Hugo Queirós - Time and Motion (2018/2020)

Portuguese clarinetist Hugo Queiros writes of his new album: New music comes and goes. We live in an era of one time pieces; a new piece is born, premiered and disappears for decades or even forever. In my opinion, sometimes we should take a step back and look to the recent past and revaluate what could be some of the iconic masterpieces of our time. In this album I decided to bring a fresh look to the old pieces that influenced so many composers and players. This album includes some of the most emblematic compositions from the bass and contrabass clarinet repertoire. Chronologically starting with Ferneyhough, where we can find the most demanding passages that explore the limits of playability, to Donatoni where we have an exploration on timbre and dynamics. Jarrell and Staud, both dedicated to Ernesto Molinari, a virtuoso of the bass clarinet who inspired both composers to take the bass clarinet to a new level of writing. Closing with Cendo, the only composition with electronics, where he explores the art in the saturation of sound. These different aesthetics bring a multi-tasted flavor to this album, and provide an overview of the state of the bass and contrabass clarinet standard repertoire that deserves to be recognized and appreciated.