Professor Charles Bodman Rae to Conduct World Premiere of New Clarinet Concerto
On Friday 4 April, the Elder Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra performs Respighi's evocative Pines of Rome (conducted by Associate Professor Luke Dollman) and the world premiere of Professor Charles Bodman Rae's Clarinet Concerto (conducted by the composer), featuring our Head of Woodwind, Lloyd Van't Hoff, as soloist.
'This three-movement concerto for clarinet and orchestra composed in 2024 grew from an earlier, five-movement work of mine for clarinet and piano, Partita Dalriada, composed in 2010 and widely performed in Australia and Europe that year and since. The central three movements of the Partita are based on a traditional Scottish folk tune 'My love is lost to me', which, like many other traditional Scottish melodies, was adopted and adapted as a song by Robert Burns. The second, third, and fourth movements of the Partita, the ones featuring this melody, have together become the central, slow movement of the Concerto – the heart of the work from which the outer movements radiate.
The Partita was dedicated to my father – while he was still living – and was a tribute to his Scottish birth and our highland heritage. So the Concerto also makes this deep connection.
The outer movements of the Concerto make some thematic references to the outer movements of the Partita, but have been newly composed in order to present the clarinet in this orchestral setting, and enabling the soloist to interact with the various sections of the orchestra and certain orchestral soloists, particularly the flutes, oboes, and bassoons. The harp plays a significant role throughout and hopefully contributes an additional sonic reference to the Scottish highland traditions of the celtic harp (the clarsach).
There are two cadenzas for the clarinet soloist, and these come towards the ends of the first and third movements. The structure of the first movement is a kind of Refrain and Episodes form, in which the orchestra – either in full or by particular orchestra sections – leads in the Refrains, whilst the soloist leads in the Episodes. The central, slow movement is in three sections, the first and third of which feature the traditional melody, while the second section is a set of four variations on the theme. The final movement picks up, extends and develops material from the preceding ones.
This is the first piece I have written for the Elder Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra, a wonderful group of highly talented young musicians, which I have had the pleasure and privilege of conducting on several previous occasions. The soloist for the premiere performance is the brilliant young Australian clarinettist, Lloyd Van't Hoff, who is from Queensland, but since 2023 has been the Head of Woodwind at the Elder Conservatorium of Music in Adelaide.
The premiere of the Concerto will take place in Elder Hall, Adelaide, on 4 April 2025, with Lloyd Van't Hoff as soloist with the Elder Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra, conducted by myself.'
Professor Charles Bodman Rae