NDR/Arte

Sabine Meyer and the Clarinet

For a long time the clarinet has been an underrated instrument, wrongly deemed by some to be a mere acoustic color in the orchestra – until Sabine Meyer as one of the leading clarinetists of our time made the triumphal procession of the instrument possible. Together with her, the clarinet has entered into the spotlight and has reclaimed center stage as a solo instrument in its own right.

Hardly any piece of music appears as often in touching movie scenes as the theme from the second movement of Mozart’s legendary clarinet concerto. And not without any good reason. The key is the instrument, the basset clarinet that Mozart originally wrote the concerto for, which offers an especially warm, soft and deep sound by way of its impressive range.

Set against the backdrop of a concert at the Laeiszhalle in Hamburg together with the Basel chamber orchestra and the conductor Giovanni Antonini, the film „Sabine Meyer and the clarinet“ explores the challenges that come with the instrument, looks at how Sabine Meyer has succeeded in finding and defining her own voice, and at the same time examines what it means to successfully reinvent a piece of music that has been played countless times before.