Mark van de Wiel, principal clarinet of the Philharmonia from 2000 to 2025, delivers a riveting collection of clarinet quintets on his new album 'Strange Loops.' The recording, with Soloists of the Philharmonia on Signum, captures performances of drama and beauty, as praised in a recent review.
A Career of Premieres and a Thematic Title
Van de Wiel's tenure with the Philharmonia included giving the UK premiere of Anna Clyne's 'Strange Loops.' The title references Douglas Hofstadter's 1979 bestseller 'Gödel, Escher, Bach,' describing a cyclic system where moving through hierarchical levels unexpectedly returns to the beginning. This concept is musically realized in Clyne's composition, written during lockdown, with klezmer-inflected loops that multiply and mutate through syncopations and sidesteps, reaching a satisfying conclusion.
Meticulous Realization and Contrasting Works
The album opens with Clyne's buoyant yet bittersweet piece, meticulously performed by Van de Wiel alongside violinists Zsolt-Tihamér Visontay and Fiona Cornall, violist Nicholas Bootiman, and cellist Karen Stephenson. The slinky, 21st-century riffs contrast sharply with the pastoral calm of Ruth Gipps' 1942 'Rhapsody in E-flat.' Gipps, who played the oboe herself, wrote the clarinet part for her husband, and Van de Wiel's dark-toned, buttery sound matches dramatic resolve with sonic beauty.
Virtuoso Weber and Collegiate Ensemble
Weber's Clarinet Quintet receives a virtuoso outing, with Van de Wiel shaping solo lines with imagination and dramatic flair. His fellow musicians also shine in a generous, collegiate account, captured in warmly detailed sound. The album is available on Apple Music and Spotify.
