Written as part of a collaboration between Dr. Corey Hamm's Piano Studio, Jose Franch Ballester's Clarinet Studio, and the UBC Composition Department, this exhilarating piece was originally written for Valerie Kim (Clarinet) and Jane Wang (Piano). The piece allows the clarinetist to show off fast virtuosic runs, a soaring melody, tender expression, and ultimately a blaring altissimo C, while the pianist gets equal billing with Romantic expression, crazy fast hammering of the keys, and dramatic diva moments. 

 

Fantasia for Clarinet and Piano explores various characters and moods, from adventurous, tragic, bittersweet, nostalgic, and flashy. The music makes use of familiar harmonies, but in a non-traditional way, with unexpected turns and modulations. Similarly, meter creates fun syncopations and grooves throughout the active sections. The piece was written to be genuinely exciting and satisfying for the performers as well as the audience, making use of the clarinet’s full range, an extremely wide dynamic range from niente to fff, and the piano’s two hands two their fullest potential.