The clarinet is the orchestra's “chameleon”: in the low register — dark, dramatic; in the middle — soft, songful; in the high register — brilliant, even piercing. Invented around 1700 by the German master Johann Denner.
The clarinet is the soul of Jewish klezmer music (from Bessarabia to Podillia), an essential voice in jazz bands (Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw), and a virtuoso soloist in the classical world (Mozart's A-major Concerto is the masterpiece of the genre). An outstanding contemporary Ukrainian clarinetist is Oleksandr Yatsenko. In Ukrainian folk ensembles the clarinet has largely replaced traditional sopilkas and zholomyhas since the early 20th century.
