The clarinet has long been embraced by American composers for its jauntiness and jazzy flexibility, qualities heard in abundance on this album. Alexander Fiterstein plays Leonard Bernstein’s Cuban-influenced Sonata and the Sonatina by Budapest-born Miklós Rózsa, who made his name as a Hollywood movie composer. These pieces are bookended by two Aaron Copland works – his Concerto, written for Benny Goodman, and his Sonata. Fiterstein’s playing was described by the Washington Post as “dazzling in its spectrum of colors, agility, and range. Every sound he makes is finely measured without inhibiting expressiveness.”
Alexander Fiterstein: A Clarinet in America
