Joseph Horovitz and His Charming Sonatina for Clarinet and Piano

VIDEO

Many years ago, I first heard Joseph Horovitz’s Sonatina for Clarinet and Piano. I believe it was in 1992, on the CD English Music for Clarinet and Piano (1987) by the great Gervase De Peyer and pianist Gwenneth Pryor. This year I finally obtained the score and studied it, which I did with great pleasure. Beyond being beautifully written music, it is crafted with deep understanding of the clarinet and remarkable musical insight.

In the video above, you can hear the version I recorded in June 2021. Below, I share a brief biography of the composer and some musical insights about this delightful work.

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Joseph Horovitz: Life and Career

Joseph Horovitz was born in Vienna, Austria, on May 26, 1926, into a Jewish family that emigrated to England in 1938, fleeing the Nazis. There, he studied piano and languages in Oxford and later studied composition at the Royal College of Music in London with Gordon Jacob. He also spent a year in Paris studying with Nadia Boulanger.

His professional career began in 1950 as the musical director of the London theatre company Bristol Old Vic. He later became an active conductor of opera and ballet, touring across Europe and the United States. From 1961, Horovitz taught composition at the Royal College of Music.

Joseph Horovitz at the Royal College of Music in London, where he taught Composition for more than six decades.

Horovitz was a versatile composer with a keen sense of humor and an exceptional ability to communicate musically. He composed sixteen ballets, two one-act operas, several concertos for strings, winds, and percussion, as well as a celebrated jazz concerto for harpsichord and orchestra. His catalog also includes numerous works for wind and brass ensembles. In his Clarinet Concerto (1957), he developed an attractive neoclassical jazz synthesis, a style he applied in many of his later successful works. His choral works show the influence of Vaughan Williams, Holst, and Delius, while his string quartets —especially No. 5— reveal expressive intensity and compelling programmatic elements.

Joseph Horovitz’s Sonatina for Clarinet and Piano

Composed in 1981, the Sonatina for Clarinet and Piano emerged from his friendship with clarinetist Gervase De Peyer, whom he had met as a student at the Royal College of Music. The work is dedicated to Anna Horovitz, the composer’s wife.

Horovitz described the Sonatina in the score:

"This Sonatina is cheerful and respects the traditional model of division into three movements. The first one, in classical sonata form, focuses on the mainly lyrical middle register of the clarinet over an undulating piano background. The second movement is an A-B-A lied structure that employs some of the wind instrument's low notes in a long cantilena over a slow chordal accompaniment. The last movement is a kind of rondo that alternates two themes in equal proportions, exploiting the high register of the clarinet. The harmonic language of the entire work is obviously tonal and, like most of my later compositions, the Sonatina is heavily influenced melodically and rhythmically by jazz and other popular music. It requires the same virtuosity on the part of both performers."

This Sonatina for Clarinet and Piano combines melodic freshness, formal elegance, and clear jazz influences. It is a work that captivates both through its spontaneity and its refined instrumental writing.

Source: Dissertation by Garrett Ray Jones (link)

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