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Larry Wallach to premiere new chamber music works

Larry Chernicoff


Bard College at Simon’s Rock continues its South Berkshire Concert Series on Sunday, March 31, with premiere performances of chamber works by local composers Larry Wallach and Alice Spatz, performed by Sangwon Lee on clarinet, Ronald Gorevic on violin, James Bergin on viola, Anne Legêne on cello, and Larry Wallach on piano. The program will also include works by Darius Milhaud and Charles Ives. Admission to the performance is free.


Larry Wallach is a pianist, but he has a special affinity for the clarinet, having accompanied that instrument on keyboard more times than he can remember. In fact, he is so familiar with the clarinet that he needn’t even have one in his hands when composing for it. His piece on this program, “Klezmer-ish,” is scored for clarinet, viola, cello, and piano. (And not just any clarinetist will suffice. Sangwon Lee, Principal Clarinet of the Hartford Symphony, has the required chops.) Mr. Wallach knows perfectly well what real klezmer is, but he would like you to take the title of this work literally, especially the last three letters. I haven’t heard it, but based on Wallach’s description of the piece, I expect it to carry subtle rumors of klezmer. In any case, it features a virtuosic role for the clarinet, and you can decide for yourself how “klezmer-ish” it is.

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© 2024 by Larry Wallach.

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