Allegro for Clarinet and Bassoon B.7

Explore the score history

Dinu Lipatti practiced his writing for wind instruments through a series of compositions that varied in size and importance but were stylistically significant, shaped by his mentors Mihail Jora and Nadia Boulanger. Sensitive to a particular sonic atmosphere, Lipatti was also inspired by his classmates-turned-friends, such as Igor Markevitch and Jean Françaix, known for their refined timbral writing. George Enescu’s influence, especially through the Dixtuor op.14, helped shape Lipatti’s musical universe. Despite a limited compositional output, Lipatti devoted a meaningful portion of his work to wind instruments, blending Romanian folk elements with modern 20th-century techniques.

The Allegro for Clarinet and Bassoon, composed in 1936 during his studies in Paris, is curiously absent from his correspondence, raising questions about its origin—perhaps a class exercise or a moment of creative leisure. That same year, Lipatti also composed major works like the Concertino in Classical Style and the Fantasy for Violin, Cello and Piano. Though modest in scale, the Allegro reveals a high level of theoretical mastery and a compositional approach that moves away from traditional tonal and modal systems, employing full chromaticism and centering around the note C.