Sharon Kam

Clarinet

"Mine is not necessarily an instrumental way of thinking. It's not about which note sounds bad and how do you make it better. It's always about the phrase. How does a phrase have to be? And then you make it technically possible to get the phrase the way you want it to be."
Sharon Kam, The Irish Times, April 2005
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Biography

Sharon Kam is one of the world’s leading clarinet soloists and has been working with renowned orchestras in the United States, Europe, and Japan for over 20 years.
Mozart’s clarinet masterpieces have been an object of artistic focus for Ms. Kam since the beginning of her career. At the age of 16, she performed the Mozart Clarinet Concerto in her orchestral debut with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and Zubin Mehta. A short time later, she performed the Clarinet Quintet with the Guarneri String Quartet in Carnegie Hall, New York. As part of Mozart’s 250th birthday celebrations at the National Theatre in Prague, her interpretation of the Mozart concerto was televised live in 33 countries and is available on DVD. In the same year, she was able to realize her longtime dream of recording the Concerto and the Clarinet Quintet using the basset clarinet. Contributing to the widely praised disk were eminent string players Isabelle van Keulen, Ulrike-Anima Mathé, Volker Jacobsen and Gustav Rivinus, as well as the Haydn Philharmonie.

As a passionate chamber musician, Sharon Kam regularly works with artists such as Christian Tetzlaff, Enrico Pace, Daniel Müller-Schott, Leif Ove Andsnes, Carolin Widmann and the Jerusalem Quartet. She is a frequent guest at festivals in Schleswig-Holstein, Heimbach, Rheingau, Risør, Cork, Verbier, and Delft, as well as the Schubertiade festival. An active performer of contemporary music, she has premiered many works, including Krzysztof Penderecki’s Concerto and Quartet and concertos by Herbert Willi (at the Salzburg Festival), Iván Erőd and Peter Ruzicka (at Donaueschingen).
„Sharon Kam is a clarinetist with an exceptionally wide expressive range.”Edward Greenfield, Gramophone
Highlights in the 2023/24 season include concerts with the Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the Düsseldorf Philharmonic, and concerts with her trio colleagues Enrico Pace and Julian Steckel and the Jerusalem Quartet.

Sharon Kam feels at home in a variety of musical genres – from classical to modern music and jazz – a fact reflected in her diverse discography. She received the ECHO “Instrumentalist of the Year” award two times: in 1998, for her Weber recording with the Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig and Kurt Masur, and in 2006, for her CD with the Leipzig Radio Orchestra featuring works by Spohr, Weber, Rossini and Mendelssohn. Her “American Classics” CD with the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by her husband Gregor Bühl, was awarded the Deutsche Schallplattenkritik Prize.

In 2013 she released a recording entitled “Opera!”. This collaboration with the Württembergisches Kammerorchester, conducted by Ruben Gazarian, includes transcriptions of operatic arias ranging from Rossini and Puccini to Wolf-Ferrari, arranged for clarinet and chamber orchestra. The release was accompanied by an inaugural tour. To mark the 100th anniversary of Max Reger's death in 2016, her chamber music partners from her Mozart recording rejoined to record the clarinet quintets by Reger and Brahms (Edel, October 2015).

Her new trio album "Contrasts", which she recorded together with her long-term partners Ori Kam and Matan Porat, was immediately included after release on the best-of-list of the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik. In spring 2020, ORFEO International released her recording of clarinet concertos by Carl Maria von Weber and his contemporaries Karol Kurpiński and Bernhard Henrik Crusell, which she recorded together with the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra and Gregor Bühl.

2023/2024
This biography is to be reproduced without any changes, omissions or additions, unless expressly authorized by artist management.
Contacts: Juliane Scotney, Soyeon Im

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Programme

2024 / 2025

You’ll find the current programs in the IMPRESARIUM der Saison 24/25

2023 / 2024
Sharon Kam & Enrico Pace
Clarinet & Piano

Schumann: Fantasiestücke for clarinet and piano in A minor op. 73
Lutosławski: Dance Preludes for Clarinet and Piano
Gade: Fantasiestücke for clarinet and piano op. 43
Poulenc: Sonata for clarinet and piano B flat major
Françaix: Tema con variazioni for clarinet and piano
Schumann: Three Romances for clarinet and piano op. 94
Horowitz: Sonatina for clarinet and piano

Sharon Kam, Julian Steckel & Enrico Pace
Clarinet, Cello & Piano

Beethoven: Piano Trio in B flat major op. 11 “Gassenhauer Trio
Webern: Three little pieces for violoncello and piano op. 11
Rota: Allegro giusto for clarinet, violoncello and piano
***
Berg: Four pieces for clarinet and piano op. 5
Brahms: Trio for clarinet, violoncello and piano in A minor op. 114

Sharon Kam, Liza Ferschtmann, Christian Poltéra & Enrico Pace
Clarinet, Violin, Cello & Piano

Erwin Schulhoff: Duo for violin and cello
Béla Bartók: Contrasts for violin, clarinet and piano, SZ 111
***
Olivier Messiaen: Quatuor pour la fin du temps for violin, violoncello, piano and clarinet

or:

Ludwig van Beethoven: Gassenhauer Trio
Johannes Brahms: Trio in C minor for violin, cello and piano
***
Paul Hindemith: Quartet for clarinet, violin, violoncello & piano

Sharon Kam, Ori Kam & Matan Porat
Clarinet, Viola & Piano

Mozart: Trio for clarinet, viola and piano in E-flat major K.498 “Kegelstatt Trio”
Zemlinsky: Trio in D minor for clarinet, viola and piano, op. 3
***
Brahms: 2 Songs Op. 91 for clarinet, viola and piano
Bach: Partita No. 1 for piano
Bartók: Contrasts for viola, clarinet and piano, SZ 111

2022 / 2023

Schedule

06/04/2024
19:00 h
Sharon Kam, Markus Becker, Veronika Eberle
28/04/2024
16:00 h
Markus-Sittikus-Saal
Hohenems, Austria
Sharon Kam, Quatuor Modigliani
09/05/2024
19:30 h
The Menuhin Hall
Great Bookham, United Kingdom
Sitkovetsky Trio, Sharon Kam
07/06/2024
19:30 h
Ehem. Synagoge St. Pölten
St. Pölten, Austria
Sharon Kam, Matan Porat
16/06/2024
17:00 h

,
Sharon Kam, Friederike Starkloff, Nikolai Schneider, Endri Nini
31/07/2024
20:08 h
Sitkovetsky Trio, Sharon Kam
01/08/2024
20:08 h
Sharon Kam, Jerusalem Quartet

Discography

Weber - Kurpinski - Crusell
Karol Kurpinski
Concerto in B flat Major for Clarinet and Orchestra

Carl Maria von Weber
Clarinet Concerto No 2 in E flat Major, op. 74

Bernhard Crusell
Clarinet Concerto in E flat Major, op. 1

Sharon Kam - Clarinet
Gregor Bühl - Conductor
ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien

"Contrasts": Mozart - Schumann - Brahms - Bartók - Rechtman
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Trio in E flat Major, KV 498 for Clarinet, Viola and Piano ("Kegelstatt")

Robert Schumann
"Märchenerzählungen" for Clarinet, Viola and Piano, op. 132

Johannes Brahms
2 Gesänge, op. 91

Béla Bartók
"Contrasts" for Viola, Clarinet, Piano, Sz 111

Ilan Rechtman
Jazzical

Sharon Kam - Clarinet
Ori Kam - Viola
Matan Porat - Piano

Mozart - Brahms - Reger
Johannes Brahms
Quintet for Clarinet, two Violins, Viola and Cello in B minor, Op. 115

Max Reger
Quintet for Clarinet, two Violins, Viola and Cello, Op. 146

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Quintet for Clarinet, two Violins, Viola and Cello in A major, KV 581 "Stadler-Quintett"

Isabelle van Keulen - Violin
Ulrike-Anima Mathé - Violin
Volker Jacobsen - Viola
Gustav Rivinius - Cello

Sharon Kam - Opera!
Gioachino Rossini
"Del periglio al fero aspetto"

Giuseppe Verdi
Four Romances from the "Composizioni da camera"

Gioachino Rossini
Bolero

Giacomo Puccini
"Sole e amore" (study to "La Bohème)
"Storiella d'amore"
"Ore dolce e divino" ("La Rondine")

Amilcare Ponchielli
"Paolo e Virginia"

Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari
Intermezzo ("Susannas Geheimnis")
Serenata ("Der Schmuck der Madonna")
Intermezzo ("Die vier Grobiane")
Danza napolitana ("Der Schmuck der Madonna")

Gioachino Rossini
"Nacqui all' affano" ("La Cenerentola")

Württembergisches Kammerorchester Heilbronn
Ruben Gazarian - Conductor

Brahms: Clarinet Quintet
Johannes Brahms
String Quartet in A minor, Op. 51 No. 1
Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115

Jerusalem Quartet

Sharon Kam - Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra in A major, KV 622
Quintet for Clarinet, two Violins, Viola, Cello in A Major, KV 581 "Stadler-Quintett"

Isabelle van Keulen - Violin
Ulrike-Anima Mathe - Violin
Volker Jacobsen - Viola
Gustav Rivinius - Cello
Haydn Philharmonie

Sharon Kam - Pour Clarinette
Paul Hindemith
Piano quartet

Claude Debussy
The Première Rhapsody

Manfred Trojahn
Danse pour clarinette

Francis Poulenc
Sonata for two Clarinets
Sonata for Clarinet and Piano

Antje Weithaas - Violin
Gustav Rivinius - Cello
Paul Rivinius - Piano
Lars Vogt - Piano
Diemut Schneider - Clarinet

CAvi, 2010

Sharon Kam - The Voice of the Clarinet
Gioachino Rossini
Introduction & Varitations for Clarinet and Orchestra

Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
Clarinet Quintet, Op. 34 (arr. for String Orchestra)

Jules Massenet
Meditation from Thaïs for Clarinet and Piano

Johannes Brahms
Clarinet Trio, Op. 114

Dmitri Shostakovich
Prelude, Op. 34 No. 17 (Largo)

Gustav Rivinius - Cello
Itamar Golan - Piano
Martin Helmchen - Piano
MDR Sinfonieorchester
Sinfonia Varsovia
Gregor Bühl - Conductor

Sharon Kam - Souvenirs
Jules Massenet
Meditation from Thaïs: Elegy (arr. for Clarinet and Piano)

Fritz Kreisler
Schöne Rosmarin
Marche miniature Viennoise
Syncopation
Liebesleid

Enrique Granados
Andaluza

Edward Elgar
Salut d'amour

Jascha Heifetz
Estrellita

Maurice Ravel
Piece en forme de habanera

Darius Milhaud
Brazileira

Ernest Bloch
Prayer

Pablo de Sarasate
Playera

Gaspar Cassado
Requiebros

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Souvenir d'un lieu cher
Valse sentimentale

Dmitri Shostakovich
Preludes, Op. 34 No. 17 (Largo)

Gabriel Fauré
Apres un reve

Alamiro Giampieri
Il carnevale di Venezia

Itamar Golan - Piano

Brahms - Sonatas & Trios
Johannes Brahms
Sonata for Clarinet and Piano in F minor, Op. 120 No. 1
Sonata for Clarinet and Piano in E-flat major, Op. 120 No. 2
Trio for Piano, Clarinet and Cello in A minor, Op. 114

Martin Helmchen - Piano
Gustav Rivinius - Cello

Sharon Kam - The Romantic Clarinet
Julius Rietz
Concerto for Clarinet, Op. 29

Max Bruch
Concerto for Clarinet and Viola, Op. 88

Carl Maria von Weber
Clarinet Quintet, Op. 34 (arr. for String Orchestra)

Ori Kam - Viola
Sinfonia Varsovia
Gregor Bühl - Conductor

Medelssohn-Bartholdy, Spohr, Rossini, Weber
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
Concert pieces for Clarinet, Basset Horn and Orchestra No. 1 & 2


Louis Spohr
Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra No. 4 in E minor


Gioachino Rossini
Introduction, Theme & Variations for Clarinet and Orchestra

Carl Maria von Weber
Concertino for Clarinet & Orchestra in E-flat major, Op. 26

Johannes Peitz - Bassett Horn
MDR Sinfonieorchester
Gregor Bühl - Conductor

Berlin Classics, 2005

Sharon Kam - American Classics
Aaron Copland
Concerto for Clarinet


Leonard Bernstein
Prelude, Fugue & Riffs

Glenn Gould
Derivations for Clarinet and Band

Martin Shaw
Concerto for Clarinet

George Gershwin
Summertime
They All Laughed
The Man I Love
I Got Rythm

London Symphony Orchestra
Gregor Bühl - Dirigent

Teldec, 2002

Sharon Kam meets Krysztof Penderecki
Krzysztof Penderecki
Concerto for Clarinet and Chamber Orchestra (World Premiere Recording)

Witold Lutoslawski
Dance Preludes for Solo Clarinet, Percussion, Harp, Piano and Strings

Krzysztof Penderecki
Sinfonietta No. 2 for Clarinet and Strings
Three Miniatures for Clarinet and Piano
Prelude for Solo Clarinet in B-flat

Itamar Golan - Piano
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
Krysztof Penderecki - Conductor

Teldec, 1999

Weber: Clarinet Concertos
Carl Maria von Weber
Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestr No. 1 in F minor, Op. 73
Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra No. 2 in E-flat major, Op. 74
Grand Duo Concertante for Clarinet & Piano, Op. 48

Itamar Golan - Piano
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig
Kurt Masur - Conductor

Teldec, 1996

Videos

Sharon Kam - Mozart
Sharon Kam - Opera!

Contact

Juliane Scotney
Senior Artist Manager
t: +49 (0)30 414 781 715
Soyeon Im
Artist coordinator
t: +49 (0)30 414 781 744