Orchestre National de Bretagne

Vivaldi’s Concertos
Vivaldi was one of the first composers to incorporate the clarinet into his operas, but of his some five hundred concertos, none is dedicated solely to this instrument. Hence Andreas Tarkmann’s idea to compose three from scratch, based on opera arias. As the aria ‘La Tortora’ (The Turtle Dove), from the oratorio *Juditha Triumphans*, also demonstrates, the clarinet is every bit as virtuosic and lyrical as the human voice. The clarinet also borrows a violin concerto from the Venetian composer Maddalena Laura Sirmen, a contemporary of Mozart. But Johann Stamitz’s concerto is truly original: composed for the orchestra of La Pouplinière, Rameau’s patron, it is in fact the first clarinet concerto in history.

Soloist: Pierre Génisson
Pierre Génisson is one of the most renowned representatives of the French wind instrument school. A prize-winner at prestigious international competitions and a fervent advocate of contemporary music, Pierre Génisson promotes French music abroad and collaborates with numerous composers, notably Tristan Murail, Thierry Escaich, Eric Montalbetti, Karol Beffa and Eric Tanguy, to whom several concertos and chamber music pieces are dedicated.

Antonio Vivaldi (arr. Andreas Tarkmann)
Concerto for Clarinet, Strings and Basso Continuo No. 1, ‘Sant’Angelo’, and No. 2, ‘La Fenice’
Johann Stamitz
Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra in B flat major
Maddalena Laura Sirmen (arr. for clarinet and orchestra)
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra No. 1, Op. 3/1
Antonio Vivaldi (arr. by Andreas Tarkmann)
Air for Chalumeau ‘La Tortora’