World Premiere Recording of Mikalsen's Clarinet Concerto (2009) - an interesting combination of compositions of Debussy, Crusell and Mikalsen

Finnish clarinetist Björn Nyman and the Norwegian Radio Orchestra present works for clarinet and orchestra by Claude Debussy, Bernhard Henrik Crusell and Jan Erik Mikalsen. Although Premiere Rhapsodie was the first solo work he wrote for clarinet, Debussy was able to use the clarinet's sound properties and colours in a unique way. He described the work as one of the most charming he ever wrote. Crusell's Clarinet Concerto Op. 5 is rather lyrical despite the fact it is in the key of F minor, known as one of the more dramatic keys. As Crusell wrote this for himself, the composition paints a picture of him as both performer and composer. Mikalsen's Clarinet Concerto (2009) was commissioned by Björn Nyman and the Norwegian Radio Orchestra. The work came about after Björn Nyman had premiered another of Mikalsen's compositions, Themes for clarinet, piano and string quartet, which inturn inspired him to order a clarinet concerto. This is the World Premiere Recording of this work.

Björn Nyman is one of the leading clarinetists of his generation in the Nordic region and a sought-after chamber musician and soloist. He is principal clarinetist with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra and with the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra. Nyman was a prizewinner in two of the most prestigious international competitions for clarinetists: the ARD Competition in Munich in 2003 and the Carl Nielsen competition in Odense in 2005. In both competitions he was also awarded the prize for best interpretation of Mozart's Clarinet Concerto. Nyman won shared first prize at the International Crusell Clarinet Competition in 2002 as well as the ConocoPhillipps Prize the same year. Björn Nyman has been a soloist with several orchestras including the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Odense Symphony Orchestra, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Munich Chamber Orchestra and Stavanger Symphony Orchestra. Nyman is an active chamber musician and has played in many of the leading festivals in Scandinavia. At the age of 19 he was appointed his first position as principal clarinetist with the Lapland Chamber Orchestra. He has also been principal clarinetist in the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra under conductors such as Pierre Boulez and Claudio Abbado. He has studied with Hans Christian Brain and Leif Arne Pedersen at the Norwegian Academy of Music where he teaches today, as well as with Yehuda Gilad of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

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Recording date: 2013 - 2014