Davies's feeling for the potency and bravura of the clarinet goes back to works of the 1960s; his concerto for the instrument is predictably a big, ranging piece, in two linked movements. The first, fast with a brief slow introduction, has the soloist in propulsive melodic flights slipping over into florid runs, but it is a virtuoso piece for the orchestra, especially for the marimba and pair of horns. The Adagio that follows is in the spare, cold, birdcall-riven style of other recent Davies slow movements, exploiting first the clarinet's low register and then, at its climax, the instrument's high extremes. A cadenza leads to the coda, where Davies introduces a Scots tune, previously hinted at, with which he brings the work to an end in F sharp major.
Miniature score.
Miniature score.
Strathclyde Concerto No. 4
| Arrangement | Clarinet, Orchestra |
| Genres | Post-1900 |
| Format | Miniature Score |
| NumberOfPages | 88 |
| Media | Sheet Music |
| Publisher | Chester Music |
| Contributors | Maxwell Davies, Peter (Composer) |
| Language | English |
| ISBN | 9780711933538 |