You can listen to the broadcast on the Radio 4 web site here.
You can listen to the broadcast on the Radio 4 web site here.
You can listen to the broadcast on the Radio 3 web site here.
In February, Emma was playing at a Gala Concert in the Stables Theatre, Wavendon when Dame Cleo Laine announced the sad news that her husband, Sir John Dankworth, had died. All the performers including Victoria Wood, Maureen Lipman and Emma had been shocked to be informed before the concert, but the event went ahead and the audience were only told at the end. He will be sorely missed. Emma is very proud of her long association with Sir John, and of the Suite for Emma and Concerto that he wrote for her.
The world premiere of Stephen Barlow's Nocturne for clarinet, strings and marimba, written for Emma, was broadcast by Radio 3 on April 20.
Listen to the program here.
January 2012
Emma's new recording with John Lenehan of the two Brahms Sonatas will be released on the Nimbus label on April 30th. Brahms wrote his sonatas at the very end of his life and these beautiful works are essential to the clarinet repertoire. Having played these pieces many times in concert, Emma now feels ready to commit her interpretations to disc. Also included are Mendelssohn's exuberant Clarinet Sonata, written while he was still a teenager, and Schumann's Fantasy Pieces.
Emma has been busy giving concerts, some with an American theme, and others celebrating the centenary of Nino Rota. In April she presented a weekend of Schubert's chamber music at the Castle Hotel, Taunton where she also made her debut as a lecturer, talking about Schubert's life and works!
 | November 2010 Sky Arts have made a programme about Emma which will be broadcast for the first time on Sky Arts 2 at 8pm on December 17 2010. Music Room: Howard Goodall with Emma Johnson will feature Emma in conversation with the presenter, and performing music with pianist John Lenehan. |
In early 2011, Emma will be going into the studio to record two new discs. Details will follow soon.
| In March, Emma will be giving the world premiere of a new piece written for her by Jonathan Dove. Based on the Pied Piper story, the new piece features 100 young musicians alongside the soloist! 'The concert was a glorious demonstration of what the clarinet is capable of in the right hands. The soloist, Emma Johnson, has realised what lies at the heart of music making when it is at its best: she does not just perform, but uses the music to communicate something wonderful. While she plays, Johnson moves in the way clarinettists often do, though not in any pretentious fashion – everything is natural, and tells a story. Obviously, all this is helped by what is a first rate technique.' Savon Sanomat (Finland) 12/11/11 |  |
Emma has been busy giving concerts in the 2007/8 season, including a recital in the Cadogan Hall in London, and concerts with the Endellion Quartet at Bridgewater Hall in Manchester and other venues.
This month sees the launch of Emma's new masterclass videos at icanplayit.com. Emma has recorded 32 short videos covering various aspects of clarinet technique and performance that regularly crop up in the masterclasses she gives round the world. She hopes there will be something of interest for clarinet players of all abilities.
Also soon to be launched is Emma's new book of pieces for clarinet and piano. Published by Kevin Mayhew Ltd, The Emma Johnson Collection will feature several of the arrangements from Emma's most recent two recordings - Voyage and The Mozart Album - including pieces by Einaudi, John Barry, Morricone, Mozart, Verdi and many others.
Emma begins the New Year with the world premiere of a beautiful piece written for her by Stephen Barlow. The new work, Nocturne, for clarinet, strings and marimba, is full of changes in colour and drama. It will be premiered by Emma and the Ulster Orchestra with the composer conducting in one of Radio 3's invitation concerts. News of the broadcast will be given as soon as we have it.
Emma's recent premiere of Will Todd's Jazz Concerto went down a storm, with many requests from the audience for a second hearing. She will be playing it again in Milton Keynes on 22 January, and hopefully many more times after that!
This season Emma has curated a season of French Chamber Music in Leeds, featuring artists including Chloe Hanslip, Pascal Roge and the Nash Ensemble. The season comes to a fun close on March 9 when Martin Roscoe and Peter Donohoe will be playing piano duets before joining Emma Johnson and Friends in a performance of Saint-Saens' Carnival of the Animals.
There are lots of other exciting concerts coming up. They are all listed on the Concerts page. Many thanks for your support and a Happy New Year!
Early summer's highlights have been a performance of the Mozart Concerto at the Royal Albert Hall with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and a tour of West Country churches for Classic FM. Late summer sees Emma visiting several festivals, including the Three Choirs Festival at Hereford Cathedral where she will be performing one of her favourite pieces, the Finzi Concerto, with the Philharmonia. In an unusual departure from her usual routine, Emma has been learning to play Jewish Klezmer music and is excited to be appearing as a guest artist at the London KlezFest at the Jazz Cafe in Camden in August.
In the Autumn, Emma has a busy schedule visiting many UK venues. One highlight is the world premiere of Jazz Concerto, a new piece written especially for her by Will Todd. The premiere is being shared by the Brighton Philharmonic and Milton Keynes City Orchestras. Also in 2009/10 Emma has acted as director for a festival of French chamber music in Leeds and is opening the series with a recital on October 13.
Emma's new recording is released on February 2nd. The new disc will be released on the budget-priced label Naxos and features the beautiful Suite For Emma written for her by Sir John Dankworth. Also included are evocative sonatas by the American composers Bernstein and Copland. The disc is available from the Web Site store on the Recordings page.
Also new on the Recordings page is an mp3 widget where you can listen to (and purchase for download) clips from four of Emma's albums. We hope to add more albums soon.
Emma continues to be busy. In the Spring she will be concentrating on chamber music, giving concerts with the cellist Natalie Clein, and then later on with the great French pianist, Pascal Roge.
In May Emma was featured in a television documentary to celebrate 30 years of the Young Musician of the Year Competition on BBC2. She was also a judge for the woodwind section of the competition.
Her programme for BBC Radio 4 about Finzi's Clarinet Concerto was well received and boosted interest in this masterpiece of English music. Emma will give performances of the work next season with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Reading Hexagon and with the Philharmonia at the Three Choirs Festival.
She has been very busy in the recording studio making a CD of jazz-inspired classical music for release early next year. The featured works are the beautiful Suite For Emma written especially for Emma by John Dankworth, as well as pieces by Copland and Bernstein.
Also on the recording front, Emma was soloist on a track for the new Classic FM/Universal instrumental album, Songs Without Words, to be released in September.
Her new concert schedule is on the website.