A theatrical opening: Eldar Hudiyev’s Circus

The album opens with Eldar Hudiyev’s Circus for clarinet and orchestra, a compact but vividly theatrical work that immediately establishes the album’s central tension between playfulness and unease.

From the very first gestures, the orchestral language evokes a modernist stage world. I was instantly reminded of Stravinsky, not in imitation, but in attitude: sharply profiled rhythms, alert orchestral responses, and a sense that the music is always slightly off balance in the most intentional way. The clarinet enters not simply as a soloist but as a character moving through scenes.

Jonathan Gunn’s playing makes this dramaturgical role unmistakable. His phrasing moves freely between irony and lyricism, often within the span of a few measures. High-register clarinet lines sparkle with a Klezmer-like flexibility, while muted brass punctuate the texture with a dry, almost theatrical wit. The orchestration supports this atmosphere beautifully: short gestures from winds and brass feel like stage lights switching direction, constantly reshaping perspective.

What impressed me most while listening is how quickly the piece shifts emotional terrain. Moments of comic agility suddenly give way to passages of genuine introspection. The clarinet descends into warmer, more vocal registers where the line briefly becomes intimate and reflective, before being drawn back into motion again. These transitions never feel arbitrary, they create the sensation of watching a performer balancing vulnerability and spectacle in real time.

Rhythm plays an especially important role here. The orchestra often seems to circle the clarinet rather than accompany it, creating a sense of pursuit, interruption, or playful resistance. At several points the texture almost suggests chase music, reinforcing the circus metaphor not as literal imagery but as psychological space.

Equally striking is the control of orchestral balance. Even in the more animated passages, the ensemble never overwhelms the soloist. Instead, the clarinet remains the narrative center throughout, guiding the listener through shifting musical environments rather than competing against them.

By the end of the piece, what initially appeared as light theatrical color reveals itself as something more layered: a portrait of performance itself, its agility, its risk, and its fragile moments of stillness behind the mask

— Arashk Azizi, tunitemusic.com Estonia