Temple University Concert Report

Temple university Japan in conjunction with the Spanish Embassy Spain in Japan performed ‘Music from Spain and America’ at the Takanawa Civic Centre. This concert was performed by Oskar Espina Ruiz, world renowned clarinetist and Daniel Kujavec, a prodigious pianist. During this concert, Leonard Horton premiered his modern Sonatina ( which was written and dedicated for Oksar Espina Ruiz) and played alongside J.C. Arriaga’s classical composition, ‘Pastoral (String quartet No.3 in E-flat major)’ and Andres Isasi’s romantic composition of Sonata in F-Minor, Op.25.

The first composition performed was J.C. Arriaga’s ‘ Pastoral ( String Quartet No. 3 in E-flat major)’ composed in 1823, arranged by Oskar Espina Ruiz. Arriaga composed three string

This sonatina follows the conventional structure of classical composition’s sonata form with a ‘ fast, slow, fast’ structur , however it its condensed into a shorter time frame, therefore it is called a “small sonata” or sonatina. This sonatina was played with a clarinet and piano accompaniment. The first movement ‘Sweetly’ begins with a motive that is slow yet melodic, which brings out the full bodied notes of a clarinet. Alongside the clarinet, passionate imitation is heard from the piano with its soft stringed notes. This evokes a feeling of light sweet warmth, and a sense of calm in the audience. The second movement ‘Mellow’ evokes a slight jazzy feeling, as if the composer were walking through a park. This is shown through the slow tempo but upbeat variations in the melody. The third movement “With a Lilt’ shows a more exciting grand finish, the piano accompaniment is louder in volume and creates these vigorous complex sounds. Both piano and clarinet finish sharply. This is parallel to the idea of ‘Beethoven’s 5th Symphony’ with its wide range of complexities across all three movements , the repetition of motives, and it's intensity towards the end of the performance. Over all this was a stimulating and enjoyable experience as the music showed variations in the movements and kept me focused on the