NICOLAS BACRI (b.1961): Concerto da camera for Clarinet and String Quartet, Op. 61, Trio No. 3 for Violin, Cello and Piano, Op. 54 "Sonata notturna", Symphony No. 4 "Symphonie classique 'Sturm und Drang'" for Clarinet, Horn and Piano Quartet, Op. 49b, American Letters for Clarinet, Viola and Piano, Op. 35, Night Music for Clarinet and Cello, Op. 73.

Description: These works all date from after the point at which Bacri turned away from the legacy of the Second Viennese School in the direction of a chromatic tonal language. This is not to suggest that he embraced any kind of 'new simplicity'; this is the music of a composer thoroughly versed in twentieth-century techniques. The concerto owes an obvious debt to Shostakovich, as does the trio, which even includes a transposed retrograde statement of the DSCH motif as a thematic element. The 'Classical Symphony' is a delightful specimen of lively neoclassicism - this is a composer-supervised reduction of the orchestral score, most effectively scored and underlining the precision and rhythmic vitality of the writing. Prokofiev's similarly titled work provides an obvious comparison. American Letters is a trio of homages to American composers: Carter (whose musical monogram is used as an ostinato); Copland, an in memoriam elegy, and Adams, based again on a theme derived from his name, lively and with an irresistible sense of forward motion but not as minimalism-derived as the dedicatee's own music. The recent Night Music is a dark-hued elegy, a canonic dialogue between the two instruments. Ensmble Capriccioso.