A new Clarinet Quintet by Osmo Vänskä receives its world premiere on 6 November at Curtis Institute of Music, performed by Vänskä, Erin Keefe, and students Emmalena Huning, Annis Ma and Hun Choi. Discussing his compositional inspiration, Vänskä comments:

“I have long wanted to write a clarinet quintet because I have been in love with the clarinet my entire life… The music of my quintet is largely based on my personal experiences and memories. There is nostalgia, enthusiasm, frustration, joy and melancholy. This music does not so much look to the future, but rather to the past, to the life already lived, and that is why it sounds more traditional than modern.

The clarinet is an incredibly versatile instrument, and its sound is natural in any style. For the quintet I wanted it to contain not only so-called ​“classical music,” but also two other typical examples of the clarinet (affectionately nicknamed the ​“licorice stick” by some!) tradition: klezmer and jazz. The latter is a tribute to the great Benny Goodman, whose own solo from the song ​“Sing, Sing, Sing” is written at the end of the third movement.” — Osmo Vänskä