Clarinetist
Michel Portal
was born in 1935, and his performing partnership with pianist
Michel Dalberto
dates back to 1977. This little 2024 release, therefore, carries flavors of some older ways of music making, and as such, it is quite valuable.
Portal
knew
Francis Poulenc
, which is something that few enough performers around today can say they did, and whether for that reason or some other, the pair's performance of the
Poulenc
Clarinet Sonata
of 1962 may be the best one here. The piece has an unusually strong jazz influence for one from so late in
's career.
, who had a background in jazz as well as classical music, catches both these rhythms and a certain retrospective mood to the whole. Elsewhere, the long association between the two performers shows in the subtle balances in the
Brahms
Clarinet Sonata No. 2, Op., 120, No. 2
, a work that is all about finding the right weight for each little bit of music. There may be cleaner performances, but the listener will find much here that is absorbing. The early
Four Pieces for clarinet and piano, Op. 5
, of
Berg
, have the proper aphoristic quality, and in general,
and
Dalberto
switch gears effectively between some very diverse pieces, even if they present it as falling under the Romantic umbrella. The program is rounded out by pieces from
Robert Schumann
that were also played on other instruments, but most of this is echt clarinet music, and the program carries some beautiful flavors from the past. ~ James Manheim