Clarinet in the New York Times

Bernard Holland opines about the clarinet in this concert review for the New York Times. The review discusses a recent chamber music concert including Bartok's Contrasts and Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time, with clarinetist Martin Fröst. Holland writes:

When composers look for important voices among the family of wind instruments, they come away, more often than not, with a clarinet. It has many colors. Its acoustical presence makes it a good public speaker. It can sing simply or be complicated on demand. But there is something else: an ambiguous quality, a hint of delicious sourness that says to the listener, “You think I’m playing flat, but I’m not.”