Gramophone One to watch

March 2021, London, UK

 

ONE TO WATCH in April’s issue of the Gramophone magazine.

 

In 2019 the Slovenian clarinettist Blaž Šparovec, who turns 27 this months, won the Carl Nielsen Clarinet Competition – an event with a formidable track record of helping to establish young musicians of enormous talent and promise. On the jury of this competition was Michael Collins, who said that “Blaž  was the deserving winner … he showed immense qualities from the start and is able to communicate with the audience his joy of music-making. His technical skill and warm sound will make him stand out as a true individual.” Part of Šparovec’s prize, in common with the other winners of the competition, was to make an album. Reunited with the Odense Symphony Orchestra during the period of respite from lockdown last summer, Šparovec has recorded the clarinet concertos by Nielsen and Copland alongside works by Lustlawski and a live recording of Debussy’s Première Rhapsody. The album will be release on Orchid Classics. Šparovec is now resident in Germany, where since 2015 he has been principal clarinettist of the Gürzenich-Orchestra Cologne, and is also Associate Professor at the University of Arts in Berlin. As his playing at the Nielsen Competition demonstrated – and this is still available to watch on medici.tv – Šparovec brings immense character to the music he plays and his chamber-like rapport with the orchestral musicians is immediately engaging. The album is out in July and will of course be reviewed in Gramophone.

 

 

March 2020, Cologne, Germany

COVID-19

Due to the recent development of the Covid-19 pandemic and the measures taken to stop it some of Blaz Sparovec’s concerts have already been cancelled. The Summerwinds festival in Münster where he was to perform as a soloist with the c/o chamber orchestra and two solo concerts with the Lichtenstein Symphony Orchestra.

Tune in to get the latest news regarding other concerts coming up in the next weeks.

 

 

 

 September 2020, Munich, Germany

SEMI FINALS IN THE ARD INTERNATIONAL MUSIC COMPETITION

During the first weeks of September Blaz Sparovec participated in the ARD International Music Competition. After advancing to the semi finals he played the Mozart Clarinet Concerto with the Munich Chamber Orchestra.

The performance can be listened to here:

https://www.br.de/mediathek/video/semifinale-klarinette-blaz-sparovec-slowenien-av:5d754dd71f300600137bb602

 

 

 

01.04.2019, Odense, Denmark

 

New album recording for Orchid Classics

 

After winning the first prize in the Carl Nielsen Competitiona 2019 Blaz Sparovec will record a new album with the Odense Symphony Orchestra for Orchid Classics label.

The programme will be released soon.

More about Orchid Classics.

More about Odense Symphony Orchestra.

 

 21-31 March 2019, Odense, Denmark

First prize winner of the 2019 Carl Nielsen Competition

Blaz Sparovec is the first prize winner of the 2019 Carl Nielsen Competition. He was awarded not only first prize but also the Odense Symphony Orchestra Prize and Junior Jury Prize for his performance of the Nielsen Clarinet Concerto with the Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra.

Michael Collins commented on Sparovec’s performance: “Blaz was the deserving winner of the 2019 Carl Nielsen competition. He showed immense qualities from the start and is able to communicate with the audience his joy of music making. His technical skill and warm sound will make him stand out as a true individual. I wish him well for a very bright future”.

To listen to the perfomances click here.

To read more about the Carl Nielsen Competition visit http://carlnielsencompetition.com/news/news-2.