Karin Dornbusch clarinet
Gävle Symphony Orchestra  
conducted by Petri Sakari

Nominated for the swedish CD-prize "Grammis 2007" in the category "Classical Soloist of the Year" more info

1. Klarinettenkonzert op 57 - Carl Nielsen
2. Klarinettenkonzert op 30 - John Fernström
3. Klarinettenkonzert "Carpe Diem!" op 38 - 
    Jouni Kaipainen

FOR MORE INFORMATION::
Anita Tapper, anita.tapper@rikskonserter.se 
Marketing Caprice Records tel. 08-407 16 90
Caprice Records 21649

"Karin Dornbusch's playing is purely enticing, with an irresistible intensity as if she wished to convince us all....that nothing is impossible."
   (Martin Byström, Dagens Nyheter, 1 July, 2006)

"All three concerts are coupled on the disc Nordic Clarinet Concertos featuring the outstanding Swedish clarinetist Karin Dornbusch as soloist. She plays from within; it makes the clarinet tone live and catches all the nuances of the music. Wonderful playing with a wide spectrum of expression, from the cantabile melody formation in Fernström to the passages of unconventional playing in Kaipainen's concerto. The masterpiece is of course Nielsen's clarinet concerto, nowadays regarded as one of the foremost in its genre. The Gävle orchestra is good, but Dornbusch ranks in a class that would go well with any high level ensemble."
   (Lars Hedblad, Svenska Dagbladet, 14 December, 2005)

"Swedish composer John Fernström's clarinet concerto from 1936, with an almost romantic nocturnal mood in the first movement and with a traditional finishing rondo, is the most conventional work on this record. But clarinetist Karin Dornbusch is just the person to unveil the charm of this short concert. With details such as the cantabile dialogue between the cello part and the soloist the concert provides a comfortable buffer between the more substantial works on the disc: Carl Nielsen's Clarinet Concerto from 1928, and the Finnish composer Jouni Kaipainen's Carpe Diem from 1990. Kaipainen's concerto is the most expressive on this record and, even if Kaipainen with this work has entered the road towards a more finished modernism, Karin Dornbusch is given ample opportunity to display her masterly span - from the explosive to a suppressed tranquillity. Dornbusch's somewhat harsh tone also fits perfectly in the rather impertinent opening of the Nielsen concert - then she glides, in chameleonic fashion, back and forth through the filter of changing moods produced, seamlessly, by Gävle Symphony Orchestra under Petri Sakaris. 
   (Sara Norling, Dagens Nyheter, 22 February, 2006)

"... supremely and self evident ... Nielsen, Fernström and Kaipainen. Over all, we meet very attractive and hard-played music which in Dornbusch's eminent execution turns into something simply self-evident."
   (ÖstgötaCorrespondenten, 4 april, 2006)

"... Karin Dornbusch is an eminent tone colorist. The nuances of her acoustic colouring range from the delicately lyrical to the sparkling
burlesque. The serene calm has its tone - the choleric gesture another. This wide register stands in good stead in this repertoire; three decades, three countries, three composer temperaments, all captured in one single instrument in the hands of a virtuoso."
   (Carlhåkan Larsén, Opus 3, 2006)

"Karin Dornbusch plays out all the shrewd passages and turns with the utmost ease. The intricate ensemble with the orchestra is equally elegant... I fell immediately for Kaipainen's exuberant musicianly modernism. The dizzying technical difficulties seem to be mere child's play for Dornbusch, such is the wit and ease with which she turns and twists all the
possibilities of expression the clarinet has to offer..."
   (Lennart Bromander, Arbetarbladet, 12 February, 2006)

"This disc is a well charged recording of a master: here are three of the foremost Nordic clarinet concertos, in which Karin Dornbusch impresses with an incredible technique, subtle tone production and an impressive perfection of form."
   (Dag Lundin, Katrineholms-Kuriren, 20 January, 2006)

"... Nielsen would be the best known (of the three) and his Clarinet Concerto is not easily played. Still, in the hands of Karin (Dornbusch), it becomes so elegant and natural... We are particularly thankful for a brilliant rendering of Fernström..."
   (Stig Jacobsson, BTJ-häftet, 16 January, 2006)

"... Brilliant clarinet playing with both feeling and style. Here a very talented soloist - and a woman! - has delivered a radiant interpretation of the sharp-witted work... She is Karin Dornbusch, showing great sureness and sensitivity for all the flashing whims and fluctuating moods of Carl Nielsen."
   (Henry Frid, Skånska Dagbladet, 30 December, 2005)

CD available at amazon.com

Amazon Costumer Review:
World-class strings and a clarinet sensation, June 22, 1999

Buy this record in order to hear fascinating compostitions played by a world-class ensemble from an obscure Swedish town, under a world-class Hungarian conductor. Buy it for its excellent technical quality. Above all, buy it because it features Karin Dornbusch, bright new star on the clarinet heavens.

Miss Dornbusch performs the concerto in two movements by Aaron Copland, one of the best concertos ever written for clarinet. In the first movement her playing is hesitant and vulnerable. She sings her song with a tender fragility that hurts, and Musica Vitae creates a paradisical backdrop.

The cadenza at the end of the first movement effects a miraculous metamorphosis: the ewe-lamb becomes a she-wolf! A supercharged jam-session ensues. The final build-ups will take you to the edge of your chair and beyond... (A sedative has thoughtfully been included on the record, in the form of the soothing Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber.)

Some might prefer Richard Stoltzmann's supremely confident all-honey rendering of the Copland concerto. But Karin Dornbusch has obviously learnt much from him, and while her clarinet doesn't ooze quite as much honey she is more versatile. This is a very colourful recording, and it's sure to create a lot of Dornbusch fans. I'm one!

Stephan Borgehammar

Karin Dornbusch clarinet
Erik Lanninger piano

1. Tema con variazioni  - Françaix
2. Three pieces for clarinet solo - Stravinsky
3. Sonatina pro klarinet a klavir - Martinu
4. Sonate pour clarinette seule - Olah
5. Vier Stücke für Klarinette und Klavier - Berg
6. Sonate für Klarinette in B - Denisov
7. Sonata for clarinet and piano - Bernstein
8. Hommage à Manuel de Falla - Kovàcs
9. New York Counterpoint for 11 clarinets - Reich

Caprice Records © 1996 [CAP 21551]

"The immensity of her talent is clear to anyone listening to her first CD."
   (Seth Karlsson, Södra Dalarnes Tidning 1996)
 
"A pearl of price!"
  (Stig Jacobsson, Hifi & Musik 1996) (Stig Jacobsson, Hifi & Musik 1996)
 
"This début record by 25-year-old Karin Dornbusch is the obvious choice for a clarinet lover."
   (Björn G. Stenberg, Upsala Nya Tidning 1996) (Björn G. Stenberg, Upsala Nya Tidning 1996)
 
"...the 1996 prize-winner, clarinet artist Karin Dornbusch, has now made a record demonstrating an unparalleled instrumental confidence... an almost extreme capacity for varying and controlling the tone colour of her instrument."
   (Lennart Bromander, Arbetet 1997)
 
"Judging from 'Clarinet', we can expect almost anything..."
   (Mikael Widell, Dagens Industri 1997)

[back to top]

home | bio | cd's | concerts | reviews | contact | links