Iliev proved an impish clarinetist with a formidable technique and real sense of adventure in the repertoire he chose …Iliev caught just the right sense of virtuoso abandonment - a stunning performance with Iliev’s own cadenza that reached into the high stratosphere for its dazzling effects. Conventionally virtuosic, the piece was saved from academic anemia by Iliev’s splendid performance. Iliev’s remarkably full, yet never fulsome tone was gorgeously consistent throughout. He phrased with immaculate ease, making it abundantly clear that instruments were made to imitate the human voice.
