Copland's Clarinet + Enigma Variations

RBC Resident Conductor Trevor Wilson leads an entrancing program that showcases the people, places, and things from which composers often draw inspiration. Canadian composer Dinuk Wijeratne’s Polyphonic Lively opens—a kaleidoscope of orchestral timbres that weaves together elements of jazz, rock, and classical music, drawing inspiration from a painting by the Swiss-German artist Paul Klee. Then, Elgar’s popular “Enigma Variations” depict his friends and acquaintances in miniature musical portraits, providing a hint of intrigue as to their identities. Vaughan Williams’s corresponding variations, a collection of folk iterations across time, pays sweeping homage to the English countryside. Finally, Copland’s jazz-influenced Clarinet Concerto channels the legendary Benny Goodman for whom it was commissioned—a showpiece of technical virtuosity performed by Toronto Symphony Orchestra Principal Clarinet Eric Abramovitz.