Jean Françaix: Works for Clarinet

"I have been a fan of Françaix‘s music since the first time I heard one of his pieces, which was sometime in my youth at the old Kunsthaus in Lucerne," says Dimitri Ashkenazy. "Hans-Rudolf Stalder played his 'Tema con variazioni' [the second piece on this disc] in the version with string orchestra accompaniment. I loved the spirit, the subtle use of harmony, and the humour, but also its introspectiveness."