Lost property for clarinet

Elegía and Pieza para clarinete solo are two very short pieces from the pen of the then 25-year-old Maurizio Kagel, which have only recently resurfaced and were premiered in Cologne in 2011. The two miniatures were not included in the list of works and only came to light in the Sacher Foundation archive after Kagel's death. Kagel had composed them in Argentina in 1956/57 before coming to Europe.

Both pieces are based on a twelve-tone row. The Elegía begins with a short Lento epilogue before the Allegro main section. The twelve-note row begins in this main section and then appears four times in succession. The Allegro in continuous three-four time has a lively, playful expression. The second piece Pieza is marked with the tempo indication Lento. It has a much greater range than the Elegía and demands numerous large, legato leaps from the performer. It is expressive in character with differentiated dynamic indications and the playing instruction "espressivo molto". The middle section in 5/8 time is animated and leads to a short climax.

It is gratifying that these two delightful finds from Mauricio Kagel's estate have found their way into a beautiful, printed edition including illustrations of the autographs in the Peters Contemporary series. In their spicy brevity, they represent an enrichment and should also fit perfectly into a classical-romantic concert program "despite" twelve-tone music.

Maurizio Kagel, Elegia & Pieza para clarinete solo, EP 11388,€ 6.80, C. F. Peters, Frankfurt et al. 2013