Lukas Foss Three American Pieces for Clarinet and Piano (Premiere Recording)

Seunghee Lee, Clarinet
Katrine Gislinge, Piano
I. Early Song (Andante) [0:01]
II. Dedication (Lento) [4:39]
III. Composer's Holiday (Allegro) [9:21]
Sheet Music Available
Carl Fischer: www.carlfische...
Musica Solis: www.musicasoli...
Recording Date: Feb/Mar 2017
Venue: American Academy of Arts & Letters, NYC
Recording Engineers: Marc Aubort / Bill Siegmund
Digital Island Studios
Let's Connect😘​
Instagram: / sunny_clarinet
Facebook Page: / sunnyclarinet
Website: www.sunnyclari...
***************************************************
In the spring of 2005, I had the privilege of meeting Lukas Foss in New York City and collaborate with him on his "Three American Pieces". It was originally written for violin and later arranged for clarinet by Richard Stoltzman. This unique experience of working directly with the composer led to creating a newly revised version of this special piece and it is my great honor to partner with Carl Fischer to publish it in tandem with this world-premiere recording on the clarinet, included in my latest album titled Full Circle.
As a student, I used to spend hours sifting through shelves of sheet music at music stores like Patelson’s Music House in New York City, hoping to find new interesting works to add to my repertoire collection.
There, I stumbled upon the Three American Pieces included inside Richard Stoltzman’s Songbook, also published by Carl Fischer. This Songbook was full of beautiful compositions especially written for him and arranged by him. When I played through this Three American Pieces, I felt instantly connected to it and knew I had found a hidden treasure! Serendipity!
Prior to my first performance of it at the 2005 Dame Myra Hess Concert Series in Chicago, I thought it would be a good idea to try to meet the composer, so I reached out to Carl Fischer, his publisher. To my surprise, one afternoon, I received a message on my answering machine by Lukas Foss himself with an invitation to meet with him in New York City. We worked out some problematic spots for the clarinet and I also suggested things like alternate registers, articulations, and even adding a glissando at the end of the third movement. I said, “Mr. Foss, is it ok if I play a Copland like glissando at the end?” He replied, “Oh! That sounds great! Let’s do it.” He approved!
It's been an incredible journey making this project come alive! I'm most grateful to Richard Stoltzman, one of the most celebrated clarinet icon of our time, a long-time friend of Lukas Foss, my childhood clarinet hero, for his vision to see this work as a clarinet piece and being the first to arranging it and paving the way for other clarinetists like me to enjoy.
Big thanks to Carl Fischer for working with me to publish this newly edited version, as a stand-alone piece, and giving it a new life!
My wish is for my fellow clarinetists to enjoy this fantastic gem as much as I have played​ it over the years. Cheers!