Belgian clarinettist Annelien Van Wauwe revives the golden glow of a
bygone age on her PENTATONE debut album Belle époque, together with the
Orchestre National de Lille and its music director Alexandre Bloch. The
programme is built around treasures of French turn-of-the-century music
such as Debussy’s Première Rhapsodie, Pierné’s Canzonetta and Widor’s
Introduction et Rondo (the latter two in arrangements by Jelle Tassyns).
Belle époque also offers works that display a spiritual kinship to the
age, such as Brahms’s first clarinet sonata, arranged by Luciano Berio,
and a world-premiere recording of Paris-based contemporary composer
Manfred Trojahn (Rhapsodie pour clarinette et orchestre).
Annelien van Wauwe is a former BBC New Generation Artist and winner of
the renowned Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award 2018. She kickstarts an
exclusive collaboration with PENTATONE with this first solo album. The
Orchestre National de Lille and Alexandre Bloch release their second
PENTATONE album, after their 2018 recording of Bizet’s Les Pêcheurs de
perles, crowned with a Diapason d’or.