Two of the greatest concertos of the 21st century: clarinettist Julian Bliss on his new recording of Clarinet Concertos by Magnus Lindberg and Kalevi Aho

Julian Bliss (Photo: Rebecca Schelldorff)

Clarinettist Julian Bliss‘ latest album, which came out earlier this month on the Signum Classics label, features him as soloist in the clarinet concertos by Magnus Lindberg and Kalevi Aho, works Julian describes as two of the greatest concertos of the 21st century. For the disc, Julian was joined by conductor Taavi Oramo and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

Born in Helsinki in 1958, Magnus Lindberg studied with Einojuhani Rautavaara and Paavo Heininen in Finland, Vinko Globokar and Gérard Grisey in Paris, while also attending Franco Donatoni’s classes in Siena. He composed his Clarinet Concerto in 2001-2. Kalevi Aho was born in Forssa in the south of Finland. He studied with Einojuhani Rautavaara in Finland and with Boris Blacher in Berlin. He wrote his concerto in 2005for Martin Fröst who premiered it with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, conductor Osmo Vänskä.

Julian was very aware of both concertos before he recorded them; in fact, he is asked to play Lindberg’s concerto quite a lot. Both concertos represent a challenge, with a lot of new things in them. But Julian points out that works which were regarded as a challenge when he was young, such as Nielsen’s Clarinet Concerto, are now part of the mainstream repertoire. The way playing has developed over the years means that there is a lot of pushing of boundaries.

He admits that he has never heard a concerto quite like the Lindberg. Julian loves what he calls the ‘big band orchestral sound’ that Lindberg uses in the work, pointing out that often in clarinet concertos, composers use smaller forces so that they do not risk covering the instrument. In the Lindberg with its big orchestral sound, sometimes the soloist fights to be heard. Julian has performed the work a lot, and he loves it.

He always wanted to record Lindberg’s concerto, and when the opportunity arose, Aho’s concerto seemed a natural partner. Two of the most challenging contemporary clarinet concertos on a disc. Julian points out that both composers studied with Einojuhani Rautavaara, who also wrote his own clarinet concerto. But more than that, they reflect the terrific music that is coming out of Finland. Julian sees similarities between the pieces; both use big contrasts, varying from quiet writing to very loud. They are both works that Julian has known and lived with.

Whilst he has performed Lindberg’s concerto a lot, Aho’s is one of those works that Julian wants to play and suggest to orchestras, but he gets few opportunities to do so. Both works require a big orchestra and are challenging for all concerned – the soloist, orchestral players and conductor. In the Aho, the third movement changes tempo every bar. All these factors make the work a challenge to programme. Julian is hoping that audiences will listen to the new album, like the works and thus encourage orchestras and promoters to programme the concertos.

Julian feels that we are very lucky in the UK. We tend to take for granted how fantastic our orchestras are. You put the music in front of the players, and they just play it. Julian refers to it as ‘a bit scary’, the general level of musicality. This meant that when the opportunity to record with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra came up, Julian just knew it was going to be a great fit with the recording. They did the recording in two and a half to three days. Julian points out that every single note you play has to be good enough to go on an album, and the process takes it out of you. He found the recording and subsequent editing process most enjoyable, and he hopes that people will listen to the disc and enjoy it.

Everyone knows their own playing well, so when he listens to his recordings, he notices the tiniest of details. When listening to playback after a recording session, you have the headphones on and the part in front of you, so you are hypercritical. He feels that there is a danger in trying to put together a perfect recording as it can lack life, character and soul. But he remains very critical of his own playing, noticing, for instance, the attack on one note in a run. He tries to be careful to let things be and not have a heavily edited recording, even though he cannot help but be critical. Though you need to be realistic, there is no such thing as perfection. A recording is simply a snapshot of the time it was made. Julian thinks it is an advantage to have recordings from different times in your career because the audience can hear the progression in your playing.

Julian’s recent record catalogue has quite an eclectic feel to it, ranging from a contemporary album recorded with percussionist Joby Burgess (in fact, a lockdown album where Julian multi-tracked his contribution) to a disc of music by Robert and Clara Schumann. He feels that he is lucky to have a good relationship with Signum Classics and has known Steve Long (Signum Classics’ managing director) for a long time. The company is very open to projects, and Julian feels able to discuss ideas from those that are ‘out there’ to the more mainstream. His recent clarinet and piano discs, recording music by Robert and Clara Schumann and Brahms, were intended to showcase a type of playing. The music is not fiendishly difficult; instead, it is about song, legato, sound and simplicity. After each album, he thinks of something different, feeling that this keeps things interesting for himself and for the listeners, and he admits that they are already talking about his next albums.

The music of the Romantic era is what he loves, and his dream would have been for a concerto, though alas, there isn’t one by a major composer of the era. He has thought of stealing a concerto from another instrument, but feels that you would have to be careful and choose wisely. Julian mentions Rachmaninov, who wrote beautiful clarinet solos in his Piano Concerto No. 2 and Symphony No. 2, but he wrote no solo clarinet works. Though Julian has played the cello sonata on the clarinet.

In fact, there are some incredible pieces out there that simply don’t get played often. There are concertos he would love to play throughout the spectrum from Bernard Crusell (1775-1838), Weber (1786-1826) and Franz Krommer (1759-1831) right up to the modern day. Artists moan that the repertoire is small, particularly the range of works that are performed regularly, but there are still some incredible pieces out there.

Whilst Julian’s performances range from classical to contemporary to jazz, for him, the focus is on the classical repertoire. This is what he does best and where he is most comfortable. He particularly loves chamber music, where you can meet old friends and work with other musicians to put pieces together. Whether it is a clarinet and piano duo or large-scale chamber music, this is what gives him great joy. Playing a concerto can also be like large-scale chamber music, depending on who you are performing with. He enjoys working with others to bring new life to the music.

Remarkably, despite only being 36, Julian has been playing the clarinet for 32 years. In fact, he started playing clarinet and piano at around the same time (when he was four). He liked both instruments, but when he was around ten or eleven, he had to choose one to focus on, and the clarinet won, though he still loves the piano. And he has never thought of having another line of work. He admits that there have been difficult times when motivation and discipline waned. After all, to hone just one area of your technique can take years. But when you are young, you want results immediately, and this can hit your confidence. As a young performer, you don’t see the hours required to put together a performance, though the rewards are terrific. The young Julian looked up to musicians who made playing look easy. But he came to realise that that sort of perfection was a lot further off than he first thought. Yet, his realisation made him dig deep.

As a child, he benefited from a certain amount of novelty due to his age. He was asked to play partly because he was a child. But in his later teens, age became less of an issue as youth ceased to be a novelty. He admits that he should have felt daunted at the increased pressure, but he does not remember that. The transition from being a child to being just another clarinettist presented him with the challenge of staying true to himself. Playing at chamber music festivals with other, older players, he felt, in fact, comfortable. And he used the occasions as learning experiences: he would keep quiet, watch and learn.

When Julian I spoke, he had just got back from Paris, where he was helping celebrate the 200th anniversary of Buffet Crampon, the woodwind manufacturer. There was a huge party and concert, which he describes as huge fun. Then on 12 September, he joined the seven Kanneh-Mason siblings for a concert at the Barbican that included Saint-Saens’ Carnival of the Animals.

On 11 October, he joins the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, conductor Geoffrey Paterson, for Copland’s Clarinet Concerto, which Julian describes as a fun piece with a completely different sound world [further details]. And he will be joining the Quatuor Ebène for Brahms’ Clarinet Quintet at the Wiener Konzerthaus, which is something of a dream event [further details]. He will also be giving lots of masterclasses both here and in the USA.

• Lindberg & Aho Clarinet Concertos – Julian Bliss, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Taavi Oramo – SIGNUM CLASSICS SIGCD898 [Further details]
• Clara & Robert Schumann: Music for clarinet & piano – Julian Bliss, James Baillieu – SIGNUM CLASSICS [Further details]
• Mackey, Whitacre, Ticheli – Julian Bliss, Joby Burgess – SIGNUM CLASSICS [Further details]
• Brahms: Clarinet Sonatas, Four Serious Songs – Julian Bliss, James Baillieu – SIGNUM CLASSICS [Further details]