Jörg Widmann . Antoine Tamestit . Francesco Piemontesi

Jörg Widmann is not only a composer, but a clarinetist too, to the tips of his fingers. He has a great passion for chamber music and, with a couple of his favourite partners in the genre, he has turned avidly to the small, but highly refined, repertoire for the unusual combination of clarinet, viola and piano. Mozart was the first to enjoy success in exploring the rich sound palette of this unusual combination, the result being his infectious 'Kegelstatt Trio'. A very well-known work from the Romantic period is Schumann's 'Fairy Tales'. In the dark timbres of the clarinet and viola, the composer found the perfect sound colouring for both his nostalgia and his neurotic moods. More than a hundred years later, Kurtág wrote his 'Hommage à Robert Schumann', a dreamy evocation of Schumann's fragmentary style.