The movie The Terminal, directed by Steven Spielberg in 2004, tells the story of Viktor Navorski, a citizen of Krakozhia —a fictional Eastern European country— who becomes stranded at New York’s JFK airport. To convey the tenderness and bewilderment of the character, composer John Williams created one of his most endearing melodies: Viktor’s Tale, written for clarinet solo and symphony orchestra.

Henri Rabaud’s Solo de Concours for clarinet and piano, Op. 10, was composed in 1901 for clarinetist Charles Turban, a professor at the Paris Conservatoire. Like all pièces de concours (competition pieces), it was written to assess the technical and expressive mastery of students preparing for graduation. The work was selected for several editions of the Conservatoire’s annual competition (in 1908, 1915, 1925, and 1937), a testament to its popularity and pedagogical value.

One morning in September 2024, I received a WhatsApp message from the composer Esteban D'Antona saying: "Hi Gabriel, I've just finished composing a piece for solo clarinet and orchestra. It's a suite in four movements (Cha-cha-cha, Bolero, Guajira, and Salsa). I'm sending you the score and a digital recording for you to review. If you like it, I'd like you to premiere it with the orchestra."

In a previous post on this blog I wrote about the Zamba for clarinete and piano by the Argentine composer Viviana Danon. Now, I want to present another beautiful composition of his authorship

Composed in 1943 by the English composer John Ireland (1872–1962), the Fantasy-Sonata is regarded as one of the twentieth century’s masterpieces of the English clarinet repertoire, and also as Ireland’s most significant chamber work.

When I was very young, I was introduced to Arthur Honegger Sonatina for clarinet and piano on a recording by clarinetist Stanley Drucker, and it always appealed to me. Two years ago, I decided to study it for recording, a project I was finally able to complete in July 2021, along with the track recorded by pianist Mohamed Shams. Above is the video of this recording, which I enjoyed so much. Arthur Honegger (1892-1955) was a prolific composer of Swiss parents

The choro song “Carinhoso” is the most famous work of Pixinguinha, with hundreds of recordings made all over the world,

On March 18, 2023, I had the pleasure of performing the beautiful Theme from "Schindler's List" for clarinet and symphonic band,

Notes, video and sheet music of the Zamba for clarinet and piano by Viviana Danon, dedicated to Gabriel Blasberg.

One of the clarinetists that I admire the most is Nicolas Baldeyrou, an outstanding figure, who, in addition to being a technically super virtuoso, has a balanced and sober musicality, always at the service of the work.