók’s Contrasts owes its creation to a suggestion from violinist Jószef Szigeti, although it was officially commissioned by jazz clarinetist Benny Goodman (and later recorded by the two, with Bartók on piano). Few of Weber’s works, with the exception of the operas and major concertos, are frequently heard today, but the virtuosic Grand Duo has long been a favorite with clarinetists.