This fascinating and wide-ranging programme of 20th-century works for clarinet and piano begins with the jazz and folk-inspired Two Dances for Andrew Simon by the Romanian composer Şerban Nichifor, followed by a selection of works by Joseph Horovitz with whom both artists worked closely prior to this recording. Based on folk-songs from Northern Poland, Lutosławski’s Dance Preludes are the composer’s official ‘farewell to folklore for an indefinite period’, and the recital concludes with Arnold Cooke’s Hindemith-inspired Sonata and Malcolm Arnold’s accessible and light-hearted Sonatina.
