Cadenza for Malcolm Arnold's Clarinet Concerto No 2

Malcolm Arnold’s Clarinet Concerto No 2 op.115, in which this cadenza is designed to be embedded, was written for Benny Goodman and premiered by him in Denver, Colorado, USA in 1974.

This cadenza was commissioned by Alex Bondonno and premiered as part of his performance of the work with the City University Symphony Orchestra (conducted by Matthew Rowe), St Giles Cripplegate, London, UK on 5 December 1996:

[Arnold’s] cadenza instructions, ‘improvise cadenza as jazzy and way out as you please, based on the concerto’s themes’ seem to have been designed directly for Benny Goodman. However, Goodman in his premiere of the work, chose to play with a more traditional style. I have tried to emulate this with a cadenza composed by Brian Inglis. It derives directly from the surrounding music and is hopefully ‘way out’ enough.

(Alessandro Bondonno, programme note, December 1996)

First print publication: January 2021, Composers Edition (by arrangement with Faber Music)