Duration: c. 19'
DETAILS
PREMIERED by Orchestra 2001, Arne Running clarinet, James Freeman conductor, March 30,
1994, Philadelphia.
PERFORMANCES have also included John Bruce Yeh with Alan Gilbert conducting the Haddonfield Symphony (now Symphony in C).
AVAILABLE (clarinet with piano reduction) from your favorite sheet music dealer or direct from Presser.
ORCHESTRAL SCORE perusal available online.
AUDIO EXCERPTS: John Yeh's performance with the Haddonfield Symphony conducted by Alan Gilbert:
from Mvt. 1
from Mvt. 2
from Mvt. 3
PROGRAM NOTES
In 1986 I began a Lyric Quintet for Clarinet and String Quartet, composing two movements of the projected three that year. As a clarinetist, I'd always been inspired by the Brahms and Mozart quintets, and I'd also been freshly inspired by Eddie Daniels' recent recordings of jazz clarinet with symphony orchestra. Work on the Lyric Quintet was interrupted soon after the second movement, as I became a father for the first time and then was fortunate to have several years of commissions with premiere deadlines; as a result I had to put the Lyric Quintet aside until 1992.
Coming back six years later, I decided this would be better as a Concerto for Clarinet and String Orchestra. The larger string ensemble allowed thick jazz chords to be played more richly and smoothly, allowed contrasts between solo strings and tuttis, and added the advantages of having a conductor. Starting life as intimately blended chamber music rather than as a concerto, Movements 1 & 2 use the clarinet as a balanced ensemble member at least as much as a soloist, and there are many solo passages for strings. Only the third movement was originally conceived for full string orchestra, leading this final movement to more dramatic contrasts between clarinet and strings.
The music has a light, summery feel, and the friendly relationship of the clarinet to the strings somehow struck me as a solstice-like meeting point, therefore the poetic title Summer Solstice, with Concerto in the subtitle.
Summer Solstice was premiered in Philadelphia on March 31, 1994 by Orchestra 2001 conducted by James Freeman, with Arne Running as clarinet soloist.
REVIEWS
"Summer Solstice is very pleasant music - light without being insubstantial, melodic without being obvious. It has an invariably American sound."
–
Philadelphia Inquirer (Peter Dobrin), April 2, 1994
"Summer Solstice opened with Arne Running's jazzy, dancing clarinet playing in front of the kind of American country fair music that makes you feel like someone should step out of the crowd and start dancing. The slow movement was easy and full. The finale was sweet and driving."
–
Philadelphia Welcomat (Tom Purdom), April 20, 1994
"Notable events of 1994 included the impressive premiere of Daniel Dorff's Summer Solstice."
–
Philadelphia Welcomat (Tom Purdom), December 28, 1994
"... gave a distinctive contemporary accent to the Haddonfield Symphony's third program of the season... For those who braved the first storm of winter - and most did - there was much to enjoy... Dorff's 18-minute piece cast a friendly glow with its jaunty rhythms and sunny musical themes.Summer Solstice falls on the ears like the graceful caress
of a warm day. Superbly performed, the score radiated an old-fashioned charm. The three-movement score is a gift for a superb soloist."
–
Camden Courier-Post (Robert
Baxter), February 10, 1997
"... a delightful three-movement work for which the description "rollicking" is most often the apt word... a celebration of summer filled with bright harmonies and happy spirit."
–
Classical New Jersey (Paul Somers), February 12, 1997
"Summer Solstice is lyrical and fresh as rainwater. [John] Yeh gave a bright turn to its tangled tunes and merry melodies and a subtly nuanced performance of the languid larghetto. His clarinet cut like a lean laser above the lush cohesive strings.
–Pioneer Press (Dorothy
Andries), March 1998
"I had the great pleasure of premiering this [piano reduction] version, and have performed the full orchestral concerto as well. I love this piece, and recommend it highly to everyone. It is in the Amercan symphony language of midcentury neoclassicists and is extremely beautiful. The first movement opens with a tremolo landscape introduction with a long phrase in the high clarinet. The rest of the movement is taken up with a fun romp reminiscent of children playing in the summer sun, running through fields laughing and leaping, occasionally catching their breath. The coda increases the humor with large "heee-haw" leaps and hoedown rhythms in the piano, end with a spectacular arpeggio up to double-high C.
"The second movement opens quietly and contemplatively, and continues the deep exploration of beautiful sounds. Lush, expressive passages contrast with this contemplation and occasional forays into a lullaby before ending with the opening material. The third movement opens with slow and low material that makes up the bulk of the "triple time! ma energico" to come. The second theme is a slightly wobbly slower dance. The third is a jazzy theme that leads back to the first material in a mad crescendo to the end.
"This concerto manages to be tonal, expressive, and beautiful without seeming cliché. At 18 minutes, it makes a great recital piece and is perfect for high school and college students as well as professionals. The parts are well laid out and easy to read. Highest recommendation.
–The Clarinet (Sean Osborn), June 2018
"Daniel
Dorff's Summer Solstice was the
palatable dessert, while mid-century music of... Schnittke was the experimental
main course."
-Monroe
Levin, Jewish Exponent, 4/30/94
