Emma Johnson is one of the few clarinettists to have established an international career as a soloist.

Debussy Rhapsodie
Schumann Romances Op 94
Saint-Saëns Sonata Op 167
Poulenc Sonata
Stravinsky Three Pieces
Tailleferre Arabesque
Satie Gymnopédie No 1
Milhaud Suite: Scaramouche

Emma Johnson clarinet
Jean Marie Cottet piano

The series opens with Debussy, that most seductive yet revolutionary of French composers. Then follow works by members of the famous French group known as Les Six – Poulenc, Milhaud, Tailleferre, Durey, Auric and Honegger. Germaine Tailleferre’s Arabesque offers the rare opportunity to hear the work of the only female composer in the series. Her colleague Milhaud’s Scaramouche is in three movements – Vif (lively), Modéré and Brazileira, and uses material he first wrote to accompany two comedies at the Scaramouche Theatre.

Comissioned by Ida Jankelevitch for the 1937 Paris World’s Fair, the suite was originally written for two pianos but became so popular that Milhaud arranged it for saxophone or clarinet and orchestra.

Other concerts in the Leeds International Concert Season's French Impressions series curated by Emma Johnson:
Chloë Hanslip & Charles Owen
Pascal Rogé
Nash Ensemble
Schubert Ensemble
Peter Donohoe & Martin Roscoe, Contempo Quartet, Emma Johnson & Chris West

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