Duo for Clarinet and Piano

Duo for Clarinet and Piano
by Norbert Burgmuller
recorded April 17th, 2011

Featuring:
Trevor K. Ousey, Clarinet
Soojin Joo, Piano

From the program notes:

A German composer, Norbert Burgmüller's compositions quickly earned him recognition from Felix Mendelssohn because of his style. During his short musical career, his compositional style evolved from Romantic to classical often borrowing elements of each. Unfortunately, after gaining significant recognition in Europe, Burgmüller died in an accident at a spa in Paris at only 26 years of age.

The duo for clarinet and piano has three movements performed without break. The opening movement introduces the lush theme followed by technical elaborations and decoration. The middle movement is in a slow triple feel and allows the clarinet and piano to borrow time and melody from each other. The final movement recaps some of the first movement, but introduces new tonality before coming to the climatic end.

About the performers:

A native of South Korea, Soojin Joo began her musical studies at the age of five. She is a graduate of the Seoul National University, where she received her Bachelor of Music degree in piano. She has also earned a Masters degree from the Jacobs School of Music under the guidance of Emile Naoumoff. Currently, Soojin is working on a Performance Diploma degree at IU, where she also holds an associate instructorship post. Along with her piano performance as a soloist, she has had the opportunity to receive coaching from clarinet professor James Campbell for over two years, and specializes her collaborative work in woodwind repertoire. This has given Soojin the opportunity to play as a collaborative pianist for over 30 recitals during the last two years.