We’re delighted to announce that clarinettist Annelien van Wauwe has won an OPUS KLASSIK Award for best Young Artist of the Year with her album ‘Belle Epoque’.
Featuring works by Debussy, Manfred Trojahn, Pierné, Brahms and Widor, and recorded with the Orchestre National de Lille and conductor Alexandre Bloch for Pentatone, the album received enthusiastic praise from the critics:
“Debussy’s Première Rhapsodie emerges gradually from the mists, immediately establishing the Belgian clarinettist’s warm, elegant tone and easy legato. Trills are evenly placed and the high notes are floated without becoming pinched… The most interesting item on the disc is undoubtedly the Trojahn Rhapsodie…The Reverie opens in suitably dreamy mode but soon turns nightmarish, with huge plunges from stratospheric top notes to the bottom…while the Caprice is a helter-skelter high-wire act for the soloist which Van Wauwe navigates with aplomb. - Mark Pullinger, Gramophone, November 2019
“Annelien Van Wauwe is already a consummate artist and this well-planned disc gives us an excellent view of her technical skill, her musicianship and her lovely tone, even in thealtissimo register.“ - Roger Nichols, BBC Music Magazine, November 2019
“The muted opening of the Debussy Première Rhapsodie is beautifully played here… It is a piece that requires great skill and control in both the soloist and orchestra, something that is clear in this superb performance, which has quickly replaced my other accounts as favourite… The playing throughout is very good, with Annelien Van Wauwe proving herself a formidable clarinettist, especially in the Manfred Trojahn work, although it is in the French pieces that she really shines. The Orchestre National de Lille and Alexandre Bloch are in perfect partnership with the soloist, making this a most interesting and enjoyable disc. The recorded sound is clear and bright and the booklet notes give a good introduction to each of the composers and their music. A very welcome disc of music for clarinet and orchestra. - Stuart Sillitoe, Music Web International, August 2019
“Annelien van Wauwe gives an atmospheric performance” - James Jolly, Gramophone, August 2019
“Seductive sounds of a golden era … A CD that is full of charm.” - Ivan Hewett, Daily Telegraph, August 2019
“Gorgeous clarinet sound; rich orchestral playing … a fine recording as well.” - Andrew McGregor, BBC Radio 3 Record Review, August 2019
Annelien will be performing at the Berlin Konzerthaus with the Konzerthaus Orchestra at the OPUS KLASSIK Awards ceremony on 18 October 2020.