FRANK STEMPER, COMPOSER
Second Diary (1986)
for clarinet and piano [9 mins.]
also arranged for alto saxophone and piano
Premiered 3 April 1988 by Eric Mandat and Frank Stemper on the "Composers Showcase" series, at the University of Illinois, Urbana/Champaign.
Also performed in Austria.
Opus 17 — A.S.C.A.P. work I.D. 494693857
SCORE
Also performed in Austria.
Opus 17 — A.S.C.A.P. work I.D. 494693857
SCORE
NOTES
SECOND DIARY (1986) is a 9-minute, single movement piece for clarinet and piano. It was the first of two works that I wrote for my friend and clarinetist, Eric Mandat, and myself. The other was THREE PIECES FOR CLARINET AND PIANO, written 20 years later. It was written for the “Composers Showcase” series at the University of Illinois – Urbana/Champaign, where it was also premiered.
The music is purposely scattered, i.e. schizophasia/mono-form, i.e. a wandering mind sort of texture. And being so, it is also overly dramatic, hence the over-bearing beginning and ending, and in between, all the sudden changes of mood — bi-polar screaming and then sweetly maudlin, with neither being genuine or convincing. Like a diary. When one writes his/her thoughts, never to be read by another human being, we exaggerate our lives, problems, victories, and we mostly just complain – hence the repeated SIGH in the music. Diaries are usually boringly drama-queen-esque (or the male equivalent). However, in the middle, there is a switch to dancing, marked “Tango” in the score a tango, which seems to contrast the scattered idea with a more cohesive version of schizophasia. The Tango is a bit more fun, for even though that we write in our diaries that our lives are terrible, we’re always ready to forget about that and dance.
A few years later, the piece was taken up by Jörg Ortwein, an alto saxophone virtuoso living in Austria. Jörg asked me if he thought the pieces would work for also sax and piano. Although I was honored to have his interest, I questioned the range of the piece. The piece extends into the very difficult stratospheric range for the clarinet, which I would have thought was way too high for the alto sax. Jörg didn’t balk. He had absolutely no problem with the range. Jörg’s got some fantastic chops! He is currently the Rector of the Vorarlberger Landeskonservatorium
In Feldkirk, Austria.
SECOND DIARY (1986) is a 9-minute, single movement piece for clarinet and piano. It was the first of two works that I wrote for my friend and clarinetist, Eric Mandat, and myself. The other was THREE PIECES FOR CLARINET AND PIANO, written 20 years later. It was written for the “Composers Showcase” series at the University of Illinois – Urbana/Champaign, where it was also premiered.
The music is purposely scattered, i.e. schizophasia/mono-form, i.e. a wandering mind sort of texture. And being so, it is also overly dramatic, hence the over-bearing beginning and ending, and in between, all the sudden changes of mood — bi-polar screaming and then sweetly maudlin, with neither being genuine or convincing. Like a diary. When one writes his/her thoughts, never to be read by another human being, we exaggerate our lives, problems, victories, and we mostly just complain – hence the repeated SIGH in the music. Diaries are usually boringly drama-queen-esque (or the male equivalent). However, in the middle, there is a switch to dancing, marked “Tango” in the score a tango, which seems to contrast the scattered idea with a more cohesive version of schizophasia. The Tango is a bit more fun, for even though that we write in our diaries that our lives are terrible, we’re always ready to forget about that and dance.
A few years later, the piece was taken up by Jörg Ortwein, an alto saxophone virtuoso living in Austria. Jörg asked me if he thought the pieces would work for also sax and piano. Although I was honored to have his interest, I questioned the range of the piece. The piece extends into the very difficult stratospheric range for the clarinet, which I would have thought was way too high for the alto sax. Jörg didn’t balk. He had absolutely no problem with the range. Jörg’s got some fantastic chops! He is currently the Rector of the Vorarlberger Landeskonservatorium
In Feldkirk, Austria.