Schelb, Josef: Sonata

With the first edition of Josef Schelb’s only recently rediscovered “Sonata for Clarinet and Piano” from 1947, the repertoire of this chamber-music genre gains an attractive asset. Schelb’s four-movement work, closest in style to that by Paul Hindemith among the well-known clarinet sonatas of the 20th century, captivates with its distinctive originality, strong inventiveness, and the very personal character of its musical statement. Schelb is not only a master of contrapuntal compositional art, he is equally capable of formulating aphoristically concise expression and handling the thematic material, as well as of shaping with affinity the most various instrumental moods and gestures, at times, humorously burlesque, at times yearningly expressive, or even flashing fleetingly past. Each of the extensive work’s movements, sometimes demanding considerable virtuosity, reveals Schelb’s close familiarity with this woodwind instrument. The clear, never exuberant piano composing betrays the sensitive pianist who never disavows his musical home in Romanish Switzerland.