Six Duo Concertans for Two Clarinets, Op. 9, Nos. 1 & 2. (Woodwinds).

Six Duo Concertans for Two Clarinets, Op. 9, Nos. 1 & 2, by Jean Xavier Lefevre, edited by Georgina Dobree. Emerson Edition Ltd., distributed by Theodore Presser Co., (588 N. Gulph Rd., King of Prussia, PA 19406), 2000. Score and parts, 41 pp., $32.95. Late intermediate.

As one who is in constant search for quality clarinet duo music to be used within the private studio as well as the concert hall, I am confident that this excellent edition of Jean Xavier Lefevre's (1763-1829) Duos Opus 9 is destined for success within the clarinet duo repertoire.

The eleven sets of Duos for two clarinets by Lefevre (according to Fetis) were composed in the early decades of the nineteenth century during which the popularity of the wind instrument virtuosi in Europe reached its height. Often, the soloists commissioned popular composers to write concert pieces or concertos for them, with the stipulation that they were granted exclusive performing rights to the work for a certain length of time. Many of the virtuosi went even further by composing their own music that would enable them to demonstrate their technical prowess.

Lefevre's contribution to the era of the virtuoso clarinetist was as an orchestral performer at the Opera in Paris, a professor at the Paris Conservatoire, and as a composer of six Clarinet Concertos, several concertante works, a Methode for clarinet (for which he is best remembered) and a number of chamber pieces including the sets of Duos for two clarinets. The Duos are housed in the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris in an 1810 edition by Naderman. Characteristic of all of the Lefevre Duos, each are in two movements and are equal in terms of melodic interest and difficulty between the two parts. The Opus 9 Duos were ...