Washington Classical Review

Clarinetist Ricardo Morales and pianist Efi Hackmey performed at the Chiarina Chamber Players concert Sunday at St. Mark’s Capitol Hill. Photo: Albert Ting

Ricardo Morales, principal clarinet of the Philadelphia Orchestra, was originally scheduled to play a program with Chiarina Chamber Players co-founder and pianist Efi Hackmey on January 27, the day a storm dumped a foot of what would later be dubbed “snowcrete” on Washington, D.C.

Fortunately, the concert was rescheduled for Sunday afternoon at St. Mark’s Capitol Hill. The sunny, cool spring day outside nicely complemented the program: searching, delightful performances of four works, all shaded with joy and melancholy, that should be heard more often.

Francis Poulenc’s Sonata for Clarinet and Piano opened the program, a fine example of that composer’s wealth of chamber music for winds. The first movement opened with a leaping, snaking melody that was given sinuous strength by Morales’ clarinet; in a contrasting section marked “Très calme,” Morales and Hackmey were luminous in limning its beatific stillness. 

The faster music returned, but Morales delivered a haunting quiet trill to close. The second movement, returning to the “Très calme” marking, showed Morales’ command of his low range, with a cool yet burnished tone adding luster to the music. Both musicians appeared to enjoy the romp that is the finale, with playing that was sparkling and buoyant throughout.

Before performing Jacob Bancks’ “the dream forgotten…”, Hackmey related the story of how Morales commissioned the work, which the clarinetist premiered in 2023. Morales sent Bancks a text requesting a work with “a heartbreaking melody and a show-stopping finale, in no more than eight minutes,” concluding with multiple praying-hand emoji. The composer replied with a strong-arm emoji, and soon after came the piece, which takes its inspiration and title from a Conrad Aiken poem that draws connections among music, memory, and madness.

After an enigmatic eight-note phrase from Morales, Hackmey began playing swirling figures high on the keyboard, hovering like clouds, as Morales took up a melody. The melody evolved over the brief course of the work, settling down into the middle ranges of the instruments, with unexpected modulations and twists, at times seeming to reach backwards even as it progressed. Morales and Hackmey began playing more urgently, leading to a climax; the piece closed with Morales playing the opening phrase again, a memory changed in the restatement.

Although Chiarina’s other co-founder, cellist Carrie Bean Stute, sat this concert out, Hackmey announced that he and Stute have commissioned Bancks to write a trio for them to play with Morales in a future Chiarina season.

The Cuban-born clarinetist Paquito D’Rivera plays his own work so well that it may discourage others from doing so, especially because it’s hard to match his fluency in classical, jazz, and Latin music. 

Happily, Morales and Hackmey were up to the challenge in D’Rivera’s Three Pieces for Clarinet and Piano. Admittedly, Hackmey did not sound quite as idiomatic in the Cuban rhythms of the opening “Contradanza” as the Puerto Rican-born Morales, but the pianist made a creditable partner as the two traded the infectious melody back and forth. The “Habanera,” inspired by Maurice Ravel, crossed up Spanish music and bluesy notes, Morales shaping its lines with captivating tone. A “Vals Venezolano” made a delightful dance to close.

Johannes Brahms’ Clarinet Sonata No. 2 closed the program. The first movement was fitfully undermined by Hackmey’s tendency to a clattery sound in louder passages; if Morales was speaking forcefully, Hackmey at times seemed to be shouting.

Fortunately, such moments were few, and Morales’ clarinet was serene and steady in Brahms’ wistful melodies. The gentle sway of the second movement came off well, Morales navigating the twisty melody so it sounded like a natural breath, clear and rich in the low register.

The third movement combines a slow movement and a spirited finale by beginning with a lambent, leisurely theme that Brahms subjects to gradually faster variations. Morales and Hackmey unfolded it gently, giving full breath to its lyricism, and didn’t rush the music when it became fast. The slow variation that comes late in the movement felt even more grave than usual, but with a twinkle in its eye looking towards the exuberant final pages.

The Chiarina Chamber Players close their season May 17 with a family concert centered on Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. chiarina.org