as big as alone is a work that showcases both the lyrical and the technical skills of the clarinetist. The piece is a true duet with both parts requiring technical skills in equal strength and the clarinet in the lead role throughout. A long introduction and a cadenza in the last part of the work especially allow the clarinetist to show a gift for lyricism.
as big as alone was premiered by clarinetist Thomas Piercy and pianist Claudine Hickman on March 10, 2011, in New York City. The work was written in its entirety during a blizzard that struck the east coast of the United States in December, 2010. While the work is inspired by the fury of the storm as well as the calm that preceded and followed it, the music itself was not written to convey wintery images or to suggest any storm-like qualities (although I am not opposed to any performers using such ideas for inspiration in their own performance!) For those wondering about the title of the work, it is a paraphrase of a line from a poem by e.e.cummings.
--B. Allen Schulz
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