Volume 33 Number 4

September 2006

The Clarinetists of the

Orchestra dell Accademia
Nazionale di Santa Cecilia
Volume 33, Number 4 September 2006

Features
ABOUT THE COVER
The clarinet section of the Orchestra THE CLARINET TEACHING OF KEITH STEIN PART 16: TONE QUALITY, CONTINUED
dellAccademia Nazionale di Santa Ce- by David Pino ..........................................................................................................................................................32

cilia (l to r): Simone Sirugo, Alessandro THE JEANJEANS AND THE CLARINET by Jean-Marie Paul .......................................................................38
Carbonare, Stefano Novelli and Davide
Lattuada (photo: Riccardo Musacchio) THE MOVIES OF BENNY GOODMAN A PICTORIAL RETROSPECTIVE, TAKE 4
by James Gillespie ....................................................................................................................................................44

INDEX OF ADVERTISERS THE DILETTANTE CLARINETIST by R.J. Pliskow, M.D. ..............................................................................52

Alea Publishing & Recording....................................34 THE BASS CLARINETISTS WORKBOOK, PT. II by David Bourque .........................................................54
Alexanders Wind Instrument Center........................93
Ben Armato .................................................................7
Backun Musical Services ................................50 & 51, EARLY CLARINET PEDAGOGY FOR MODERN PERFORMERS PART IV:
Inside Back Cover INSTRUMENT AND REED SELECTION by Luc Jackman .............................................................................56
Charles Bay ...............................................................39
Behn Mouthpieces International................................13
Kristin Bertrand Woodwind Repair...........................65 THE CLARINETISTS OF THE ORCHESTRA DELLACCADEMIA NAZIONALE
Brannen Woodwinds .................................................80 DI SANTA CECILIA by James Gillespie ...............................................................................................................60
Buffet Crampon USA, Inc.........Inside Front Cover, 97
CalArts School of Music ...........................................93
ChopSaver .................................................................52 FROM TOKYO TO OSAKA VIA CHICAGO: AN INTERVIEW WITH NOBUYUKI KANAI,
Cleveland Institute of Music......................................37 PRINCIPAL CLARINETIST OF THE OSAKA PHILHARMONIC by Richard W. Fletcher ........................66
The Crane School of Music .......................................65
Crystal Records .........................................................68
J. DAddario Rico Reeds ....................................100 THE BRAHMS SONATAS AN EXAMINATION OF THE MANUSCRIPTS by Mitchell Estrin ............70
The Davie Cane Company.........................................24
DePaul University School of Music ..........................29 KUSTI AERILA, KAJANUSS CLARINETIST by Paavo Helist ...................................................................74
Expert Woodwind Service, Inc..................................26
Gold Branch Music, Inc.............................................63
Ithaca College School of Music.................................83 PAST MEMORY: JOSEP TALENS SEBASTIA by Enrique Prez Piquer .......................................................78
Last Resort Music......................................................55
Leblanc (Conn-Selmer).................Outside Back Cover PETE FOUNTAIN RECEIVES HONORARY DEGREE..............................................................................82
Lisas Clarinet Shop ..................................................69

Departments
Luyben Music Co. .....................................................23
Midwest Musical Imports..........................................80
Muncy Winds ............................................................64
Naylors Custom Wind Repair ..................................12
New York University.................................................27
Richard Nunemaker.....................................................9 TEACHING CLARINET by Michael Webster .......................................................................................................6
Olivieri Reeds ............................................................94
Ongaku Records, Inc. ..................................................5 CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING .........................................................................................................................11
Orsi & Weir ...............................................................49
Patricola Fratelli SNS ................................................83
Pomarico....................................................................18 CLARINOTES....................................................................................................................................................12
Bernard Portnoy.........................................................88
Quodlibet. Inc. ...........................................................43 AUDIO NOTES by William Nichols ......................................................................................................................14
Rast Music .................................................................55
RedwineJazz ........................................................53, 64
Reeds Australia..........................................................35 CONFERENCES & WORKSHOPS.................................................................................................................18
Rice University ..........................................................21
L. Rossi......................................................................17 HISTORICALLY SPEAKING by Deborah Check Reeves...............................................................................20
San Francisco Conservatory of Music.......................62
Sayre Woodwinds......................................................59
LETTER FROM THE U.K. by Paul Harris .......................................................................................................22
Selmer Paris (Conn-Selmer)........................................4
Tap Music Sales ........................................................47
U.S. Army....................................................................2 QUINTESSENCE THE WIND QUINTET INFORMANT NO. 29
UMBC Department of Music ....................................39 by Bruce M. Creditor, Wind Quintet Editor ..................................................................................................................24
University of Delaware................................................7
University of Denver Lamont School of Music ........16
University of Georgia School of Music.....................57 INDUSTRY PROFILES A MARRIAGE MADE IN HEAVEN: LEBLANC AND BACKUN
University of South Carolina IS A RECIPE FOR INNOVATION by Paul Globus ..........................................................................................28
School of Music.....................................................58
Van Cott Information Services ..................................96 REVIEWS ...........................................................................................................................................................84
Vandoren ...................................................................98
Wehrs Music House .................................................65
Wichita Band Instrument Co. ....................................64 RECITALS AND CONCERTS .........................................................................................................................94
The Woodwind and Brasswind..................................55
Woodwindiana, Inc....................................................43 MUSICAL CHAIRS...........................................................................................................................................95
Working the Single Reed: A Tutorial........................53
Yamaha Corporation of America ..............................99
THE PRESIDENTS MESSAGE by Lee Livengood ...........................................................................................96

September 2006 Page 1

 INTERNATIONAL CLARINET ASSOCIATION
Acting President: Lee Livengood, 490 Northmont Way, Salt Lake City, UT 84103, E-mail: <president@clarinet.org> Korea: Im Soo Lee, Hanshin 2nd Apt., 108-302, Chamwondong Suhchoku, Seoul, Korea. (02) 533-6952 (phone),
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THE INTERNATIONAL CLARINET ASSOCIATION

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Copyright 2006, INTERNATIONAL CLARINET ASSOCIATION
ISSN 0361-5553 All Rights Reserved
Published quarterly by the INTERNATIONAL CLARINET ASSOCIATION
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September 2006 Page 3

C A L L F O R P A P E R S A N D P R E S E N TAT I O N S
INTERNATIONAL CLARINET ASSOCIATION CLARINETFEST

T
UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, VANCOUVER JULY 48, 2007

he International Clarinet Association will hold its ClarinetFest 2007, a symposium and festival devoted to the clarinet, at the

University of British Columbia, co-sponsored by the UBC School of Music, July 48, 2007. The program directors are Wes
Foster and Cris Inguanti. The program for the conference will include a series of scholarly papers and presentations. The
Association solicits proposals for presentations (such as papers or lecture-recitals) on any topic related to the clarinet. The use of live
or recorded performance is acceptable; however, presentations whose sole aim is performance are discouraged. Presentations should
be designed to be no more than 25 minutes in length. Those giving presentations must register for the conference.
Presenters on the program in 2006 are ineligible for 2007. Each person is limited to one proposal.
Prizes will be offered by the I.C.A. as follows: First place paper, $500 and guaranteed publication in The Clarinet journal (sub-
ject to editing); and second place paper, $300. To submit a proposal, send the following:
1. SIX copies of an abstract, one page only, fully describing the content of the proposed paper or lecture-recital. The name or
identification of the author must not appear on the proposal.
2. ONE copy of an author identification sheet containing the authors name, address, phone numbers, and e-mail address, if
applicable. Please list all equipment needs for the proposed presentation. This sheet should also contain a biographical sketch of
the author (limited to 150 words), as you would like it printed in the conference program.
The above materials must be received by January 15, 2007. Please send to Dr. John Cipolla, I.C.A. Research Presentation
Committee Chair, Department of Music, Western Kentucky University 1906 College Heights Blvd. #41029, Bowling Green, KY
42101-1029. For more information, write or call John Cipolla at (270) 745-7093 or by electronic mail: <john.cipolla@wku.edu>.

September 2006 Page 5

 cult. Getting a good start at an early age can
increase the positive attributes of trilling, so
this article will address a students first
exposure to trills that use only one finger.
It is well known that individuals vary
widely in natural ability to tongue rapidly
over an extended period of time. I believe
that the same range exists in trilling speed
because trilling taxes the same finger over
and over, rather than dispersing the work
among many fingers alternately. We think
of the finger as being faster than the tongue,
but in fact the tongue is faster than any one
finger. If you compare the motion of the
tongue and the finger, the tongue moves up
by Michael Webster and down to create one new tone, but ev-
ery up and down motion of the finger cre-
ates two new tones. To test this hypothesis,
tongue two or three groups of four 16th
notes at quarter note = 100 (a modest speed
for tonguing) and then trill from B to C in
the right hand, tapping the hole with the
index finger at the same speed that the
tongue tapped the reed. This produces 32nd
notes which translate into a fairly speedy
trill. Try increasing the metronome speed
until you reach your maximum trilling
speed or can no longer keep track of the
eight-note groupings.
For success with trills, finger motion
must be:
1. fast (minimal time between up and
down positions)
2. concise (Stop the finger about one-half
inch above the hole.)
3. light (Seal the hole firmly but without
undue pressure.)
Example 1 shows an exercise that I have
long been advocating for clarinetists of all
ages and levels of advancement, including
myself. It can be done using any two notes
involving the motion of one finger, and
later can be adapted to coordinating more
than one finger. Play the half notes no faster
than quarter note = 80 and the grace notes
as fast as possible.

EXAMPLE 1

Michael Webster

THE TRILL OF VICTORY

Thirty-fourth in a series of articles using
examples from a teaching method in pro-
If this is a students first contact with grace notes and trills, definitions are in order. A
grace note is a quick note without any measured value, printed smaller than other notes. A
single grace note usually has a slash through its flag to indicate extreme shortness. Without
the slash a grace note can be measured in certain contexts, but here we will address only the

C
gress by the professor of clarinet at Rice
Universitys Shepherd School of Music.
oncerto gigs for most clarinetists
are few and far between, but the
big moment has arrived, you and
the orchestra are well prepared, and the
triumphant coda of the third movement is
catapulting toward an exultant conclusion.
Amidst a cascade of flashing notes, you
anticipate the composers final virtuosic
gesture, launch into a long, high trill, and
the audience erupts into a standing ova-
tion. You have just experienced the Trill
of Victory!
Trills can be fun and brilliant, awkward
and unrewarding, very easy or very diffi-
quick, unmeasured type.
Groups of more than one grace note may or may not have a slash, but are performed
quickly either way. A trill can be viewed as an extended repetition of grace notes, alternat-
ing quickly between the printed note and the note above, and notated with the abbreviation
tr above the printed note. The upper note can be either a half step or a whole step above
the printed note, dictated by the key signature. Deviations from the key signature are indi-
cated with an accidental sign in the form of a small sharp, flat, or natural above the note or
to the right of the tr notation, sometimes in parentheses. Rapid alternation of any interval
wider than a major second is no longer called a trill, rather a tremolo and is notated differ-
ently. Tremolos and trills requiring the motion of more than one finger will be the subject
of future articles.
In order to achieve the three qualities listed above, the finger must stay close and light.
The speed of the grace note guarantees closeness when the finger lifts because it is impos-
sible to lift the finger high and keep the grace note short. Conversely, the speed of the grace
note guarantees lightness when the finger drops because it is impossible to press hard and
keep the grace note short. So, in the first case, concentrate on staying light and the close-
ness will take care of itself (as long as the grace note is really short!). In the second case
concentrate on staying close and the lightness will take care of itself. This exercise is not

Page 6 THE CLARINET

only excellent for trills, but also for gain-
ing that elusive balance between sealing
the holes and staying relaxed during any
fast finger work, an attribute often called
touch.
The dotted rhythm requires control of
closeness and lightness in both directions.
Now the shorter note is measured, and af-
ter having played very quick grace notes,
the tendency will be for the 16th note to be
too short. Measure it precisely by playing
moving 16th notes an octave higher or
lower while the student fits the single 16th
precisely into the stream of 16ths you are
playing. Instruct the student to be precise
when practicing alone, either using a Dr.
Beat type of subdividing metronome, or
going slowly enough to be able to count
each 16th note. The latter is a great men-
tal challenge even for more experienced
players, a challenge that offers great re-
ward in gaining control of the fingers. Play-
ing equal 16ths is easy by comparison,
but the final challenge is to reverse direc-
tion by repeating one note with the tongue,
being sure that rhythmic evenness is not
compromised. Practice the entire rhyth-
mic sequence on any two notes requiring
the motion of one finger.

September 2006 Page 7

 Example 2 gives continued practice down (adding to the difficulty!); the third thumb, starting with F E; this is easier
with lightness and closeness in the form of finger has no ring at all, only the wooden than GF because the depressed index fin-
double grace notes. Think of tapping the hole to cover. The right-hand ring moves ger offers the stability of having something
hole twice, as quickly as possible, remain- for the index finger, but not for the other to tap against. Luckily, we have a decent
ing down on the second tap. Something two; the pinkies of both hands manipulate alternative to thumb-tapping for long FG
can be gained even by tapping on a table keys rather than rings. Between the two trills: fingering thumb F and wiggling the
top or a desk. When tapping the clarinet, taps, the pinkies may remain in contact throat G key. But the EF trill must al-
notice how the mechanism of the instru- with the keys or leave the keys by a micro- ways be done with the thumb, so extra
ment is different for nearly every finger. scopic amount, perhaps a millimeter. Ex- practice will be required.
The left-hand index finger ring remains amples 2, 4, and 5 can also be played with It is always best to offer a musical ap-
down; the middle finger ring goes up and the register key added. plication for a new technique, in this case
Example 3. The tragic story of Pelleas and
EXAMPLE 2 Melisande has inspired famous works by
Debussy and Faur which have overshad-
owed a lovely version for chamber orches-
tra by Sibelius. The movement entitled
Melisande offers a simple and poignant
melody, originally for English horn, which
Example 2 does not start with G because the thumb is the Lil Abner of the fingers: big,
uses grace notes to heighten its wistful
strong, and slightly dim-witted. It is neurologically wired for strength rather than dexterity, as character. The slurs across the grace notes
attested to by anyone who has played the second movement of the Hindemith Sonata. That are intentional. Avoid tonguing when work-
doesnt mean that it should be neglected in grace note exercises, just that it would be daunting ing on finger control; the tongue will be
for the student to begin with it. After Example 2 becomes fluent, do the same exercise for the added later.

EXAMPLE 3

A short piece of Baroque music, such as Ballo by Handel (Example 6) can offer trilling practice for most of the fingers.

Page 8 THE CLARINET

EXAMPLE 4

In Examples 4 and 5, the grace notes morph into a trill. Example 4 adds a finger tap to
Example 2, creating four grace notes before the main note with continued emphasis on
speed, concise motion, and light action.

EXAMPLE 5

In Example 5 we stop counting taps to create true trills which end on the next scalar note.
Practice the thumb last, adding GF and F E as we did after Example 2. Limiting the length
of a trill allows one to gain speed and evenness without overly tiring the finger.

EXAMPLE 6

Measure 5 introduces the next chal-
lenge: rounding out a trill with a Nachsch-
lag, which can be printed as grace notes, or
(as in this case) quick measured notes. In
German, Nachschlag means literally after
the beat, and I have never heard a good
English translation. Groves Dictionary uses
turn, but that can be confused with the
four-note ornament it traditionally defines.
Use Example 7 to practice the Nachschlag,
adapting it to every one-finger trill. It trains
the fingers to blend the trill directly into
the Nachschlag without stopping on the
main note of the trill.

EXAMPLE 7

September 2006 Page 9

 After doing the three measured versions starting on the upper note of the trill, perform an first 12 trills in Example 9 can also be done
unmeasured trill starting on the main note and ending with a Nachschlag. Think of the last adding the register key. An excellent one-
two notes of the trill and the Nachschlag as forming a group of four notes, just as in the finger trill in the upper register is often
measured versions of Example 7. This will assure that the last two notes of the trill blend neglected: A B, fingering A with both
gracefully with the Nachschlag. index fingers (1/1) and wiggling the right
For practice, use Example 8, the most famous piece of music ever written by an unknown finger. Upper register BC works very
composer. well with the third side key and CD
very well with the first two side keys.
EXAMPLE 8 Needless to say, we wont confront the
young student with all the Example 9
trills at once. Rather we will add them
gradually, working from the easier ones
toward the harder ones.
Two aspects of trilling need discussion
before we can close shop: left and right
handedness and wrist activity. Obviously,
everyone will be more facile with their
dominant hand. For left-handed people,
trills with the right pinky will be particu-
It gained fame in a version for trumpet and organ by Henry Wood, who called it Trum- larly difficult; for right-handed people,
pet Voluntary and attributed it to Henry Purcell. In fact, it was written by Jeremiah Clarke, left-pinky trills and certain trills in the
a younger contemporary of Purcell, in 1700 five years after Purcells death. Finally, Mr. throat tones and with the left thumb will
Clarke is starting to receive some long overdue recognition! It is possible to transpose both be more difficult. Once I participated in a
Example 6 and Example 8 into other keys for trill practice with different fingers. survey that showed a larger percentage of
Example 9 catalogues one-finger trills that are not included in previous examples. left-handed people among professional
woodwind players than in the population
as a whole. Surely, left-handedness is an
EXAMPLE 9
advantage when manipulating the throat-
tone keys of the clarinet. In fact, my left-
handed colleague in the Rochester Phil-
harmonic, Stan Gaulke, was able to do an
amazingly fast trill from F to G , finger-
ing F with the index finger and lifting it
for G . As hard as I tried, I could duplicate
that feat for only a very brief number of
wiggles. One strategy that can help im-
prove the non-dominant hand is to do a
short, fast trill with any finger of the dom-
They fall into two categories: those in ready described. I generally opt for using inant hand and then try to match that
which the upper note is a normal fingering the throat G key for FG because the pitch speed with the same finger of the non-
and therefore tunes well, and those in is only a bit sharp even though the quality dominant hand.
which the upper note suffers in intonation is poor. In my opinion, false fingerings that If all else fails in trying to achieve a
or tone quality or both due to being an are sharp sound better than those that are long, fast trill, engage the wrist! Some
abnormal or false fingering. I reserve the flat. In any case, the faster the trill, the less teachers (for example my good friend
term alternate fingering for a situation in objectionable the false fingering will be. Peter Hadcock in his excellent book, The
which two fingerings sound equally good, The choice between a fast, out-of-tune trill Working Clarinetist) maintain that trilling
e.g. the first trill in Example 9. and a slow, in-tune trill is very personal, is strictly a finger technique. I dont agree.
Some of the trills in Example 9 deserve and such a decision can change depending The fastest, easiest, most relaxed trill in
special comment. For low EF , F G , and on the context. the clarinet low register is DE (or upper
D-E the upper note is a little flat, but not Throat F -G works best using the side register AB), using the first side key. Try
objectionably so. BC is another story, the F and wiggling the G key as fast as possi- it. If you do your fastest trill and sustain it
C being so flat that advanced players will ble. I prefer fingering throat G A normal- for a long period of time, youll notice that
alternate the left and right fingers at times. ly. It is difficult, but can become fluent if you are actually using the wrist, not the
This approach has limits in speed and the habit is developed early on. The alter- finger. A similar use of the wrist can be
duration because of its extreme awkward- native wiggling the third side key is cultivated in trills involving the other fin-
ness. Young students should just wiggle very sharp. AB uses the third side key, gers. Trill BC with the right index finger
the left pinky and accept the flatness of the AB the fourth side key, and A -B the third and let the wrist help as it did for DE.
C . EF and FG are the thumb trills al- side key; BC uses both S3 and S4. The With some practice the trills will become

Page 10 THE CLARINET

faster, longer, and more relaxed than when
only the finger is utilized.
Work down the right-hand trills in the
same way. Each step lower becomes more
difficult because the added fingers tend to
immobilize the wrist. But with practice,
even the pinky can access a slight wrist
rotation which allows it to move faster for
longer. Start with a brief spasm of the
wrist for two or three wiggles before grad-
ually working toward longer trills. The left
hand analogy is to start with GA, then
EF, DE, CD, CD (or any of the low-
note pinky trills). Right-handed people, in
particular, can improve their left-hand trills
significantly. Strangely, the middle finger
trill is more awkward than the smaller fin-
gers, a phenomenon that I attribute to the
motion of the ring and pad.
In any case, I firmly believe that free-
dom of the wrist helps improve all trills in
both hands. If you have trouble doing dou-
ble trills in Capriccio Espagnol or Midsum-
mer Nights Dream, accessing the wrist can
Cortum, Floyd is an American with a long
and distinguished career in Australia.
Aided by flutists Jeanette Manricks and
Kristine Healy, he helped us to organize
seven events: flute and clarinet master
classes at the Queensland Conservatorium,
where he teaches; a sectional coaching for
the woodwinds of the Queensland Youth
Symphony; a concert and intonation semi-
nar at the University of Queensland; a flute
class for UQ students; and a master class/
recital/workshop for the Queensland Clari-
net and Saxophone Society.
The collegiate and high school clar-
inetists who played for me were at a level
quite comparable to that in the U.S. And
the Queensland Youth Orchestra is extra-
ordinary, directed for decades by John
Curro, who at age 73 has become a nation-
al icon. The youth orchestra movement is
very strong in Australia, and the QYO
belongs to a network of state and territory
youth orchestras collectively called Youth
Orchestras Australia, administered by the
Australian Youth Orchestra. The AYO is
about to celebrate its 50th anniversary as a
touring orchestra of musicians up to age
25, selected annually by national audition.
Judging from the accomplishment of the
QYO, which I heard both on recordings
and in rehearsal, the AYO must be superb.
The QYO age limit is 23, which means
that it is quite a bit more mature than the
typical American youth orchestra, which
caters to high school-aged musicians.
Either format has its advantages, but the
older age limit of the QYO (and other
Australian Youth Orchestras) allows it to
have fearless breadth of programming and
a more nearly professional quality.
Our musical and personal experiences
in Australia are too numerous to mention.
Each city has its own distinct ambience
created by its location, topography, cli-
mate, and citizenry. But all have in com-
mon a lively cultural and musical life, mir-
roring the physical beauty of this unique
country down under. We hope to return
soon; the long trip is well worth it!

classified advertising
be the solution. And once again you may
experience The Trill of Victory.

WEBSTERS WEB
Your feedback and input are valuable
to our readership. Please send comments
and questions to Websters Web at All ads submitted for The Clarinet should be: 1. Typewritten, double-spaced; 2. As
<mwebster@rice.edu> or Michael Web- concisely worded as possible; 3. Non-commercial in nature and limited to the sale and
ster, Shepherd School of Music, MS-532, trade of personally owned instruments, music, accessories, etc.; 4. Submitted to the
P.O. Box 1892, Houston TX 77251-1892;
Editor by the advertising deadlines listed on page 3. Placed by members of the I.C.A.
fax 713-348-5317; Web site: <www.ruf.
rice.edu/~mwebster>. only. Each ad will run only one issue unless the Editor is otherwise advised.
As I write, my wife, flutist Leone Buyse,
and I are flying home from an Australian FOR SALE: Selmer Paris basset horn. Little used and in perfect condition. Set up
tour that included concerts, master classes,
and maintained by Morrie Backun. Serial number D 3040. Includes a Viotto G2 mouth-
and workshops in Sydney, Newcastle,
Adelaide, and Brisbane. North of Brisbane piece that really makes the horn sing, and a very complete collection of basset horn
we visited Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwins chamber music, largely Mozart and Mendelssohn. Price $5,000 U.S. firm. Contact
Australia Zoo, where the slogan is Crocs Chuck Currie at <reedguy@telus.net> or 604/254-9625.
rule! Elsewhere in Australia hospitality
rules, and we were treated royally by
every single clerk, waiter, cabbie, or pas-
FOR SALE: Clarinet and Miscellaneous Materials. Being sold by retired profes-
serby, not to mention our hosts: flutist sional symphony clarinetist and college teacher. Items include: four antique 13-key
James Kortum in Sydney, flutist Julia Gren- clarinets (Grenadilla wood; 100 years old [+/-]) two have two rings and the other two
fell in Adelaide, and clarinetist Floyd Wil- have four rings); Korg Tuner; Reed making and adjusting tools and supplies, including
liams in Brisbane. Armato PerfectaReed and Bhysos Reed Knife; Clarinet stands (two Blayman and
Music education abounds in Australia. two folding), Vandoren and Olivieri reeds (100 in sealed boxes for $65.00!); Library
For example, The Australian Clarinet and
Saxophone magazine contains a roster of
including books and music: ensembles, orchestral excerpts and some 1st clarinet parts
169 teachers. Edited by Floyd Williams, included as well as etude and method books. Also flute, oboe and bassoon etude and
this excellent 32-page journal publishes method books, solos and ensembles. For full description and prices, please contact
articles of general interest, some of which Armand Abramson, <parmandpa@verizon.net> (or @aol.com) or phone 609/947-4379.
are reprinted from The Clarinet. Like James

September 2006 Page 11

Artie Shaw
Gravestone Verse
The Web site, <www.findagrave.
com>, includes a listing for Artie Shaw
with a photo of the gravestone. Shaw is
buried in Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks
Memorial Park in Westlake Village,
California.
Here is the text of the verse on the
gravestone:
The Soul of the Song
He taught the clarinet to think
Not just to sing.
To explore the music it was making
To let the fingers probe and find
The hidden places.
The crevices of meaning and emotion
A good song has
But must be found and captured
By some divinity or other,
A melody that just cannnot be played,
For nuances and grace notes
Cant be chartered,
The secret tempos and their keys
Can only be discovered
By a mind that is listening for the soul,
The manuscript does not display.
A. C. Greene
[With thanks to Mike Walls. Ed.]
Stanley Drucker to Perform
Coriglianos Concerto in
New Orleans
Stanley Drucker will perform John
Coriglianos Clarinet Concerto with the
Louisiana Philharmonic, conducted by
Carlos Prieto, to celebrate the 30th an-
Page 12
Photo of Artie Shaws gravestone from
Web site <www.findagrave.com>
niversary of the concerto on Saturday,
October 28, 2006, in New Orleans. The
composer will be present for the perfor-
mance. Consult the orchestras Web site,
<www.lpomusic.com/>, for more details.
News From France
A Report by Jean-Marie Paul
On June 20, 2006, final auditions were
held for the position of first solo clarinet
in the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio-
France, the chair formerly held by Robert
Fontaine. The winner was Jerme Voisin,
the current second clarinet and solo bass
clarinet in the same orchestra. The final-
ists were Nicolas Baldeyrou (Orchestre
THE CLARINET
National), Calogero Palermo (Rome Or-
chestra), Sandrine Vasseur (Garde R-
publicaine, who played at the Atlanta
ClarinetFest as the 2005 winner of the
Paris Conservatory).
The jury for the 2006/2007 Paris
Conservatory clarinet prizes consisted of
Philippe Cuper, Bruno Martinez, Jean-
Marc Volta and Jerme Verhaeghe, and
the required works were the Molter Con-
certo in A (movements I and II), the De-
bussy Rhapsody and Mefanos Involutive,
for E clarinet solo. (There were also op-
tional pieces chosen by the candidates.)
The winners were from the classes of Mi-
chel Arrignon (assistant Arnaud Leroy)
and Pascal Moragus (assistant Jean-
Franois Verdier).
For several years now, there have been
no Prizes awarded, but rather the desig-
nations Trs Bien (Very Good), which is
equivalent to a 1st Prize, and Bien
(Good) equivalnt to the former 2nd Prize.
The results:
1. Vincent Penot, 1st named
2. Nicolas Ferr: Trs Bien with unani-
mous decision of the jury
3. Mathieu Betolaud du Colombier and
Fabien Bourrat: Bien (unanimous)
4. Claire Nowak and Julien Herv: Bien
At the Lyons Conservatory (one of the
two Conservatoire National Suprieur de
Musique in France in additon to Paris), in
the class of Jacques Di Donato (assistant
Robert Bianciotti), the results were three
Trs Bien (Very Good) to Florent Char-
pentier (with special mention from the
jury), Amandine Olexa and Michael Osch.
The Clarinet
PUBLICATION SCHEDULE
The magazine is usually
mailed during the last week
of February, May, August and
No vem ber. De livery time
within North America is nor-
mally 1014 days, while air-
mail de livery time outside
North America is 710 days.
September 2006 Page 13
S
by William Nichols
tellar clarinet chamber music recordings
are always of interest to this writer, but it is
rare indeed to discover a release of truly
appealing music by a heretofore unknown 19th-
century composer, represented here on a disc
containing three large works.
I am grateful to Montral clarinetist An-
dr Moisan for an ATMA disc presenting
music of French violin-
ist/composer/conductor Adolphe Blanc
(18281885). A prolific writer, the bulk of
his compositions is chamber music. The
three works presented on this disc were
composed in the years 18571860. In 1862
Blanc was given the Chartier chamber
music prize, a newly instituted award pre-
sented by the Acadmie des beaux-arts, the
organization which also awarded the pres-
tigious Prix de Rome (as noted by program
note writer Jacques-Andr Houle).
This disc presents Blancs Septet in E
Major, Op. 40 for strings, clarinet, horn
and bassoon, the Trio in B  Major, Op. 23
for clarinet, cello and piano, and the Quin-
tet in E Major, Op. 37 for flute, clarinet,
horn, bassoon and piano. The capable per-
formers are Les Vents de Montral, an en-
semble of varying instrumentation com-
prised mostly of players from the Montreal
Symphony Orchestra, including Andr
Moi san, who serves as clarinetist and
Artistic Director of the ensemble.
The Septet is Blancs best known work,
although of very limited fame. There are
two other recordings known to exist, but
not familiar to this writer. The Septet
shares identical scoring with Beethovens
Opus 20, and its four movements span a
healthy 29 minutes. The movements are
arranged and constructed in traditional
formal manner.
The melodically appealing opening
movement is airy and elegant, a character-
istic which is present at numerous times
throughout this recording. The Scherzo is
brief and formally straightforward, as is
the case with the Scherzi present in the
Page 14
other two works on the disc. The character
of Blancs music, while Romantic in na-
ture is not excessively so, and never full of
overblown passage work. It exhibits excel-
lent structural balance and succinctness
perhaps of a Mendelssohn. In the Septet
there is very effective use of the winds as
solo voices as well as in combination and
doubling with other winds. Les Vents de
Montral delivers a first-rate performance
which exhibits excellent balance, pacing
and precision.
This disc presents, to the best of my
knowledge, the first recording of the trio
and quintet pieces. The Trio in E Major of
1857 predates the only two French clar-
inet/cello/piano trios of the period which
readily come to mind (the DIndy of 1887
and the trio by Louise Farrenc, from 1861),
and may very well eclipse both. This 23-
minute work is cast in three movements.
After a lengthy fully developed first move-
ment, Blanc places a Scherzo. At first
glance there appears to be no slow move-
ment. The third movement Finale begins
with slow lyrical material. This section is
more than a slow introduction and func-
tions as the trios slow movement, giving
way to a lively closing section. This same
structural arrangement is present in the suc-
ceeding Quintet in E. The trios last move-
ment is touching, charming, and finally
exciting. Moisan exhibits lovely expressive
playing in the lyrical sections with an occa-
sional hint of vibrato. He is ably joined by
pianist Jean Saulnier and cellist Adams
Liu. The players are obviously unified in
defining musical intent in this completely
convincing performance. These musicians
sell this piece a piece which is too good
not to be in the standard trio repertoire.
The Quintet for flute, clarinet, horn,
bassoon and piano, also known as Quintet
No. 2, exists in two other scorings, both for
strings and piano. Its opening theme is mil-
itary in character. Blancs craftsmanship
and imagination are apparent in this lengthy
first movements extensive development.
One is reminded of developmental thought
THE CLARINET
of Beethoven or perhaps Mozart. Again,
this is a well crafted piece of only slightly
less interest to this listener than the two
preceding pieces. The performance by these
Montral musicians is superb. Very nota-
ble is the excellent balance and strikingly
pristine intonation achieved between Moi-
san and flutist Timothy Hutchins.
The sound of the recording is clear,
well balanced, and presents a quite natural
ambience throughout. Notes are in French
and English. The disc of just under 73 min-
utes of music comes from the Canadian
company ATMA and bears catalog num-
ber ACD2 2224. It is strongly recommend-
ed to fans of chamber music in general,
and to clarinetists in particular looking for
some very good and fresh Romantic litera-
ture to program. This is music that exhibits
underlying principles of Viennese Classi-
cal thought imbued with French charm and
eloquence. The disc is distributed by Har-
monia Mundi and is available through:
<ArkivMusic.com> and <www.sri-canada.
com>. The ATMA Web site is: <www.
atmaclassique.com>.
*****
Yet another notable disc of rare Ro-
mantic chamber music has arrived this
2006 release is from CEDILLE RE -
CORDS and is entitled Twilight of the
Romantics. It presents two significant
works by composers of Viennese flavor:
the Quartet in E , Op. 1 for clarinet, violin,
cello and piano by Walter Rabl; and the
Quintet in D, Op. 11 for clarinet, violin,
viola, cello and piano by Josef Labor.
The Chicago-based Orion Ensemble
provides warm and polished performances
of these mostly unknown pieces. The en-
semble members are clarinetist Kathryne
Pirtle, violinist Florentina Ramniceanu,
violist Jennifer Marlas, cellist Judy Stone,
and pianist Diana Schmck. A wonderful
release it is, although the production staff
errs in claiming this to be a world premiere
recording. The Labor Quintet may indeed
be a first recording, however there is a re-
cording from Thorophon of the Rabl piece,
which was released in 2000 or 2001, and is
still available.
Both of these works were composed at
the end of the 19th century (Rabl in 1896
and Labor in 1900). They are Romantic in
spirit and style, and yet crafted and con-
structed along the lines of tried and true
tonal technique, continuing the tradition of
the great Classical-Romanticist Johannes
Brahms. Traditional tonal structures are
used, with a few to-be-expected individual
touches. There is abundant melodic and
harmonic interest in both these works.
Brahms influence is heard from time to
time in both, but also that of Schumann,
such as in Rabls unusual and somewhat
surprising Quartet slow movement. Walter
Rabl (18731940), a native of Vienna, had
a distinguished career as a composer, pi-
anist, musicologist and significant conduc-
tor, living, studying and working not only
in Vienna, but in numerous cities in Aus-
tria, Germany and Bohemia. His opus 1
Quartet won a composition prize in 1896 in
Vienna with the head of the judication
committee being none other than Johannes
Brahms. This quartet is thought to be the
earliest work for this instrumentation.
Rabls musical imagination is apparent in
this 24-minute piece, which while display-
ing accomplished craftsmanship, also yields
a few interesting and effective surprises.
Josef Labor (18421924), born in Bo-
hemia, was blinded at age three by small-
pox and was sent that year to the Institute
for the Blind in Vienna, and yet he had a
long and distinguished career. He showed
early evidence of musical talent and stud-
ied composition and piano. He toured
much of Europe as a concertizing pianist,
and held several musical posts including
that of Imperial Court Organist in Vienna.
He was a teacher of notable students among
whom were Alma Schindler (Mahler), for
a brief time Arnold Schnberg, and the
celebrated Austrian pianist Paul Witt -
genstein. Labors Quintet in D Major is a
formidable four-movement work of just
over 33 minute duration. The piece is pol-
ished and obviously the work of a skilled
composer of taste. The first movement is
cast in an expected sonata allegro form,
but the second and third movements are
reversed from traditional practice, with an
Allegretto grazioso forming the second
movement. A rather unexpected Quasi
Fantasia: Adagio of just over three min-
utes is the third movement, which flows
directly, without pause, into the last move-
ment, an imaginative and sophisticated
theme and variation structure. This final
movement in part reveals Labors kinship
with Brahms, with a touch of Elgar thrown
in. (Or is it Brahms by way of Elgar?)
The individual instruments in both of
the works presented here are treated in
classic chamber music style, not allowing
one or two instruments to become exces-
sively dominant. The Orion Ensemble cap-
tures the essence of this music. Balance
and ensemble awareness is effective, and
clarinetist Kathryne Pirtle displays a love-
ly full, woody tone, well controlled and
blending beautifully with her string col-
leagues. Sonically the engineers have kept
a rather natural, not overly reverberant
chamber hall ambiance in the sound stage
of this disc, which was recorded in the stu-
dios of WFMTChicago.
This disc brings to listeners music
which is too beautiful and important to be
heard only by a few aficionados aware of
these pieces. Gratitude is due the Orion
Ensemble and CEDILLE RECORDS for
producing this fine recording. The catalog
number is CDR 90000 088. The Cedille
Web site is: <www.cedillerecords.org>.
*****
Some of our readers are likely familiar
with Jeann, Inc., a Minneapolis-based
business dealing in sheet music, and sup-
plies and accessories for reed instruments.
Over the last 10 years Jeann has produced
several recordings by Fiati, a chamber en-
semble of varying instrumentation which
has at its core oboist Valerie Anderson and
clarinetist John Anderson. Both of these
artists are seasoned professionals with dis-
tinguished backgrounds. John Anderson is
the clarinet professor at the University of
Minnesota. A review of the first of their
recordings, Masterworks for Reed Trio,
appeared in these pages (Vol. 24, No. 4,
1997) as well as a subsequent disc, Blend
(Vol. 29, No. 4, 2002).
Now comes a new release from Fiati
entitled Impressions, which programs
exclusively music for oboe, clarinet and pi-
ano not the most standard of ensembles
to be sure, but through commissioning and
research, the Andersons have expanded
their available repertoire. Indeed the sec-
ond recording mentioned above contains a
September 2006
striking contemporary piece for oboe, clar-
inet and piano written for Fiati by Lloyd
Ultan. This new disc features the premiere
recording of two works written for the
ensemble as well as two early 20th-century
post-Romantic pieces for this instrumenta-
tion, and a short, light piece by Andr
Previn. Joining Valerie Anderson and John
Anderson is the stellar pianist Margo Gar-
rett, a highly regarded accompanist and
chamber player who has appeared in con-
cert with major international soloists. She is
a former faculty member at the New Eng-
land Conservatory and the University of
Minnesota, and is currently on the collabo-
rative piano faculty of the Juilliard School.
The Trio in B-Minor by Edouard Louis
Bernard Destenay was written c. 1906 and
is the product of a virtually unknown com-
poser who was Algerian, but resided at
least for some time in France, and presum-
ably received training there. This three-
movement piece of more than 21 minutes
is a tour de force of technical demands
upon all involved. Romantically charged
fervency runs through the first movement
in nonstop fashion. The listener is exhaust-
ed by the end not to mention the per-
formers no doubt. The lovely slow move-
ment features extended wind solos and is
especially notable for a touching oboe solo
beautifully played. The finale is appropri-
ately less intense than the first movement.
It is charming, but technically demanding
as the first, and full of very rapid cascading
triplet scales and arpeggios. It is apparent
that these players have paid their practice
room dues. John Andersons finger tech-
nique is smooth and even.
The French composer and conductor
Gabriel Marie wrote the trio Feuilles au
vent in 1910. This piece of more than 11
minutes is a setting of three programmatic
movements which could just as easily be
stand-alone pieces. The first two are slow
and lyrical, and the last lively. They are
attractive Romantic pieces which are more
gentle and tender in character than Des-
tenays Trio, and display a transparent tex-
ture and appealing melodic content.
The Windrush Madrigals is a piece
written for Fiati by the American Margaret
Griebling-Haigh which captures images,
or impressions, of a trip through the De-
von, Dorset, Cornwall, and Cotswalds re-
gions of England in 2000. The three move-
ments bear the titles The Queen Was
Seen Bedeckd in Green, Swans and Wil-
Page 15
lows, and Sir Williams Frolic. These
are effective pieces in a 20th-century tonal
language which occasionally harken back
to Elizabethan times. The first piece, in 5/8
time, is cleverly and imaginatively based
on the popular Thomas Morley madrigal
Now is the Month of Maying. Although
The Windrush Madrigals come from an
American composer and are of English in-
spiration, they sound in some ways French.
Certainly Milhaud is brought to mind.
This is an attractive well conceived addi-
tion to this small body of repertoire, and
one which is certainly audience friendly.
The last two works presented here are A
Wedding Waltz by Andr Previn and a new
commissioned work, The Center of the
Known World by Randall Davidson. The
waltz is a four-minute piece originally for
two oboes and piano. It is subdued and
somewhat nostalgic in character, primarily
melodic in content, and spiced with some
quirky dissonance an attractive morsel.
Randall Davidson is a former president
of the American Composers Forum, and
even though he has an impressive body of
works and performances to his credit, he
will perhaps be known to many readers as
the composer of (in collaboration with
Page 16
radio personality Garrison Keillor) The
Young Lutherans Guide to the Orchestra.
He is found in a more serious mood here
with a piece bearing quite a daunting title.
The composers notes point out two differ-
ent locations, several hundred miles apart,
which claim to be the center of North
America. He confirms, A center must
act as an emotional or psychological an-
chor, but it does not exist. He opens the
piece with a series of difference tones
from the piano that psycho-acoustical
phenomenon which occurs when two dif-
ferent pitches are combined to create a
third lower tone in the listeners ear. At first
hearing, this section seemed too long and
tedious, as did this work on the whole.
Repeated hearings altered my overall reac-
tion and my perception of time. The music
moves through several sections bringing
material written mostly in a gentle and
lyrical melodic style, and an inspired in-
clusion of a fragment of a folk song from
the country of Tuva, in which there is a
geographical marker claiming to be the
center of Asia. There is returning mater-
ial appearing, such as the difference tone
idea now generated by the oboe and clar-
THE CLARINET
inet in close intervals, and now accompa-
nied by a waltz in the piano. The closing
section of this 12+-minute piece is a truly
beautiful and striking oboe/clarinet unison
passage over sustained piano chords and
unisons. The difference tone idea is briefly
heard from the piano.
The performances throughout this disc
are effective and technically clean and
committed. Kudos to pianist Margo Gar-
rett, who has never failed to impress this
writer. This trio plays precisely together,
and given the intonation anomalies inher-
ent in this instrumental combination, very
well in tune. The recorded sound is clear,
to its credit rather close up in presence, and
balance is good. The disc displays some
unwanted edge, and a more resonant and
natural piano sound perhaps could be had.
This recording presents five attractive
trio works which are no doubt unknown to
all but a few readers, but may be of interest
to many clarinetists (or oboists). The disc
is Jeann Digital Recording JDR 2252, and
is available through the Jeann, Inc. Web
site: <www.jeanne-inc.com>.
Good listening!
MICHIGAN STATE
UNIVERSITYS SECOND
ANNUAL CLARINET
SPECTACULAR:
JAZZ MEETS THE CLASSICS
M
A Report by Rachel Yoder
and Johanna Hyun
ichigan State University and
Professor Caroline Hartig re-
cently hosted the second annual
Clarinet Spectacular, an event which
brought together world-class performers
with clarinetists from around the Midwest
for a weekend of concerts and master
classes. This year, Michigan State was
proud to present world-renowned clar-
inetist Eddie Daniels, who contributed
throughout the weekend as classical per-
former, jazz clarinetist, and teacher.
The three-day celebration began with a
concert featuring Hartig and Daniels in
collaboration with faculty pianist Deborah
Moriarty. The program consisted of duo
pieces such as the Leblanc Suite by Gor-
don Goodwin and Mendelssohns Concert-
piece No. 2, Op. 114, some of which fea-
tured jazz improvisation by Eddie Daniels.
The following day, the school was filled
with clarinetists from Michigan and be-
yond who met for the Festival Choir re-
hearsal led by Associate Conductor of
Bands Wesley Broadnax.
Next was Caroline Hartigs master
class, A Sound Approach to Stellar
Technique, in which MSU graduate stu-
Page 18
Clarinet Spectacular performers and participants
dent Christina Beaupre and other partici-
pants played for Hartig as she demonstrat-
ed the importance of sound and air speed to
developing solid clarinet technique. Har-
tigs master class was followed by A Day
at the Clarinet Spa, a session with Morrie
Backun, renowned clarinet barrel and bell
maker from Vancouver, focusing on care
and maintenance of the clarinet. In addition
to giving tips on oiling the bore and clean-
ing the instrument, Backun demonstrated
his method for adjusting clarinets, using
Eddie Daniels and one of his new instru-
ments as an entertaining example.
Backun also had many bells and barrels
available throughout the day for partici-
pants to try; other equipment displays in-
cluded Franois Kloc and Larry Green,
representatives of Buffet Crampon USA,
Inc., Leblanc clarinet representatives Eric
Satterlee of Meridian Winds, and Chuck
DeClarke of Marshall Music.
Later in the day, MSU clarinet students
and private teachers Cathy Wood, Jackie
Boyd and Rachel Yoder gave a class on
building a thriving clarinet studio. Then,
THE CLARINET
participants joined John Martin, Director
of Admissions at MSU, in a question and
answer session about the School of Music.
Selected MSU students and Clarinet Spec-
tacular participants then played in a two-
hour master class given by Eddie Daniels,
before all participants gathered for the
Festival Recital with special guest compos-
er/conductor James Niblock, The Festival
Clarinet Choir, Clarinet Connexions and
the By B-Flats.
The Final Guest Artist Recital was given
by Eddie Daniels, Caroline Hartig, Arthur
Campbell and Deborah Moriarty, MSU
Director of Jazz Rodney Whitaker and
MSU Jazz Faculty Combo, concluding the
festival day with a program that began
classical and ended with Daniels rendition
of familiar jazz tunes such as Im Old
Fashioned and Autumn Leaves. The
evening portion of the festival was an MSU
Chamber Orchestra Concert, featuring
Professor of Clarinet Elsa Verdehr and Pro-
fessor of Violin Walter Verdehr in a na-
tional premiere of Mills Double Concerto
for Violin, Clarinet, and Orchestra. The
following day, the clarinet festivities con-
tinued with the Verdehr Trios Sesquicen-
tennial Composers Concert, showcasing
some of the most outstanding works com-
missioned by the Verdehr Trio.
MSUs Second Annual Clarinet Spec-
tacular: Jazz meets the Classics provided
participants and visitors with a wonderful
opportunity to make music and celebrate
the clarinet in all of its versatility. Join us
for Michigan State Universitys Third An-
nual Clarinet Spectacular October 28,
2006. For more information please visit:
<http://www.music.msu.edu/academic/
clarinetday/php>.

Nathan Williams, Eva Wassrman Margolis, Din Biness, Hila Zamir, Robert Spring, Udi
Naveh, Limor Levi, Gidi Alon, Tanya Stefanova, Ishay Lantner
THE CLARINET
O
IN JERUSALEM
n Monday, April 3, a six-day ser-
ies of events entitled The Clari-
net in Jerusalem drew to a close
with a concert at the Navon Auditorium in
the Younes and Soraya Nazarian High
School and Conservatory Building of the
Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance.
The series was initiated by Eva Wasser-
man Margolis, chairperson of the Israel
branch of the International Clarinet Asso-
ciation, and by Prof. Ilan Schul, President
of the Jerusalem Academy of Music and
Dance. Events included private lessons and
master classes held at the Academy and a
competition of young clarinetists. Two vis-
iting artists of international renown, Robert
Spring and Nathan Williams, both from
the U.S.A., were active participants in the
events, serving as judges for the competi-
tion and performing at a recital held at the
Jerusalem Music Center.
The competition was held to honor the
memory of David Weber, who died this
year. Weber was a Jewish American clar-
inetist known for the beauty of his tone
and his many accomplishments as an artist
who played for the New York Philhar-
monic and the CBS Symphony and as a
teacher at The Juilliard School and Colum-
bia University. As a tribute to Webers ba-
sic sometimes abrasive honesty, the
competition was held, for the first time in
Israel, behind a screen.
This unique technique of performance
guaranteed the objectivity of the judges by
maintaining anonymity of its participants.
The judges only heard the music without
being able to identify the musicians. Even
the order of appearance was kept a secret
by requiring participants to draw a number
from a hat minutes before they began to
play. The final concert featured the win-
ners of the competition: Ishai Lantner of
Rehovot, Gidi Alon from Kfar Saba and
Limor Levy from Kfar Hittim (in the age
1826 group), and Udi Naveh of Givat-
ayim, Hila Zamir from Rishon Letzion and
Din Biness also from Givatayim (in the
age 1118 group). Sponsors included Sel-
mer Inc. and Vandoren Inc. of Paris, Ma-
rom Musical Instruments, the Interlaken
Academy of Arts Michigan, Michael Lo-
max USA and the Jerusalem Music Center
at Mishkenot Shaananim.
BOWLING GREEN
UNIVERSITY BASS
B
CLARINET CONFERENCE
owling Green State University will
be hosting a Bass Clarinet
Conference on February 1617,
2007. Michael Lowenstern will be the fea-
tured soloist. For more information, contact
Kevin Schempf at <schempf@
bgnet.bgsu.edu>.
STOCKHOLM CLARINET
SUMMIT, MAY 57, 2006
T
A Report by Stefan Harg
he 2006 Stockholm Clarinet Sum-
mit was held at the beautiful venues
of Nordiska Musikgymnasiet, a
leading school for pre-education for young
artists. The idea of this event is to popular-
ize the clarinet in Sweden and to make this
a regular event.
The status of the clarinet in Sweden is
not so good at the moment, and there is a
debate on how to increase the numbers of
Swedish clarinetists. The Clarinet Summit
September 2006
is one way to do this. The topics featured
were individual coaching, exploring new
works and literature, intensive working on
specific pieces, exhibitions of instruments
and accessories, and concerts and seminars.
The participants consisted of both ama-
teurs and professionals players, and one of
the the ideas of the Clarinet Summit was to
allow amateurs to play along with profes-
sionals and to work on different genres.
There were concerts that featured klez-
mer, Swedish folk music and ensemble
(clarinet choir). In addition, Stefan Harg
and Katarina Strm-Harg played a con-
cert consisting of Boulez, Domaines; De-
bussy, Rhapsodie; Brahms, Sonata No. 2
and Franaix, Tema con variazioni.
Folk music specialists Pontus Estling
and Hkan Frykmo held a very illustrious
seminar on the interpretation of Swedish
folk music. They demonstrated different
techniques and played on a 19th-century
Swedish clarinet.
Because its the anniversary of Mozart
this year, Stefan Harg held a seminar on the
interpretation of the Mozart Clarinet Con-
certo played on the bassett clarinet. He dis-
cussed the importance of playing with or-
namentation and showed examples of this.
The basset clarinet used featured a new
design made by Howarth Clarinets (U.K.)
in collaboration with Stefan Harg. It has a
lower joint that can be fitted to any clarinet
brand making it possible to use your own
A clarinet top joint. Stefan also held a reed
and mouthpiece clinic in which he helped
the participants individually with selecting
the right set-up. (This event was sponsored
by Vandoren.) He also worked on reeds
based on the ideas of the master clarinetist
Ben Armato and gave two master classes
with the focus on the standard repertoire.
Eva Rosen-Lundquist worked with en-
sembles and also with the clarinet choir.
She played a range of repertoire from Mo-
zart to Batman.
Instrument craftsman Jonas Nslund,
from the leading woodwind shop here
in Sweden, also did a seminar on how
to take care of clarinets and how to select
instruments.
The event was sponsored by Vandoren,
Paris, Howarth Clarinets U.K., Jonas Ns-
lund and Nordiska musikgymnasiet. The
organizer was fpmusic, a company that
specializes in workshops, concerts and edu-
cational events.
The Clarinet Summit will be back in
November with guest artists from France,
U.K. and Sweden.
Page 19
 Historically Speaking is a feature of
The Clarinet offered in response to numer-
ous inquiries received by the editorial staff
about clarinets. Most of the information
will be based on sources available at the
National Music Museum located on The
University of South Dakota campus in Ver-
T
million. Please send your e-mail inquiries
to Deborah Check Reeves at <dreeves@
usd.edu>.
he same patent that was issued
to Leon Leblanc in 1933 that des-
cribed the Patented B  mecha-
nism (see Historically Speaking in The
Clarinet, Vol. 33, No. 3) also describes a
new placement of the right-hand side key
tone holes. This placement and subsequent
redesign of the right-hand trill side keys
has been a feature of Leblanc clarinets
ever since.
As stated in U.S. patent #1,926,489,
The primary object of the present inven-
tion is to arrange the trill key openings in
the body of the instrument substantially in
line, each with its respective key, and to
arrange these openings so nearly in line
with the extreme upper plane of the in-
strument that the disadvantages incident
to the accumulation of saliva from the
mouth of the musician or condensation of
the vapor blown into the instrument is, as
experience has proven, entirely avoided
Photo 1: Leblanc right-hand side tone
hole placement
Page 20
undesirable sliding action and the nui-
sance of squeaks is reduced for all prac-
tical purposes. All tone holes are above
the water line and the amount of water
going inside the bore is minimal, eliminat-
ing gurgling.
With the introduction of the Opus and
Concerto models, off-set trill keys were
by reintroduced on a select few models of Le-
blanc clarinets. Although off-set trill keys
Deborah were offered on several artist level exam-
Check Reeves ples, including the Concerto 1189S, in
1998 the Concerto 1189SL had in-line
jump trill keys, as well as all other more
modest clarinet models. Even today, ac-
cording to their Web site, Leblanc features
(see Photo 1). When this tone hole place- the jump keys on their artist line Pete
ment is observed, however, a new design Fountain model, as well as on their inter-
of lever is required, since using regular, mediate and student line instruments.
mostly flat levers would obstruct the pad Although the Patent B mechanism,
openings. Leblanc describes his resulting as described in Leblancs 1933 patent, no
design: As the trill levers are arranged longer is used, it is interesting to note that
side by side in close order, it is, of course, another invention patented in the same
apparent that the pads of any one lever document the in-line jump side keys
will in effect underlie the adjacent lever still is offered today.
and the particular trill levers of the pre- Special thanks go to the late Sir Nicho-
sent invention are recessed within the ad- las Shackleton who allowed me to freely
jacent lever to thereby permit free move- photograph his instruments in the course
ment of the pad in response to its lever of studying several of his clarinets. The
without interference from the adjacent photographs in this article are of one of
lever. Thus the in-line jump key was these clarinets.
born (see Photo 2).
A 1948 advertising flyer describes the
jump keys as follows: Side keys that
actually jump over intervening tone holes
permit a straight-in-line action that elimi-
nates twisted mounting of pad cups and
the raising of the E/B and C /G holes to
eliminate bubbling a common fault of
all other clarinets. A 1956 flyer further
claims that the jump key alignment and
Direct 90 action preserves pad impres-
sion and provides positive stoppage of
each tone hole. This Leblanc invention
represents the first basic change in the
Boehm system clarinet in over 100 years!
Through the years, the jump key
design has been featured on many models
of Leblanc clarinets. This feature was
noted in a 1978 flyer describing the Jump
keys individually mounted straight in-
line side trill keys on the professional
line L200 clarinet as well as on the stu-
dent line Vito which is described further:
Vitos unique in-line construction of side
trill keys mean pads make direct vertical
contact with the tone holes, theres no Photo 2: Jump key close-up
THE CLARINET
A HOST OF
T
OCTOGENARIANS!
o say I was astonished is an under-
statement! The audience of clari-
netists and other friends and admir-
ers at Gervase de Peyers 80th birthday con-
cert at the Wigmore Hall in London last
month enjoyed a staggering display of
clarinet playing. It was a big program to
say the least. Even the most energetic of
players would have thought twice about
taking on quite so much in one evening!
But Gervase gave us both Mendelssohn
Concert Pieces (which he played with Vin-
cenzo Perrone), the Schumann Trio, Bar-
tks Contrasts, a movement from the beau-
tiful Bliss Quintet, two movements of the
Schubert Octet, the Ponchielli duo and,
perhaps the piece that Gervase is best
known for, the Horovitz Sonatina, written
for him 25 years ago in 1981. Jo Horovitz
was there too also, coincidentally, cele-
brating his 80th birthday this year. And
what a performance it was. Gervase still
has all that verve, wit and imagination to
bring off a scintillating performance. I
dont think Ive ever heard the final move-
ment so fast! Gervase had assembled quite
a cast of players. William Waterhouse, ano-
ther member of the original Melos Ensem-
ble, was playing, as well as Robin Ireland,
son of Patrick Ireland, another original
Melos player. In between items Gervase
spoke with his usual warm charm and wit.
It was a memorable evening.
Professor Sir Nicholas John Shackleton
very sadly died well short of his 80th year.
He was only 69 when he died in January,
and his memorial service was at Great St.
Marys Church in Cambridge just two days
ago as I write (May 6). It was well at-
tended and dem-
onstrated the
warmth and high
regard he was
held in by both
the scientific and
clarinet worlds.
There was a trib-
Charlotte Swift
with Kiffer Finzi
and his wife,
Hilary du Pr,
standing in front
of Geralds
piano.
Page 22
ute by Professor Elderfield about his scien-
tific achievements and another appearance
by William Waterhouse who spoke of his
musicianship and his skills as a collector of
clarinets, perhaps his greatest achievement.
Evidently Nicks wonderful collection will
go to the Reid Concert Hall Museum of In-
struments in Edinburgh, although a few of
his playing instruments may go elsewhere,
possibly to the Royal College of Music.
The Clare College Choir sang beautiful-
ly and Alan Hacker led a clarinet quartet
in some of Nicks favorite music. I last
met Nick at the clarinets 300th birthday
celebrations in Berlin last year; there he
impressed deeply with his extraordinary
knowledge of the instrument and its his-
tory. Happily he has left a rich cache of
scholarly articles and chapters on his sub-
ject from which we all can benefit.
As well as marking many an important
octogenarian birthday this year, 2006 also
sees the 50th anniversary of the death of
the great English composer Gerald Finzi.
There is a very readable and warm-hearted
new biography just published (Gerald Finzi
his life and music, by Diana McVeagh)
a must for all Finzi fans. I thought it
would be nice to take my pupil, Charlotte
Swift, to play the concerto to Kiffer Finzi
THE CLARINET
(Geralds son) who still lives in the sprawl-
ing farm at Ashmansworth in the Newbury
Hills, built by Gerald in 1939. Charlotte
gave a lovely performance to a small audi-
ence in Geralds old study. Her accompa-
nist (a very able young pianist from Cam-
bridge, Joe Fort) using the same piano that
the composer had tried out his original
ideas on some 57 years ago. At the end of
the performance we discussed Geralds
own feelings about the work, and in partic-
ular how he disliked an overly sentimental
approach. My father never liked those
rallentandos to be anything more than just
glanced at, Kiffer commented. We sat
down together afterwards and drank some
apple juice from the Finzi orchard. The
trees Gerald had lovingly planted all those
years ago still yield vast quantities of fruit.
In her research, Diana McVeagh uncov-
ered an interesting letter from Gerald to his
friend (and fellow composer) Robin Mil-
ford in which he writes how pleased he
was with the Clarinet Concerto and that
hed like to write another clarinet concer-
to, but saying something completely differ-
ent. Alas he never did. Charlotte gave
another delightful performance, this time
of the Mozart Concerto, at the University
Concert Hall in Cambridge last Friday and
will be playing again at the Malcolm Ar-
nold Festival in October. I do hope to see
some of you there.
Another performance of the Mozart
Concerto will be given at the Royal Albert
Hall at a very special Prom this year at
yet another 80th birthday! This time its
the Queens. And how thrilled I am that it
will be played by Julian Bliss. The concert
will begin with a new royal commission
from the Master of the Queens Music, Sir
Peter Maxwell Davies A Little Birthday
Music and will conclude with the Dvork
New World Symphony, evidently one of
the Queens favorites. I hope I may see
some of you there too!
September 2006 Page 23
 Spotlight on Imani Winds
Ed Marcus on his Wind Quintet No. 1
Complete Reicha Quintets being
recorded
Chen Yi: Feng
O
Request for info on Henry Brant music
for wind quintet
ne of the most exciting forces in
wind quintet performances, re-
cordings and program building
of the past decade has been the IMANI
WINDS. This is a serious, genre-leaping
ensemble; its members are Valerie Cole-
man, flute; Toyin Spellman-Diaz, oboe;
Mariam Adam, clarinet, Monica Ellis, bas-
soon, and Jeff Scott, horn. The name Im-
ani means faith in Swahili, and the
five now-New York City-based musicians
joined together in 1996 to push the bound-
aries of a traditional wind quintet. They
say that faith is the embodiment of the
ensembles mission: bridging the European
and African musical traditions, exploring
repertory from diverse cultures, and taking
audiences on enthralling journeys through
divergent ethnic and musical identities.
And they mean it! And they achieve it! The
group projects a vibrant energy on their
Page 24
by Bruce M. Creditor, Wind Quintet Editor
Web site as well as on their recordings
the second of which The Classical Under-
ground was nominated for a 2006 Gram-
my Award in the Best Classical Crossover
category. I am sure they are also as persua-
sive in concert, and I will have the oppor-
tunity to hear them at the Rockport (MA)
Chamber Music Festival.
I asked Mariam Adam to share some
reflections on Imani Winds performances
and what they encounter.
Imani Winds has become an in-
spiration to its own members and an
institution for us to build repertoire,
collaborations and educational out-
reach to communities of all genres.
THE CLARINET
Any typical visit to a new city can
entail an evening concert with an ex-
perienced loyal chamber music sea-
son-ticket holder, to a diverse new
audience that maybe saw our picture
at their local church. Luckily many
presenters have realized the impor-
tance of community outreach and
either prior to the recital or directly
following, we are asked to perform
for a school, university, public library
or community event.
Because of this we have the op-
portunity to not only meet the young
audience members, but their parents
as well. Often we will have someone
who has driven a long distance to
see us after hearing us on the radio;
NPR has been a great resource for
us. From St. Paul Sunday to WNYC,
radio still proves to be a source for
concertgoers to seek new music. And
Thanks to MP3 locales like iTunes,
we have had an outlet from which to
reach our future audiences, who get
a sampling of how classical music
is changing.
One of the biggest advantages of
touring often is being able to reach a
large population in person in remote
areas. We make a big effort to intro-
duce each and every piece we play,
not only because a lot of the wood-
wind quintet repertoire is unknown,
but we champion so much of our in-
house composers music, its nice for
the audience to hear an intro from
the composer himself (or herself!).
It is in this way that I believe au-
dience members are getting a taste
for the more rhythm and melody ton-
ality that is reaching into classical
music these days. Because Jeff and
Valerie have such deep roots in Afri-
can-Americana music, they are quite
adept and translating it to our voices
and instruments. It also helps that
they write for our personalities and
push us to do things on our instru-
ments not normally expected, the lis-
tener is treated to a variety of sounds
and ideas in any given concert.
Imani Winds still celebrates the
gems of the repertoire because
they are long standing for a reason.
However we believe that some of the
diamonds of the rep have yet to be
The importance of adding quality
repertoire has been important to us
from day one because of the diverse
audiences we need to reach. Even if
we are playing for four year olds, we
include a little merengue backdrop
to the Itsy Bitsy Spider to spice up
the introduction to music. With expe-
rienced audiences they also hear
how the rhythms of John Cage com-
pare to Afro Cuban beats.
The best audience feedback we
get is not only how much they were
surprised they enjoyed our concert
so much, but from young members
THE CLASSICAL UNDERGROUND
who return to their school music pro-
Imani Winds
gram with a new verve for chamber
Koch International Classics
music and start their own group. It
KIC-CD-7599 (2005)
is a real pleasure to have repeat vis-
its to certain communities where we Astor Piazzolla
get to see the progress over years Liber Tango (arr. J. Scott) (5')
and even find them later in universi- Paquito DRivera
ties were visiting. Aires Tropicales (28')
Traditional Spiritual (arr. V Coleman)
I am particularly interested in the Imani Steal Away (6')
Winds Josephine Baker Project: A Life of V Coleman
Le Jazz Hot, which is celebrating the 100th Concerto for Wind Quintet (16')
anniversary of the birth of Baker one Lalo Schifrin
of the most acclaimed, controversial and La Nouvelle Orleans (8')
eventually beloved African-American per- Jeff Scott
formers of the early 20th century. Con- Homage to Duke (7')
ceived and developed by the Imani Winds,
the project combines many of Bakers sig- IMANI WINDS
nature songs from when she was a sensa- Koch International Classics
tion in 1920s Paris with French and Amer- KIC-CD-7661 (2006)
ican Jazz Age repertoire. For more infor- Jeff Scott
mation about this inventive project and the Titilayo (4:17)
Imani Winds in general, visit <http://www. Ravel/Jones
imaniwinds.com>. Le Tombeau de Couperin (14')

CDS BY THE IMANI WINDS

written. By concertizing different var-
ied programs, we always hope to en-
courage other composers to write for
this genre who might not have con-
sidered it before.
Our collaborations have for this
reason been very fruitful. Working
with Paquito DRivera has given us
a modern Latin piece Kites Over
Havana, with jazz-chanteuse Ren
Marie we have included vocal paint-
ing over her adapted original songs
and original works by our Jeff Scott,
our collaboration with Bandoneo-
nista Daniel Binelli gave us insight
into Concert Tango that we would
have never been able to achieve on
our own.
Both of these recordings illustrate many
times over and in many different ways
what bassoonist Monica Ellis has re-
marked: One of the things we are trying
to do in Classical music is to show that
theres an innate ethnicity that exists in it.
We go to the extremes, we take risks, we
decide upon how were going to play our
instruments based on the style of the mu-
sic, not the other way around. Not to say
that we exploit or insult the Classical ca-
non, but we just think these recordings are
representative of what can be inclusive in
it. May they continue to take such risks,
and to make such rich musics come alive
with their performances.
Astor Piazzolla (arr. J. Scott)
Fuga e Misterio (5')
Mario Lavista
Cinco Danzas Breves (12')
V Coleman
Umoja (3')
Astor Piazzolla (arr. J. Scott)
Oblivion (6')
Mongo Santamaria (arr. V Coleman)
Afro Blue (7')
*****
A brief posting to the <klarinet@wood
wind.org> listserve about a concert pre-
sented by the Syracuse Society for New
Music (which was founded by my friend
and colleague, the late violinist Louis Kras-
ner) which was to include the premiere of

September 2006 Page 25

a Woodwind Quintet #1 by Edward Mar-
cus led to my reconnecting with some fel-
low New England Conservatory alumni
Penny and Edward Marcus, who are now
living in upstate New York.
I asked Ed, a clarinetist and compos-
er, to offer some thoughts on this aspect
of his activity:
My wife and I moved to upstate New
York from the Boston area in 2004, and
since moving here Ive been able to com-
pose quite a bit and perform, with friends,
in local concerts. Neva Pilgrim is the pro-
gram advisor for the very prestigious So-
ciety for New Music based in Syracuse,
NY, and she asked me for a piece they
could premiere on their March 7, 2006
concert. The Society contracts some of the
best orchestral and freelance players in the
area to rehearse (with amazing efficiency)
and perform (with terrific accuracy and
sensitivity) contemporary works.
I have begun to compose only relative-
ly recently, and the performances of my
works have all involved me as a performer
or coach. In this case of my Woodwind
Quintet No. 1 I was neither, and when I
heard the second (and final) rehearsal of
Page 26
the piece the week before the concert, I
reflected on my great good fortune that the
work was being premiered by fine players
eager to understand my intent (including
clarinetist David Abrams). The piece was
quite well-received at the concert played
at Crouse Auditorium at Syracuse Univer-
sity, which also featured works by Bright
Sheng, Frank Stagnitta, and Jay Anthony
Gach. While reading the accomplishments
of these well-established composers before
the concert, I had the familiar anxiety once
again; but it was nice, in the end, to be a
part of it all.
The quintet is a 10-minute work in three
movements. The first movement begins
with a flowing figure passed between the
flute and clarinet, over which the oboe and
horn state the first melodic theme. This
theme becomes more animated, and leads
to a second theme and contrapuntal devel-
opment. After some fireworks, calmness
returns as the flowing figure is restated to
end the movement. The second movement
begins with a cadenza for the flute, and
includes arching melodies for all the in-
struments over exotic chords. An ostinato
figure combined with an angular melody
THE CLARINET
form the foundation of the third move-
ment, but graceful melodic snippets from
the first movement begin to intrude and
make headway. A tuneful and triumphant
chorale combine with the ostinato and
angular figures to bring the piece to a close.
The work uses traditional instrumental
techniques, and did not seem to provide
these fine players with any particular chal-
lenges. During the rehearsal I attended
they very responsibly and carefully played
the work just as notated, and I encouraged
them to apply their musical taste regarding
rubato and phrasing. I have noticed this
sense of responsibility evidenced by other
good players who have played my works,
and perhaps it is indicative of the style of
music I usually write that it lends itself to
the kinds of decision-making one might
apply to works of the late romantic period.
Contact Ed Marcus at <edmarcus@
sprynet.com> for further information.
Bravo, Ed!
*****
COMPLETE REICHA
QUINTETS BEING
RECORDED BY
WESTWOOD WIND QUINTET
Yes, indeed! What a recording of the
complete Haydn string quartets is to the
world of string players, this series of Rei-
cha recordings is to our wind quintet breth-
ren. These first two volumes have been in
my review pipeline for some time and I am
glad to share this announcement from
Peter Christ founder of the Westwood
Wind Quintet, Crystal Records, and proba-
bly Crystal Chamber Hall (the venue of
these recordings) that given his having
been in the wind quintet business for
over 40 years, he feels this is the most im-
portant of any of his projects. Completion
of production of the 24 works will take
about four years, eight of them having al-
ready been recorded to date.
The first installments are somewhat
confusingly numbered Volumes 5 and
6, but when the series is completed it will
run chronologically (not in recording or-
der) volumes 112, with two quintets per
CD. This complete series will be an in-
valuable contribution to the essential wind
quintet legacy. In addition to the commit-
ted and controlled performances, the CD
booklets present cogent and informative
notes which include comments on each
quintet by Charles-David Lehrer, whose
article on Reichas Quintets from the IDRS
Double Reed was reprinted in Quintes-
sence Nos. 24 and 25 (June and Sep-
tember 2003).
Good luck to the talented and reconsti-
tuted Westwood Wind Quintet as they pro-
ceed through the remaining quintets!
(<www.crystalrecords.com>)
ANTON REICHA
Woodwind Quintets, Vol. 5
Crystal Records CD265 (2005)
Quintet in D Major, Op. 91, No. 3 (26)
Quintet in G Minor, Op. 91, No. 4 (42)
ANTON REICHA
Woodwind Quintets, Vol. 6
Crystal Records CD266 (2005)
Quintet in A Major, Op. 91, No. 5 (38)
Quintet in C Minor, Op. 91, No. 6 (39)
Westwood Wind Quintet
(Eugene Zoro, clarinet)
*****
The Chinese-American composer Chen
Yi has established a well-admired and
recognized reputation since coming to the
U.S. in the 1980s. Through a Chamber
Music America Commissioning Award,
she was commissioned by San Francisco
City Winds for the wind quintet Feng.
Chen Yi explains the Chinese character
feng denotes wind or the winds as
well as views, folk songs, style and man-
ner. Dr. Chen adds that although she cre-
ated this two-movement piece (Introduc-
tion and Rondo) for five standard Western
wind instruments, she nonetheless aimed
to evoke the feeling of Eastern music.
The work was premiered in Berkeley,
CA in January 1999. AND if you would
September 2006
like to see the first movement reprinted in
its entirety, you will need to find a copy of
the June 2006 issue of Chamber Music
magazine. It is well worth it (as is support-
ing CMA with a membership). The work is
published by Theodore Presser Company.
*****
SEEKING INFORMATION:
Anyone who has performed these works
for wind quintet by Henry Brant:
Prevailing Winds (1974)
Windjammer (1969)
A Requiem in Summer (1934, rev. 1955)
please let me know about your experien-
ces with them or any other wind quin-
tet topics that you would like to see men-
tioned here.
Thank you! (<brucecred@aol.com>)
Visit the I.C.A.
on the World Wide Web:
www.clarinet.org
Page 27

A MARRIAGE MADE
IN CLARINET HEAVEN:
LEBLANC AND BACKUN IS
A RECIPE FOR INNOVATION
B
by Paul Globus
y now virtually everyone who
plays the clarinet knows the name
Morrie Backun. The Vancouver-
based clarinetist, instrument technician and
owner of Backun Musical Services has
remade the clarinet world as we know it,
producing an array of barrels and bells
fashioned from exotic woods that have be-
come standard equipment for those who
wish to take their playing to the next level.
Last year the big news was Morrie Bac-
kuns teaming up with Ricardo Morales,
principal clarinet with the Philadelphia Or-
chestra, to create a special line of acces-
sories, including mouthpieces. The Mora-
les/Backun brand is now one of the hottest
on the market. This is not surprising given
the love and attention Morrie Backun puts
into each of his endeavors, to say nothing
of his endless quest to improve upon every
aspect of clarinet design and fabrication.
Add to that, Ricardos artistry and the pos-
sibilities seem endless.
In that vein, there has now been yet an-
other exciting development. Morrie Bac-
kun has recently joined forces with the Le-
blanc division of Conn-Selmer, Inc. to cre-
ate the next generation of clarinets in-
struments that promise to be so superior
that we now stand on the cusp of a real
clarinet renaissance.
(Note: Morrie Backun is not leaving or
closing Backun Musical Services; to the
contrary, the now famous Vancouver-based
business will continue to grow and thrive
under Morries direction, his association
with Leblanc being more in the nature of
joint venture.)
I recently had the pleasure of talking
with Morrie Backun and John Stoner, pres-
ident of Conn-Selmer, about the new un-
dertaking. Here is part of our conversation:
Page 28
Paul Globus: How did this association
with Leblanc and Morrie Backun come
about?
John Stoner: I was talking with Eddie
Daniels in December 2005. Eddie had
just been up to Morries shop in Van-
couver. He said, John, you may want
to contact this guy. Hes creative and
doing some pretty interesting things
with the clarinet. I was intrigued be-
cause, although as a company were
very strong on the brass side with the
Bach, Conn and King brands, Conn-
Selmer-Leblanc is not as strong on the
professional woodwind side, especially
in the international market. One of the
reasons we bought Leblanc was to ful-
fill our desire to have a high-end, strong
pro presence worldwide in all five of
the major instrument categories. With a
brand as respected as Leblanc, there are
many options, including promoting on
price or attempting to customize a few
instruments for very few players. Nei-
ther strategy works very well in the mu-
sic industry. It was evident to us that the
best avenue was to come up with a dra-
matically new and improved instru-
ment, something people really want to
get their hands on and try. We knew
that the clarinet market is very conserv-
ative. We also knew that Morrie Bac-
kun, with his line of bells and barrels,
has a large following and a good repu-
tation among clarinet players world-
wide. We figured if we could put the
two together, if Morrie would accept the
challenge of taking us from a lower
market position to number one, it would
be a great opportunity for him and a
great opportunity for us.
Morrie Backun: I should add that when
John called me, it wasnt the first time
Id been contacted by one of the major
manufacturers about working with
First prototype
of the new clarinet
THE CLARINET
them. My initial reaction was to say that
Im flattered but I dont really see my-
self working with a corporate entity.
Paul Globus: Why is that?
Morrie Backun: For a number of reasons,
one of which is my absolute fanaticism
about quality. I didnt think commercial
manufacturers could buy into that. But
as John and I talked and got to know
each other, I realized he was a very sin-
cere person who had an earnest desire to
make the best instruments in the world,
and was very serious about the clarinet
becoming a major focus of his compa-
ny. We talked through the issues, touch-
ing on personnel, plants, facilities and
many other things. We finally came to
the conclusion that it might be best if I
came down and had a look at the Ken-
osha plant. I did and found it to be one
of the most impressive operations Id
ever seen. The plant has some really
wonderful features. John and I agreed
that if we were going to do this, we
needed to build in not only a dramati-
cally improved design with great crafts-
manship, but also absolutely stunning
precision and high technology to be
able to do things in a way that had
never been done before in the clarinet
world. That would require a major finan-
cial commitment from Conn-Selmer,
which John was prepared to make. In
fact we recently ordered the most so-
phisticated custom designed computer
numerically controlled nine-access ma-
chining center that Im aware of exist-
ing anywhere in the music industry.
This machine weighs approximately
30,000 pounds so it may be only thing
in our Vancouver facility that weighs
more than me!
John Stoner: Let me ask you a question.
If you went to your local music store
and saw a Leblanc clarinet designed by
Morrie Backun, would you pick it up
and try it?
Paul Globus: Most definitely.
John Stoner: Precisely. Most players
would say the same thing. Why? Be-
cause Morrie Backun is a recognized and
respected name in the clarinet world.
But we werent interested in taking an
existing instrument, making a few mi-
nor changes, and putting Morries name
on it. We really wanted to design and
produce the best clarinet and we needed
Morrie Backun, John Stoner and John
Nonaka at the Frankfurt Music Fair where
the new clarinet was introduced.

Morries expertise to do that. Call it

the next generation instrument or the
21st-century clarinet. Thats why Mor-
rie is spending a considerable amount
of time in Kenosha. Were leaving it up
to him to put all the skill sets in place so
that we can offer not only a great-fea-
tured instrument but also a great sound-
ing and playing instrument as well.
Naturally whatever resources are re-
quired to do that will have to be part of
the picture. In fact, Morrie has hand-
selected his entire team at Leblanc, and
is personally training each of them.
Morrie Backun: People need to remem-
ber that Leblanc is owned by Conn-
Selmer, which is a division of Steinway
Musical Instruments. Steinway pianos
are synonymous with number one and
that explains why the goal here is to
make an absolutely groundbreaking
instrument, a world apart from anything
that has ever been made before. Weve
really tried to evolve the instrument. If
you were here and tried the prototype,
chances are youd do what the vast
majority of top pros whove tried it so
far have done: order one on the spot.
Paul Globus: How many models are you
making?
John Stoner: Three Bs and two As. Ill
let Morrie tell you more about them.
Morrie Backun: Everything about the
new instruments is unsurpassed: feel,
sound, response, evenness between the
registers, flexibility, intonation, key-
work. And forget nickel plating. The
keywork on these instruments is either
silver or gold. Were calling our first
model the Cadenza and its essentially a
top-quality wooden clarinet with famil-
iar keywork. It has all the basic Backun
acoustical and voicing features, and is

September 2006 Page 29

 designed as an affordable professional
instrument that could be used by work-
ing players as an excellent back-up for
travel, outdoor concerts, teaching, and
so forth. Our second model, the Sym-
phonie, is the standard working profes-
sional model and we envision it captur-
ing a major share of the market once
people begin trying it and comparing it
to their existing clarinets and other pro-
fessional instruments currently avail-
able. The Legacy will be how shall I
say this? the clarinet of your dreams.
In other words, the Legacy is a super-
charged version of the Symphonie, with
a number of additional features and
innovative keywork that make it truly
unique. The Cadenza will be available in
B only while the Symphonie and Leg-
acy will be available in truly matched
B/A pairs, which means wood, key ten-
sion, balance, key height, tuning, voic-
ing, everything selected and adjusted to
create a perfectly matched pair of clar-
inets. This is something people have
been wanting for a very long time.
Paul Globus: So three models, good, bet-
ter and best.
Morrie Backun: No, three models, great,
amazing and unbelievable. Theyre all
first class and a real departure in terms
of mechanical, acoustical and playing
qualities when compared to what has
been available until now.
Paul Globus: Are you going to offer the
instruments in different woods?
Morrie Backun: Ive always found it
strange that if you play a flute, you can
get silver, you can get gold, you can get
platinum, you can get nickel silver. But
if you play the clarinet, what can you
get? grenadilla. Were finally going to
change that. Were going to give play-
ers a choice. Each wood will offer a
slightly different tonal palate so that
players can develop their own sound
and musical voice according to their
personal preferences. Grenadilla cer-
tainly works for some but not for all.
Now youll have a choice.
John Stoner: The Legacy and Symphonie
will be available in a range of woods.
The Cadenza will be available in gran-
adilla only. And I should mention that
for the first time, people will be able
to purchase a clarinet that includes a
Backun bell and barrel designed for
the instrument.
Page 30
Morrie Backun: Thats right. No more
paying for stock bells and barrels that
youre not going to use. Backun bells
and barrels are standard equipment.
Paul Globus: You know almost everyone
in this business, Morrie. Are all your
friends and customers up to speed on
what youre doing and have you asked
any of them for advice?
Morrie Backun: The people Ive been
close to over the years and who have
associated themselves with my work
are keenly interested in what were
doing at Leblanc and are all very sup-
portive and interested in doing what
they can to help further the project. Ive
shown prototypes to many exceptional
players, and sought their suggestions,
advice, counsel, what they like or dont
like, with a goal to improving the in-
strument. Its interesting that most have
been been of relatively little help except
trying to buy the ones theyve been test-
ing! I guess that means weve done our
homework and its very gratifying.
Paul Globus: I understand Julian Bliss,
the wonderfully talented young soloist
from Britain, is very taken with the in-
strument.
Morrie Backun: Julian is just an amazing
player, thoroughly accomplished in
every way. He tried it at the Frankfurt
music fair and I actually had to chase
him down the hall to get it back. Now
youve got to remember that Julian is
16 years old and Im on the other side
of 50. So he out-ran me without too
much effort and I had to talk to his
mother to get the instrument back. He
agreed but only after I promised to put
him high on the long list of players who
have already placed orders.
Paul Globus: Any final thoughts, gentle-
men?
Morrie Backun: The day that we stop try-
ing to improve, is the day we should
probably find something different to do.
I think that in the clarinet market, real
innovation has been a bit thin. When
you look at it, the flute world 30 years
ago with Albert Cooper went through
a renaissance. Oboes have gone through
major changes. Even bassoons have
gone through major changes. Its only
the clarinet world where were still suf-
fering with things like the throat tones
and the tuning problems, the sharp left
THE CLARINET
hand, the low, flat stuffy Fs on A clar-
inets and even on B clarinets in many
cases, the unresponsive levers and
mechanisms and all that stuff. I would
not have said yes to working with Le-
blanc unless I believed that the clarinets
coming out of this facility would be
groundbreaking instruments, on the
same level quality-wise as the instru-
ments coming off my bench. I was con-
vinced when I came down and met the
technicians and the management that
these were serious people who are in-
tent on making an instrument that is
going to raise the bar in the clarinet
world. When you see the new instru-
ment, the mechanical differences are so
apparent that the advantages are obvi-
ous. In fact, John had said to me early
in the project, and hes not a clarinet
player, that if he could look at this and
actually determine a difference, he would
think it was successful. Well, when he
looked at it, he did indeed see that dif-
ference. When you see the features that
are built into these instruments, and
when you pick one up and put it in your
hands and play it, I think that within the
first five minutes, you will say how soon
can I get one? What were doing here
really is redefining the state of the art.
Thats about as succinctly as I can put it.
John Stoner: I second that. For my part,
let me say that I believe the company
that does the best job of listening to
their end-user/consumer usually wins.
In my early conversations with Morrie,
it was clear that he understood the
needs of the artist and the player better
than anybody we could possibly get to
work with us to achieve our goal. Be-
cause of Morries knowledge, and be-
cause hes so adept at listening to the
player, weve tried to give him a kind of
carte blanche, which means the free-
dom he needs within a public company
to be able to get this project done. The
renaissance has begun and were tre-
mendously excited about it.
[The Industry Profiles series is in-
tended to be informational in nature, and
the views and opinions expressed by the
writers in the series are not necessarily
those of the journal nor of the International
Clarinet Association. Ed.]
INTERNATIONAL CLARINET ASSOCIATION
2007 HIGH SCHOOL SOLO COMPETITION
Eligibility: Competition participants must be 18 years old or younger as of June 30, 2007.
Application: Send materials postmarked no later than Friday, March 30, 2007 to:

2007 ICA High School Solo Competition

Kathy Pope, Coordinator
University of UtahSchool of Music
1375 E. Presidents Circle204 DGH
Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0030
Phone: (801) 587-9417 Fax: (801) 581-5683
e-mail: <Kathy.pope@music.utah.edu>

CONTEST RULES
I. Application fee: $50 U.S. All applicants must be members of the I.C.A. and must provide proof of membership. Non-members wishing
to apply may join the I.C.A. by including the appropriate membership fee with their contest application fee. Make amount payable to
the I.C.A. in U.S. currency by bank check, money order, or credit card only. Other forms of payment may be made only with prior arrange-
ment and consent of the Executive Director. Please direct questions about payment to the Executive Director prior to sending your materials.
The application fee is non-refundable.
II. Recording Instructions: Please provide a high quality recording on compact disk (CD-R) containing the following repertoire in the exact
order listed. Repertoire must be recorded with accompaniment when appropriate. Any published edition is acceptable. Each selec-
tion/movement should be ID coded as tracks. Audiocassettes will not be accepted. Please be aware that the quality of the recording will influ-
ence the judges. Recordings should not be edited and only continuous performances of entire works or movements are allowed.

Carl Maria von Weber, Concertino for Clarinet, Op. 26

Willson Osborne, Rhapsody for Clarinet

III. A photocopy of the contestants drivers license, passport or birth certificate as proof of age.
IV. Both the private teacher, if any, and the contestant attest in a separate written and signed statement that the recording is the playing of the
contestant and has not been edited.
V. A summer address, telephone number and e-mail address (all if possible) should be provided. E-mail is the preferred means of communi-
cation.

Please note that no application form is required.

JUDGING
Judging of recordings will be conducted with no knowledge of the contestant. Do not include any identification on the CD-R or box. There
should be no speaking on the recording such as announcing of compositions.
Preliminary judging will be by taped audition. Finalists will be chosen by committee. Notification will be sent by Monday, May 7, 2007. Final
round will be held at the ClarinetFest 2007, to be held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, July 48, 2007. Finalist will receive registration

waiver for ClarinetFest 2007. Repertoire will consist of the works listed above. Memorization for the final round of competition is not required.

Past first-prize winners are not eligible to compete. All contestants will accept the decision of the judges as final. The ICA will provide a
pianist for all finalists. All finalists will receive free registration at ClarinetFest 2007. Travel and other expenses will be the responsibility of the

contestant.
All recordings will become the property of the I.C.A. and will not be returned.

PRIZES
First prize $1,000 U.S. Second prize $750 U.S. Third prize $500 U.S.
The I.C.A. assumes no tax liability that competition winners may incur through receiving prize money. Individuals are responsible for investi-
gating applicable tax laws and reporting prize winnings to requisite government agencies.

September 2006 Page 31

R
eaders of the previous issue of The
Clarinet know that this is the six-
teenth part of a series of articles
based on materials from which Keith Stein
(Professor of Clarinet at Michigan State
University from 1934 to 1975) planned to
create a how-to book for those who had no
access to a clarinet teacher. I have attempt-
ed to put those materials into prose form,
and a little fuller explanation of the cir-
cumstances surrounding that endeavor is
given in Part One in the Volume 29, No. 4
(September 2002) issue of the magazine.
In the last installment, we began deal-
ing with Steins materials concerning tone
quality, and in this one we will conclude
our examination of his materials on that
subject.
*****
Acceptable clarinet tone embraces cer-
tain basic aspects beyond which an indi-
vidual adds his own touch to give quality
its personal distinction. Common to all
good clarinet tones are timbre, delinea-
tion, density, vitality, volume, resonance,
and coloring:
Timbre includes those characteristics
which define the particular tone of any in-
strument, whether it is violin, flute, oboe,
clarinet, or any other. It is determined by
the number, prominence, and strength of
overtones present in any sound. Clarinet
quality is distinguished by a prominence of
certain odd-numbered partials, especially
the third partial or 12th scale-degree over
any fundamental tone.
Improved bell-like quality is possible
by learning to hear this third partial (the
12th above the fundamental) present with-
in any fundamental pitch itself. Face into a
corner of a room, about three feet out from
the corner, and sustain a low F on the clar-
inet. Listen intently for the 12th higher
(3rd-space C) to manifest itself within the
total sound of your low F. Fluctuate the
intensity higher, then draw the tone down
to a whisper, fully maintaining the support.
Repeat until a diminutive phantom tone
can be heard somewhere within the total
sound. While continuing to play, depress
the register key, changing the actual pitch
to that 3rd-space C. Compare the phan-
tom tone in both pitch and quality to the
actual tone C, judging whether it is higher
or lower. At the same time match up the
real pitch to the superior purity and bell-
like sound of the phantom tone. Repeat
Page 32
by David Pino
this exercise with the low F and its 12th,
C , and so forth by halfstep up through
low C and its 12th, which is the G on top
of the staff. Be sure to maintain a quiet,
well-supported and centered tone consis-
tently or a raucous, spreading sound will
quickly creep in and will become the ac-
cepted norm.
Shaping tone: The player needs to have a
concept of tonal delineation. His ideal will
alter as his taste changes, we hope for the
better. In due time he should be able to vary
tone into many shapes and colors accor-
ding to the demands of the music played,
and particularly to fit and blend in with
various other instruments.
Voicing the tone, a subject that has been
previously discussed, is also an integral
part of tonal shaping. It is sufficient here to
repeat that the middle oral cavity is nar-
rowed into an elongated tube resembling
that used in whistling. This is principally
arranged by the overall tongue length and
by the outward projection of the interior
membrane encircling the mouth. The
tongue-tip is also instrumental in the final
shaping of the air before it strikes the reed.
Begin with a basic concept of round-
ness as the letter O or possibly a full
moon. Later imagine a ribbon-like width
of tone similar to a three-lane highway.
Fired by ambition or the pressure of first-
chair responsibilities, some players fervent-
ly desire a big tone. Too often, they sacri-
fice correct tone production and control for
loud, overblown, spread, and forced sound
to achieve their aims. Rather heed the old
Indians philosophical observation: Indian
make small fire, keep warm white man
make big bonfire, cant get near.
Tonal density: Acceptable tone manifests
a certain fullness. Ranging from maximum
intensity down to pianissimo, the tonal
body must be preserved and supported
from its lowest tonal source around the
groinal area.
THE CLARINET
Ninety percent of all practice must be
made with soft but well-supported tone.
Those who persist in loud practice nullify
the opportunity for self-listening because
the protective self will inevitably turn off
the aural receptors to the brain. Is it any
wonder that mind wandering is so preva-
lent during practice? Correct procedure
requires critical listening to oneself while
playing softly. Remembering the desirable
and objectionable aspects of his tone, the
player then takes the time to evaluate and
to make adjustments before repeating.
Good basic sound is compacted and
centered instead of spread and hollow.
Most helpful is to pattern around a cov-
ered, round, vocal tone, characteristic of
fine singing as opposed to the open, scat-
tered yell of a youngster to his companion
down the street.
Vitality: The student is easily bored in this
fast-moving world. It is necessary to help
him find those interesting, living qualities
within sustained tones and slow-moving
music which will command his attention.
Made aware that tone actually must teem
with life, as is a drop of blood or water
viewed under a microscope, and that he
can learn how to promote these qualities,
he then will be happy and content to play
slow music. He must learn to keep a tone
stimulated from inception to completion, to
master the art of leading and relating one
tone to another, and to make use of sub-
dividing time values that will afford him
closely positioned guideposts for sustain-
ing his interest from one short increment to
the next. As he accustoms himself to slow
playing he will no longer feel the need to
play only rapid music wherein too often he
plays with little listening or mental direc-
tion. Rather, he will lay foundations for the
invaluable art of slow practice.
The opportunity for good tonal vitality
is greatest when breath flow is maintained
with constant energy onto the reed for the
duration of any tone or slurred group of
tones from inception to completion. Keep-
ing a tone at top energy does not imply
blasting an overload of breath onto the
reed or applying sporadic charges inter-
spersed with let-ups that are so commonly
heard in attack, release, and in the crossing
of slurred intervals. Continuously ener-
gized breath flow together with fluent,
knowledgeable handling of subdivided
time values (as prescribed in the articles on
rhythm), provide the best combination to
assure living qualities within tone.
Resonance and Amplification of Tone: It
is common knowledge that the clarinet
tube serves as an amplifier for the reed
vibrations. We also recognize the sensation
of a well-filled tone as an integral part of
good clarinet sound. It was learned earlier
from Mr. Larry Teals experiment with
sound waves that big tone does not result
from huge quantities of blown air. The fact
was further substantiated by humming as
strongly as possible with good support to-
ward ones palm four or five inches in front
of the open mouth.
Certain parts of the body contribute, as
does the clarinet, to the resonance and am-
plification of the reed vibration. Head and
throat cavities, oral cavity walls, bone and
cartilage, all must be sufficiently relaxed to
resonate sympathetically and to amplify
the back-tracking reed vibrations before
they are dumped into the mouthpiece.
Experiment by humming a soft vocal
utterance with the mouth closed, varying
the pitch up and down siren-fashion. Place
the thumb and index finger lightly on the
throat around the larynx to sense the throat
parts actually vibrating sympathetically
with the vocal cords. Further experiment
by lightly spreading an open hand over the
uppermost chest bone. Repeat the vocal
growling and note the sympathetic vi-
bration of these bones to the vocal cords.
Reed vibration reacts similarly, back-
tracking into these and other areas, picking
up amplification before entering the mouth-
piece. The use of this whispered aah
(made without stimulating the vocal cords
aloud) is nearly perfect and relaxing pos-
ture for the throat in actual playing.
The soft membrane in the back over-
head palate should be relaxed and gently
arched. Double-lip embouchure automati-
cally arranges this interior set-up for the
player. The player feels opened up over-
head and heady as a swimmer feels after a
long time in the water. Too often this area
is deliberately tensed to close off air es-
caping through the nostrils while playing.
It is therefore too often overly tightened,
dampening the opportunity for sympathe-
tic vibration.
Air must not escape through the nos-
trils but one can learn to close gently the
exit and still feel opened up in this over-
head area. Learn to flare the fleshy, side-
tips of the nostrils widely, which helps to
open the nostril passages. Operating re-
laxed, one feels his chest, throat, and head
cavities all sensitively reverberate to reed
vibration as voices might resound in a va-
cant house.
Color and Volume of Tone: Variance of
tone coloring and of volume are controlled
in the lower lip in cooperation with the
regulating of speed and quantity of breath.
The lower lip makes two kinds of pressure
actions: a forward and backward move-
ment from its position on the reed, and a
horizontal spreading and contracting of the
lip width.
The first action, that of pressure against
the reed, controls dynamic softness and
loudness. A slight shifting of lip pressure
forward with the portion of lip-cushion
lying under the reed softens the tone by
shortening the reed length. A rolling down
on the reed (lengthening reed amplitude)
controls the loud or forte dynamics. The
player does not consciously move the lip,
but by simply desiring a certain degree of
loudness or softness and by remaining
quiet, those minute pressures (much finer
than can be attempted consciously) do shift
forward or backward with the lip pad to
carry out the order.
The second action, sideways contrac-
tion and spreading of the lower lip, pro-
duces the various tone colors ranging from
stridency (extreme lip spread) to cover and
mellowness (converging the lip inwards).
Again the player is cautioned not to shift
the lip consciously, either forward or back-
ward or sideways, but rather to maintain
the greatest constancy of relaxed lipping,
and rest assured that these finer adjust-
ments will automatically conform to the
dictates of his playing concepts.
Good tone has its roots in breath-use
that is closely aligned to that of singing. I
find myself unable to solfge (vocalize) a
musical passage without creating warmth
and animation in my voice, certainly in-
dicating that breath used in clarinet tone
is also infused with similar palpitation. A
September 2006
favorite expression of the famous conduc-
tor Arturo Toscanini to his orchestra was
Cantara, cantara! (Sing, sing!) Some
performers, deeply rooted in opera, are
more inclined to carry a singing style into
their instrumental playing. Make a prac-
tice of vocalizing passages before playing
them regardless of how undeveloped your
voice may be.
METHODS OF DEVELOPING
TONE QUALITY
The conventional approach to tone
quality development is based on progres-
sively increasing sustained tonal intensity
until a maximum of the overtone factor is
reached. This affords some characteristics
of true clarinet tone (particularly with the
prominence of the odd-numbered par-
tials), but is most often accompanied by
undesirable traits such as harshness, spread,
and overblown sound that tend to become
quickly ingrained in the players tonal
concept. Loud, rough tone is difficult to
match with other players sounds and for
the duration permitted it is more than like-
ly the player will develop careless, non-
listening habits.
A new concept in tone development
also makes use of the sustained tone but
differs by adding desirable tonal traits from
the beginning of a tone rather than by start-
ing with a big sound packed with faulty
components. Here, we start with a small,
well-defined tone; a filled, quiet sound
made by whispering hard with a well-
supported breath emanating from the lower
abdomen (tonal center). The player, thus
indoctrinated, finds himself from his first
efforts in a quiet listening atmosphere,
where he can hear and concentrate upon
making inclusions of good tonal texture,
cover, delineation and over-all quality. He
will have listening latitude to discern dif-
ferences between matching tones as to uni-
formity and refinement.
This kind of tone borders on what is
more commonly understood as a sub-tone,
though not to be confused with the faulty
double-tone heard in the high clarion regis-
ter attributed to lack of reed strength, or to
lack of breath or embouchure support. We
infer actual tone, made with hard-driving
and supported blowing, yet eliciting but a
soft-sounding, dense tone that at times
might be barely audible. Such a tone may
well manifest better tonal properties right
Page 33
from the start. Later, as intensity is called
for, the players tonal standards and his
built-up taste will not permit the inclusion
of spread, raw, reedy sound.
Repeat the same sound over and over,
listening and making calculated tonal alter-
ations each time with differences of breath,
voicing, blowing direction, even embou-
chure changes. When the player has some
command of a single tone drawn down
until barely audible but executed with con-
tinuously driving support and without soft-
ening the embouchure, he can then pro-
ceed from one tone to another with the
same low-level procedure. Try for dark,
filled, radiant, glowing tones that have the
crystalline clarity of the ring in a fine glass
goblet when thumped on the rim.
Maintain fingers close to keys and holes
so as not to lose any build-up of quality
when changing from one tone to another
under a slur. Use chromatic scale-tones
before turning to regular major and minor
scales, always playing slowly with half-
note or quarter-note values. At a later date
turn to chords with their wider intervals of
thirds and fourths only when the half- and
whole-step scale intervals can be crossed
without tonal loss.
Page 34
A new school of tone-building has been
developed based upon the premise that all
the factors of a good tone are present with-
in a single sound of short duration. Any
separate sound regardless of duration in-
volves attack, body, and release. Further,
all the ramifications of timbre that are con-
sidered excellent and which are present in a
sustained tone or a phrase of several tones,
are equally manifest in a short sound.
The player can better keep track of good
tonal characteristics in a short segment of
tone whereas he is apt to fall into mind-
wandering in practicing sustained tones.
Long tones are a wary trap, likely to tense
him up with their stress on playing until
exhausted and particularly when using
crescendo and diminuendo. Long tones do
not permit correction of a fault until fin-
ished, further imbedding it for the duration
of the sound.
The player is forced to stay alert and to
listen acutely when playing short tonal
seg ments. They can be retained in the
memory for evaluating and for calculating
improvement in tonal concept. Open-
ended silence following each tone can al-
low ample time to consider and to alter
tonal values. Short tones lessen learning
THE CLARINET
time by affording opportunity to practice
improvement procedure many times over
in a given span of time.
TECHNIQUE OF
SHORT TONE PRACTICE
Begin with naturally responsive tones,
later working out to nearby pitches. Play
isolated quarter-note values, followed each
time by several beats of rest. Later, half-
note values can be followed by several beats
of rest. Concentrate on one tone at a time
with many repetitions, listening acutely
that the attack embodies the best quality
made chiefly with breath and not overbal-
anced with tongue action, and that its tex-
ture is of the same 100% purity as the body
of the sound. Ensure sufficient abdominal
support to prevent tonal fall-off. Release
the tone on an open-ended basis which
implies that tonal endings will likely play
out somewhat longer than the written val-
ues; in other words, a quarter-note will
more likely extend to a quarter-tied-to-a-
sixteenth, and so forth.
Hold in mind a vivid picture of the ideal
tone you hope to achieve in sound. Dom-
inate the image with the sound you admire
in anothers playing as to center of tone,
shape (roundness or ribbon-like), density,
depth, ring, or gloss.
In calculating improvement between
tones (during rests), experiment by altering
the oral cavity into more or less a cucum-
ber shape; by rearranging the frontal-inside
mouth and cheek membrane into a more or
less narrowed shape; by tiny lip adjust-
ments; by tongue-tip shaping; or by varied,
forward propulsions of the breath all in
the interest of realizing the finest tone held
in the mind.
Faulty attack most often involves a lip
and/or jaw movement as does the release
or tonal finish. Correction lies in the no-
preparation or deadpan method of en-
tering tone advocated in the earlier article
(Part One of the series) on posture and bal-
ance in clarinet playing.
Do not let the tone down once begun,
but drive on through to the finish with
100% energy. A professional player with
one of the finest tones ever heard often
asked his students or colleagues to listen
and state their preferences of several re-
peated tones he would play. Obviously he
was making constant, minute alterations
and wanted their reaction as to these finely
drawn differences in sound. You are your
best teacher the one who must pass
judgment on every tone you ever produce.
The shortest staccato must manifest the
finest tone in attack, duration, and finish,
and must fully meet your approval.
CONVERTING SHORT TONES
INTO LONG TONES
When satisfied with the quality of sin-
gle, spaced, short notes, the next move is
to lessen progressively the spacing in a ser-
ies of short tones until they eventually fuse
together. A sustained tone is, therefore, but
a succession of short ones strung together.
In practicing fusion of tones, guard against
trapping of tonal endings with a vigorous
tongue-thrust to the reed; rather, end the
tone with a breath push-off following
through, past the intended release point,
finally returning the tongue to the reed.
Keep the tone fully energized when near-
ing the finish of one short tone and the
entrance of the next.
Compensate for the tendency to tighten
up during long tones by consciously relax-
ing the lipping and the hands, wrists, and
fingers while playing them. Avoid a build-
up of breath-overload by bringing up air
only as it can be used. Never use the long
tone to test endurance but rather to give the
body exhilaration through correct breath
use and bodily relaxation.
CRESCENDO AND
DECRESCENDO THROUGH
THE SHORT TONE
Intensifying tone causes most beginners
to tighten up and overblow. Ordinarily the
delicate controls required in adding slight
breath increases together with minute lip
fluctuations to achieve crescendo and de-
crescendo are too much to ask of the aver-
age player. However, when approached
througth short tone segments, each graded
in intensity, the player can make a point of
letting off accumulated tension at the close
of each segment and continue at ease be-
fore a tight, unmanageable build-up devel-
ops. The technique again involves playing
each graded intensity of tonal segment
closer together with each repetition until
they connect. Reverse the procedure, of
course, for decrescendo.
Another aid to build crescendo makes
use of a series of breath impulses approxi-
mating, but not sufficiently prominent or
defined to classify as, vibrato. The action
is similar to waves on a lake, appearing to
move forward but actually traveling in an
illusory manner largely up and down. Be-
gin this kind of intensification with minia-
ture puffs of breath superimposed onto
the regular airflow from the abdomen.
Start with two pulses, increasing to three
to a moderate quarter-note value. Guard
against exaggeration.
Finally, practice the conventional cres-
cendo with decrescendo only after the em-
bouchure is flexible; play tones for eight
beats each, making a crescendo during the
first four beats, and a decrescendo during
the last four. Learn to relax the lips pro-
gressively in crescendo. The clarinetist is
blessed with the capacity to draw the dy-
namics down to a whispered diminuendo,
but like most other instrumentalists, he sel-
dom executes a graduated decrescendo with
almost numbered accuracy, such as making
a decrescendo from 10 down to 1, evenly.
MATCHING TONES
It is quite a feat to maintain constancy
of quality for the duration of a single tone.
Crossing nearby intervals presents further
problems in keeping the tone constant, but
the ultimate difficulty lies in holding tonal
uniformity while crossing intervals be-
tween different registers, particularly those
widely spaced. The acoustical properties of
the clarinet cause each area to speak dif-
ferently. Tones emitting at the long tube
end have more resistance and speak more
slowly than those at the upper end (includ-
ing throat tones) which have less resistance
and consequently speak faster.
The player senses those differences and
often erroneously tries to equalize them
by altering the breath speed and pressure
through throat change. Compensation of
this nature must be made, however, at
the extreme mouth-front where the mid-
tongue can alter the air stream without
harm, then re-route it in direction and
speed to cross the interval evenly and with
constancy as though there were one and
not two tones involved.
Fifth-line F is an excellent master tone
for the clarion register. It has a bell-like
timbre, a natural concentration and center
of sound and is easy to project. Listen to
September 2006 Page 35
the master tone, hold its quality in mind,
then make the E next to it sound as nearly
like it in all dimensions as possible. Re-
turn to the F to see how nearly the two
tones match. The tendency is to let up in
breath or lipping at the instant of change
or just prior to the move. Pretend you are
playing a single tone for both pitches. The
aim is to match exactly the second tone
to the first, in timbre, shape, resonance,
and compactness.
Turn your attention to interval cross-
ings between different registers after ex-
hausting intervals within registers. Here
the temptation is to narrow or momentar-
ily to close the throat between intervals
during crossings. Make a special effort to
maintain an open, relaxed throat, a for-
ward breath placement, and of course,
similar tone quality. Whether slurred or
articulated, oversee that very little or no
lag or time lapse occurs between tones
during crossings.
PRACTICE MATERIAL
FOR TONE QUALITY
Nearly any lyrical, melodic piece of
music is excellent for practicing improve-
ment in tone quality, but perhaps the ulti-
mate material for such practice lies in the
realm of orchestral excerpts. Take the fa-
mous excerpts found in most published
books of such things, and pay particular
attention to the following:
Beethoven, Symphony No. 2, Larghetto
(first line)
Beethoven, Symphony No. 4, Adagio
(first two lines)
Beethoven, Symphony No. 7, Allegretto
(all three lines)
Brahms, Symphony No. 1, Allegretto
grazioso (first two lines)
Back Issues
of The Clarinet
Back-issue order forms for The Clarinet
may now be downloaded from the I.C.A.
Web site: <www.clarinet.org>. Copies may
also be requested by contacting:
James Gillespie
College of Music
University of North Texas
P.O. Box 311367
Denton, TX 76203-1367
E-mail: <jgillesp@music.unt.edu>
Page 36
Brahms, Symphony No. 3, Andante
(first two lines)
Dvork, New World Symphony, Allegro
(second through fifth lines)
Franck, Symphony in D Minor, Poco piu
lento (first line)
Moussorgsky, Night on Bald Mountain
(first line)
Mozart, Symphony No. 39, Menuet and
Trio (two lines)
RANDOM, ISOLATED
THOUGHTS ABOUT
TONE QUALITY
1.) To focus the sound, it may help
some players momentarily to think
of forming a pig-snout in the front of
the mouth.
2.) Analyze oneself to make certain the
focal point of blowing has not cen-
tered in the throat, as it might in gar-
gling. This is very easy to do since the
throat often becomes the breaths tar-
get. It also might happen because the
throat has unintentionally narrowed
and tensed up, catching the breath at
this station. However it happens, this
circumstance is to be avoided.
3.) If the student is already aware that a
fine tone is concentrated sound mani-
festing a good core or center, he is very
apt to tighten up his jaws, lips, and
facial muscles to achieve it, thus nega-
ting his chance to operate with a free-
blowing and flexible embouchure.
4.) Equalizing cover in the sound in the
upper register with that of the lower
register can be achieved by thinking
of these steps: a) locate the clothed
cover of sound in the low range; b)
match the upper register to that by
relaxing the jaw further downward,
and by compensating for this drop
with additional drawing of the upper
lip down and around the sides of the
mouthpiece.
5.) A good experiment to gain further
darkness, cover and tonal dimension
is to focus the breath very far forward
in the oral cavity, as though shaping
the inside of the mouth-front into a
cucumber or potato shape.
6.) Think dark tone for the upper range,
anticipating each tone prior to play-
ing it.
THE CLARINET
7.) During tonguing, a dark sound can be
achieved more easily if one thinks of
these three things: jaw down, upper
lip down, and breath very far forward.
8.) When I speak of improving the tone
through continuously (but gently) pul-
sated breath segments, I am really re-
ferring to singing on the breath-line.
Only intensity and taperings have been
added beyond a normal, continuous
breath flow. Sing a phrase, then fol-
low by playing it in the same tone of
voice, in order to warm the sound.
9.) Tone color should be an integral part
of a players tone quality, or perhaps
we should say, tone qualities. For
example, imagine the beautiful differ-
ences in sound if, on the one hand, an
orchestra clarinetist plays the solo
from Debussys Afternoon of a Faun
while trying to match the tone quality
and color of the flute, which is also
playing a similar solo in that piece;
and on the other hand, imagine the
beauty involved when the clarinetist
tries to match his sound to that of the
oboist who is playing in unison with
him at the beginning of Schuberts
Unfinished Symphony. Still another
beautiful example is to think of the
many places in the music of Brahms
where the clarinet is in unison or in
octaves with the bassoon.
10.) Beautiful tone quality, whatever the
players conception of that is, can best
be achieved sometimes if the player
will only try to taste the sound in
the same way that he might taste a
morsel of delicious food.
*****
This ends the materials Keith Stein col-
lected that relate to clarinet tone quality. In
the next installment, we will begin looking
at his materials relating to good methods of
practicing the clarinet.
ABOUT THE WRITER
David Pino is professor of clarinet in
the School of Music at Texas State Uni-
versity in San Marcos. He studied clarinet
with Keith Stein for 15 years, and is the
author of the book The Clarinet and Clar-
inet Playing (Scribners, 1980, and Do-
ver, 1998). He has performed and toured
with the David Pino Chamber Ensemble
(clarinet, strings, and piano), and is a for-
mer Secretary of the International Clari-
net Society.
September 2006 Page 37
A
HOW MANY JEANJEANS?
t the Vandoren Sheet Music Cen-
ter, I see many clarinetists who
think that Guisganderie is by Paul
Jeanjean. (It was actually composed by
Faustin and Maurice Jeanjean.) The aim of
this article is to try to tell the stories of all
of them. As we shall see, the researchers
have some work to do to clarify the names
in the future.
They were not related as a family, but
they have some strange points in common.
First, they are all natives from the same
region, around Montpellier (Departement
of Herault, Southwest France). Second,
Paul was the clarinet soloist in the Garde
Rpublicaine; Faustin (second surname
Paul) and his brother Maurice composed,
among others, a Saxophone Quartet dedi-
cated to our friends of the Garde Rpubli-
caine. Third, Monte Carlo. Paul was also
a soloist there after the years he spent with
the Garde Band, and Faustin and Maurice
played jazz and light music there just as
Paul had done. Some sources, as you will
read further on, indicate that Paul and
Faustin (and Pauls son, Roger) as having
played in the same band in 1933.
Page 38
The Jeanjeans
and the Clarinet
by Jean-Marie Paul
A dozen years ago, I took the phone
book and called all the Jeanjean listings
in the Nice-Monte Carlo area; I was finally
in touch with Pauls granddaughter who
sent me a concert program and a Besson
advertisement (see Photo 1). Thats all she
had from her grandfather; she also con-
firmed to me that he was not related to
Faustin and Maurice.
I also heard of the clarinetist Max-
Robert Jeanjean, born in 1905, who got a
second Prize at the Paris Conservatory in
1925. So much of the life of these players
remains mysterious, like many musicians
of the past.
After our homage to Klos (The Clar-
inet, June 2006), this homage to Paul will
be followed in the next issue by an article
Photo 1. F. Besson advertisement
THE CLARINET
about Henri Paradis, another soloist at the
Garde Rpublicaine.
I. PAUL JEANJEAN
(18741928)
Jeanjean the clarinetist
Paul Prudent Jeanjean was born in
Montpellier on November 1, 1874. He
studied the clarinet with Nol Caisso in
Montpellier and dedicated to him his 18
Etudes. At the Montpellier Conservatoire
he got three first prizes. He also won a first
prize at the Concours spcial de clarinette
in Bziers, and went to the Paris Conserva-
toire where he got a first prize in 1894, in
the class of Cyrille Rose. The other first
 Jeanjean the
Reed Researcher
Jeanjean gave a new shape to reeds,
narrower at the bottom, following the shape
of the saxophone mouthpieces of the time.
He called his model The Star, and the
company F. Besson-Paris had the exclu-
sive rights of distribution for the world. (F.
Besson was located at 9698 rue dAn-
gouleme, Paris, 9th arrondissement.) The
models were for clarinet, alto clarinet, bass
clarinet, and for saxophone, from sopra-
nino to bass, with three strengths: 1. weak,
2. medium, 3. strong. F. Besson was also
selling the anches impermables (trans-
lated as clarinet air tight).

Paul Jeanjeans Works

Paul Jeanjean composed a great number
of solos for all kinds of woodwind and
stringed instruments, including: Andante et
Scherzo for bassoon, required at the yearly
Photo 2. Paul Jeanjean contest at the Paris Conservatory in 1911
by the director Gabriel Faur.
prizes that year were earned by Emile Some pieces are still distributed by Bil-
Stievenard and Paul Vronne, and the solo laudot: Remembrances for oboe and piano
was the first movement of Webers Con- (LA28), Capriccioso for cornet or trumpet
certo No. 2. and piano (LA27), Douce Quitude for
Then he performed his obligatory mili-
tary service as soloist with the Garde R-
publicaine before the end of the century.
(Gabriel Pares was the conductor from
1893 until 1910.)
We could not find any trace of his ac-
tivity in Sylvie Hues book, 150 ans de
Musique la Garde Rpublicaine (1998),
but Sylvie told me that the archives of the
Garde before 1903 were destroyed in the
flood of the Seine river that occurred in
Paris in 1910. There is no audio recording
of Paul Jeanjean as a soloist, but during his
Parisian life he played in concerts at the
Paris Opera.
From 1900 until his death, he was so-
loist at the Concerts Classiques on the
French Riviera (Monte Carlo Casino), also
conducting the orchestra, and playing light
music. He played many of his composi-
tions and arrangements with orchestras,
and some are still unknown or not located.
We have found evidence of a concert on
September 3, 1925, at the Grands Con-
certs du Casino de Monte Carlo, where he
premiered his arrangement for clarinet
alone sur des motifs de la Cavatine de lAir
du page (Nobles Seigneurs, salut) from the
Huguenots (Meyerbeer).

September 2006 Page 39


Photo 3. Concert program from Casino de Monte Carlo, December 31, 1927
cornet and piano (LA26); and by Leduc:
Etudes modernes pour flute (Evette &
Schaeffer, 1946).
A clarinet quartet titled the Three
Etudes cannot be located. It was included
on the program that Jeanjeans grand-
daughter gave me (see Photo 3). It was
played in Monte Carlo in 1927 with Paul
Jeanjean himself, and MM. Arambourou,
Richard and Gazilhou.
Page 40
Revision of Kloss Works
for Clarinet
Alphonse Emile Leduc (18781951)
charged Jeanjean with the entire revision
of the Klos Method; Jeanjean also entirely
revised some Fantaisies of Klos (text,
articulations, chords, dynamics, breathings,
ornamentation, etc.). Except for the two
Weber works, they are all out of print:
THE CLARINET
LAube, premire Pense (original Klos
version published 1883) (1923)
(Klos et Leduc): Le Barbier de Sville
(Rossini), Premire Fantaisie
Concertante (1923)
(Klos et Leduc): La Norma de Bellini,
2e Fantaisie (1925)
(Klos et Leduc): Si Jtais roi dA. Adam,
Fantaisie daprs E. Depas (1924)
LInvitation la Valse (Weber), Fantaisie
Concertante
Obron (Weber), Petite Fantaisie daprs
E. Depas (1923)
(Klos): Concerto, solo de concours
(1924), Concertino (op. post., 1923),
2e Solo (solo de concours 1870, also
clarinet & orchestra); 12e solo en mi
(op. post., solo de concours 1864)
(out of print)
2e air vari (1923); 6e air vari (1925);
7e air vari (1923); 8e air vari (1923)
And above all: (Klos et Leduc): Car-
naval de Venise (dedicated to his son
Roger). Concerning the Carnaval, it
should be noted that there are two dis-
tinct French editions:
1. The Leduc version (Klos revised by
Jeanjean, available for clarinet and
piano), subtitled Fantaisie lgante
(see Photo 4).
2. The more virtuosic version under the
sole name of Jeanjean, subtitled varia-
tions symphoniques et acrobatiques:
Andrieu-Billaudot edition with piano,
or the Salabert-Gaudet edition with
band. The band catalog is distributed in
France by Georges Besson publishers
(see Photo 5).
There is also a U.S. version: Carnival of
Venice (with four variations and a finale)
by Carl Fischer.
Southern (Texas) has published a revi-
sion by P. Jeanjean of W. Ferlings Andante
de concert for clarinet and piano (SS274,
still available).
All the works of Jeanjean have been
published in France and some foreign edi-
tions have published similar copies.
The Buffet-Crampon or Evette &
Schaeffer editions have now joined with
the Leduc funds, and the Andrieu Frres
(AF) editions are now Billaudot.
We will not make a comment on the
major works since this has already been
done in a fine article by Timothy Perry in

Photo 4. Le Carnaval de Venise, Leduc edition
The Clarinet, Vol. 27, No. 4, September
2000, pp. 5457.
Here are the reference numbers of the
publishers:
Studies
16 tudes modernes (1st ed. Evette &
Schaeffer, 1926) Leduc AL 20899
16 Studi moderni (reissued in Italy, 1989)
Curci EC10770
16 Studies (rev. Hite in the USA) Southern
B555
18 tudes de perfectionnement (dedicated
to his teacher N. Caisso, copyright
1928) Andrieu AF 5003
18 Etudes of perfection (in preparation in
2006) Southern B556
20 tudes progressives et mlodiques.
Vol. 1: assez faciles (copyright 1928)
Leduc AL 17348
20 tudes progressives et mlodiques.
Vol. 2: moyenne force Leduc AL 17446
Photo 5. Le Carnaval de Venise, Salabert-Gaudet edition with band
20 tudes progressives et mlodiques.
Vol. 3: assez difficiles Leduc AL 17490
20 Studi progressivi melodici di facile
esecuzione (reissued in Italy, copyright
2002) Curci EC10832
20 Studi progresivi e melodici di media
difficolta (reissued in Italy, copyright
2002) Curci EC1086
25 tudes techniques et mlodiques:
I: 16 Etudes (cl. alone), 8 Etudes with
acc. ad lib. of three cls. (Buffet-Cram-
pon/Leduc, 1929) Leduc AL 24740
II: parties 2e et 3e cl. des 8 Etudes
(Buffet-Crampon/Leduc) Leduc AL
21941
The new presentation of the Leduc 25
Etudes is now:
Vol. I: seven studies for cl. alone, five
studies with accomp. ad lib. of three
cls., one study for two cls.; plus parts 2
& 3 of the studies with accomp.
Vol. II: nine studies for cl. alone, three
studies with accomp. ad lib. of three cls.)
September 2006
Vade-Mecum du clarinettiste: (six spe-
cial studies to render the fingers and
tongue rapidly supple) 1927 Leduc
AL17190
Other Pieces
2 Pieces: Andantino, Scherzo brillante
cl & pno Evette, 1912
3 Etudes pour 4 clarinettes 4 clars.
Unpublished
Andantino (rev. H. Bonade) cl & pno
Southern SS82
Andantino Nr. 2, morceau de concert (ded-
icated to his colleague J. Terrier, who is
probably John-Antony Terrier, born in
1865 in Geneva, Switzerland, and got a
1st Prize at the Paris Conservatory in
1886) cl & pno Andrieu, 1926 LA24
Arabesques, Fantaisie cl & pno Andrieu,
1926 LA23
Au clair de la lune, variations acrobatiques
et symphoniques sur un air populaire
cl & pno Andrieu AF0016
Au clair de la lune, variations acrobatiques
et symphoniques sur un air populaire
cl & orch. Mte-Carlo: Jeanjean, 1910
Carnaval de Venise (Brillantes variations
sur) out of print cl & pno E. Gaudet,
1900
Carnaval de Venise (Brillantes variations
sur), transcr. Fournier: (Salabert EG
3222/D1: distributed by G. Besson
publishers) cl & band E. Gaudet 1904
Carnaval de Venise, fantaisie lgante:
H. Klos et A. Leduc, nouvelle dition
entirement rvise par P. Jeanjean)
cl & pno Leduc AL2850
Carnival of Venice (with four variations &
finale) cl & pno C. Fischer W1817
Clair matin, Idylle cl & pno Andrieu, 1926
LA25
Page 41
Deux Pieces (Andantino, Scherzo brilliant)
cl & pno Evette, 1912 (also Alfred)
Duo de concert (cl, bass cl & pno) out of
print 2 cl & pno Evette, 1904
Heureux temps (clarinet or B or E saxo-
phone or flute or oboe and piano) cl &
pno Andrieu AF0017 (The saxophone
transcription is by Franois Combelle.)
Hymne nuptial (out of print) cl & pno
Evette, 1898
Lgende (out of print) cl & pno Evette,
1914
Pome trange linstar dEdgar Poe
op. 84 (out of print) cl & pno Evette,
1927
Prlude et Scherzo cl & pno Leduc AL
24705 (see Photo 6)
Rverie de Printemps (clarinet or B saxo-
phone & pno) cl & pno Andrieu, 1940
AF00018A (N.B. A version for alto
saxophone and piano is still available
AF0018C.)
Romance sans Paroles (out of print)
cl & pno Evette, 1898
Scherzo brillante (out of print) cl & pno
Cundy-Bettoney (C. Fischer)
Scherzo brillante (H. Bonade) cl & pno
Southern SS 083 (USA)
II. FAUSTIN AND
MAURICE JEANJEAN
Jeanjean, Faustin, Paul,
Irne (19001979)
The cornetist, trumpeter, conductor and
composer was born on September 5, 1900,
in Pouzols, a small village of the Herault
Dpartement, in the vineyards of Miner-
vois. Jeanjean is a common name there,
and one of the best known wine-makers is
Jeanjean (Web sites: <www.jeanjean.com>
and <www.jeanjean.fr>, a brand founded
by another Maurice Jeanjean in 1870).
Faustin Jeanjean studied at the Paris
Conservatoire where he got a Premier Prix
for cornet in 1920. Just after, he began to
play jazz at the Club Daunou, which is
still a famous theatre in Paris. In the 20s,
he belonged to a band that played at the
Chateau cabaret and Caveau caucasien
jazz club. In 1925 he is in the Melody Six
group, and at the Chateau de Madrid
club, in the Sazy orchestra. In 1926, he
worked at the Luna Park in the Paul
Gason orchestra. This same year he played
in the Casino de Paris with the Lud Glus-
kin Orchestra. The Lud Gluskin Orchestra
Page 42
orchestra of Jef Murel had as players (if it
Photo 6. Cover: Prelude et Scherzo, Paul
Jeanjean, Leduc
was the only American orchestra continu-
ously based in Europe during the late 1920s
and early 30s (see Photo 7). In 1927/28,
he still played at the Casino de Paris, this
time again with the Paul Gason Orchestra.
He also played at the Florida jazz club,
in the Jack Raymond Orchestra and at the
Docteur Larrazet. All of these jazz clubs
have now disappeared, but we can find the
Jeanjeans on the staff of many jazz record-
ings (78 r.p.m.).
Beguine (OPG-641-1).
War II to give concerts in Pouzols.
Photo 7. Lud Gluskin (l) and Faustin
Jeanjean (r)
THE CLARINET
As a conductor with his own orchestra,
sometimes under the name Jean Faustin,
Faustin Jeanjean recorded a considerable
amount of music for movies (1936: La
Pocharde; 1943: Mahlia la Mtisse, etc.),
and songs, accompanying all the French
singers of the time (Andr Claveau, Andr
Dassary, etc.) and the actor/singer (and am-
ateur cornet player) Bourvil. He also con-
ducted the famous classical trumpeter Mau-
rice Andr in a recording of light music.
At the Daunou Theatre in 1933, the
is correct!): Faustin Jeanjean, trumpet;
Roger Jeanjean, alto saxophone (Is it really
the same Roger, the son of Paul Jeanjean?
Anyway, this Roger was the saxophonist
of the Jacques Helian orchestra and played
clarinet on recordings of the singer Jose-
phine Baker;); Paul Jeanjean, clarinet plus
alto and tenor saxophones, and with the
famous guitarist Django Reinhardt (as re-
ported on the Web site <http://parisan
neesfollesjazz.ifrance.com/>). A Japanese
Web site, <http://www.craftone.co.jp/>,
concerning Djangos discography, reports
that a recording was made on March 14,
1933, with Paul Jeanjean, alto saxophone,
and some of the same players (but the
trumpeter is not Faustin): Si Jaime Suzy
(OPG-641-1), and two other pieces where
the musicians accompany a singer (Eliane
de Creus in Yen a pas deux comme moi,
OPG-639-1) and Jean Sablon, in: Ah! La
The score of F. Jeanjeans Sky-Sym-
phonie for four flutes is still distributed by
Billaudot (GB4756).
Jeanjean, Maurice
(18751946)?
The Paris National Library gives the
dates of 18971968, but as we can see on
a commemorative plate in the village of
Pouzols, it appears not to be true (see
Photo 8). This plate is in the salle du foyer
municipal of the village. The famous
French conductor Georges Pretre, now 81,
was a friend of Maurice and Faustin Jean-
jean, who returned after the end of World
The I.C.A. Research Center has a very
rare edition of Maurice Jeanjeans 20
Grandes Etudes et 6 duos for clarinet, pub-
lished by Masspacher. Billaudot released
in 1977 an edition of the 20 Grandes
Etudes (plate GB2011), a collection often
attributed to Paul Jeanjean.

Photo 8. Commemorative plaque, Pouzols,
France
Maurice Jeanjean has not published
much music under his name. Salabert pub-
lished in 1952 (copyright source: Paris
National Library): Chant exotique, fox
slow and Refrain despoir.
However, most of the pieces have been
composed by the two brothers.
Works by F. & M. Jeanjean
The famous Guisganderie is an homage
to Henri Guisgand, a French clarinetist
famous for his solo in Rhapsody in Blue.
(Charlie Parker when he came to Paris
often stayed at his flat near Vandoren
(place Clichy) instead of at a hotel.)
Guisganderie (original version for small
big band ed. by Guy Dangain) cl &
band Robert Martin 2769
Guisganderie (cl & pno reduction of
Pierre-Max Dubois) cl & pno Billaudot,
1993 GB4638
Guisganderie (cl solo & cl. quartet, ed. by
G. Dangain and Pierre-Max Dubois)
five clarinets Billaudot, 1993 GB4639
civile de producteurs de phonogrammes en
France, and its Web site is: <http://www.
sppf.com/>. Listed on its database are 91
titles for Faustin Jeanjean and 78 titles for
Maurice. (from 1925 to 1955). The titles
have many duplicates of different dates
and lengths. This is light music with no
clarinet solos included.
F. and M. Jeanjean have also composed
the music for the cartoon version of Laurel
and Hardy adventures (in France, Vitrgin
video, copyright 1991).
There are two famous pieces that are
still available: the Quatuor de saxophones
was written in 1949 for the Garde Rpub-
licaine Quartet with Marcel Mule (Salabert
EAS14702), and the Danse des violons for
violin and piano (Salabert EAS15215,
sometimes called Fiddlin for fun in the
U.S.). We also have them at Vandoren. For
example, the Dance of the violins was
released on CD in 2004 (Guild label) from
a recording by the MGM Studio Sym-
phony Orchestra; the composer is spelled
incorrectly on many Web sites: Paul Jean-
jean (amazon.com) or Roger Jeanjean
(answers.com). The confusion goes on

The Parisian publisher Editions Univer-

selles (<http://www.universelles.com/>)
still has in its catalog the Chanson des bai-
sers for accordion, contrabass, piano, alto
sax, tenor sax and trumpet (lyrics by Jean
Vertenelle).
There is an association in France for the
rights of recording producers: Socit

Visit the
I N T E R N AT I O N
CLARINET
A S S O C I AT I O N
on the World Wide Web:
www.clarinet.org
September 2006 Page 43
 The fourth installment in this overview
of Benny Goodmans movies is devoted
entirely to the only film in which the plot
revolves around BG and his band through-
out. Because of this and the fact that a con-
siderable amount of image material was
acquired in researching this title, more
space has been allotted to it. The title
should not be confused with a 1999 movie
Sweet and Lowdown starring Sean Pean
directed by Woody Allen (with some fine
clarinet playing by Ken Peplowski on the
soundtrack). The series will conclude in
the December issue with his final two films
produced in the late 1940s, Make Mine
Music and A Song Is Born.
The Movies of
*****
SWEET AND LOW-DOWN Benny Goodman
(MOMENT FOR MUSIC, U.K.),
1944, 20TH CENTURY-FOX,
DIRECTED BY ARCHIE MAYO
A Pictorial Retrospective
Originally titled Moment for Music, the
script was based on a story by Richard by James
English in collaboration with Benny Good-
man and was partially biographical.1 Ac-
Take 4 Gillespie
cording to Goodman biographer Ross Fire-
stone, BG was paid a whopping $150,000
for his work on the film.2
The story is of a slum-bred trombone
player (see Photo 6) who falls for a so-
cialite and features almost non-stop ap- (bass), and Morey Feld (drums). Also star- from the Mozart Quintet at a swank party
pearances of Benny Goodman and his ring are actors Linda Darnell, Jack Oakie at the home of the trombone players girl-
orchestra, spotlighting the quartet of Benny and Lynn Bari.3 At one point in the film, friend when the performance is shortened
Goodman, Jess Stacy (piano), Sid Weiss Goodman is playing the Minuet movement by a brawl that breaks out started by the
trombone player (see Photo 3)!
Some of the members of the orchestra
were replaced on screen by actors, but the
soundtrack recording personnel were:
Johnny Dee, Frank Berardi, Mickey Man-
gano (trumpets); Bill Harris, Al Mastren
(trombones); Heinie Beau, Eddie Rosa
(alto saxophones); Al Klink, Zoot Sims
(tenor saxophones); Eddie Beau (baritone
saxophone); Jess Stacy (piano); Allan
Reuss (guitar); Sid Weiss (bass); Morey
Feld (drums). Bill Harris plays the trom-
bone solos for actor James Cardwell, and
Lorraine Elliott sings the vocals for actress
Lynn Bari (see Photo 4). Among the nu-
merous numbers are Ive Found a New
Baby (see Photo 8), Im Making Be-
lieve (see Photos 9, 10 and 11), Jersey
Bounce, Hey, Bub, Lets Have a Ball
(see Photo 12), No Love, No Nothing,
Photo 1. Trade journal advertisement Ten Days with Baby (see Photo 13),

Page 44 THE CLARINET

 Lets Dance, The World is Waiting for
the Sunrise (a stunning rapid-fire rendi-
tion by the Quartet), and Chug, Chug,
Choo-choo (see Photo 14). The film re-
ceived Academy Award nominations in
the categories of Best Music and Best
Song (Im Making Believe a big hit
in 1944)4 (see Photo 15).

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Benny Goodman, The Centennial Col-
lection, Bluebird 82876-60088-2;
Includes a CD with 21 standards and a
DVD with excerpts from the following
movies: The Powers Girl, The Gangs
All Here and Stage Door Canteen
Connor, D. Russell and Warren W. Hicks.
BG On the Record, A Bio-disco-
graphy of Benny Goodman, Arlington
Photo 2. Original title lobby card House, 1973

Photo 3. Benny breaking up the fight! (original lobby card) Photo 4. Actors James Cardwell and Lynn Bari (original lobby card)

Photo 5.
James
Cardwell,
Lynn Bari,
BG, Linda
Darnell and
Jack Oakie
(original
publicity
still)
Photo 6. An early scene in the film with BG auditioning the
young trombonist in his apartment; Pianist Jess Stacy plays him-
self. (original studio still)

September 2006 Page 45

 Swing, Swing, Swing, The Life and
Times of Benny Goodman,
W. W. Norton & Co., New York, 1993
Maltin, Leonard. The Disney Films, Crown
Publishers, Inc., New York, 1984
Photo 7. Meeker, David. Jazz in the Movies, Talis-
Jack Oakie man Books Ltd, London, 1981
introducing Paul, Jean-Marie, Benny Goodman, roi
BG and du swing: 19091986, Clarinette
his band Magazine, Numro 9-2me Trimestre
(original 1986, pp. 411
lobby card) Yanow, Scott. Jazz on Film, Backbeat
Books, San Francisco, 2004

Firestone, Ross.

Photo 8. Sheet music, Clarence Williams Photo 9. Sheet music, BVC, Inc., New Photo 10. Sheet music, Bradbury Wood
Music Publishing Co. , New, NY, 1944 York, NY, 1944 Ltd, London, England, 1944

Photo 11. Sheet music, Chappell & Co. Photo 12. Sheet music, Chappell & Co. No 13. Sheet music, BVC, Inc., New York,
Ltd, Sydney, Australia, 1944 Ltd, Sydney, Australia, 1944 NY, 1944

Page 46 THE CLARINET

 Photo 15. Cover of Song Hits magazine, Photo 16. Original script (cover); Note
August 1944 (also includes a two-page war-time appeal to save materials (Less
Photo 14. Sheet music, Chappell & Co. article on the film with photos and lyrics shooting here means more shooting over
Ltd, Sydney, Australia, 1944 to some of the songs) there save film!)

Photo 18. Film handbill (with plot summary and more photos on the back)

Photo 17. Rare original hand litho Aus-

tralian daybill 13" x 30" poster from 1945.

September 2006 Page 47

Photo 19. The writer with an original three sheet poster, one of the largest posters pro-
duced for theater use. These were phased out by most American movie theaters in the 1980s.

ENDNOTES
The Clarinet 1
Connor, D. Russell and Warren W. Hicks. BG On
the Record, A Bio-discography of Benny Goodman,
Arlington House, 1973 p. 356
Photo 20. Cover and page 1 from the
PUBLICATION SCHEDULE
Firestone, Ross. Swing, Swing, Swing, The Life and
films Campaign Book (U.K. version).
2

Times of Benny Goodman, W. W. Norton & Co.,

The magazine is usually
mailed during the last week of New York, 1993, p. 322 These were known as Press Books in the
3
Meeker, David. Jazz in the Movies, Talisman Books U.S. and were sent to movie distributors
and theaters and provided sample press
February, May, August and No-
Ltd, London, 1981, entry no. 3163
releases, order forms for posters, lobby
vember. Delivery time within
4
Web site: <www.imdb.com/title/tt0037333/>
cards and photo stills, biographies and
North America is nor mally
VHS and DVD prints of all the Benny photos of the stars, a plot summary, etc.
1014 days, while airmail
Goodman movies in this series may be everything a theater would need to
delivery time outside North
acquired via various Internet auction sites. publicize the film.
America is 710 days.

Page 48 THE CLARINET

The Dilettante Clarinetist
CONSIDER ORTHODONTIA
I
by R. J. Pliskow, M.D.
s your sound a little fuzzy and unfo-
cused? Is your articulation unclear
because your tongue doesnt have a
proper resting place? Maybe a bit of tooth
straightening can help you.
This is not intended to be an advertise-
ment for orthodontists. I merely would like
to share my personal experience with a
year and a half of appliances and uncom-
fortable clarinet playing. I would also ex-
citedly tell you that the above problems,
ongoing for many years, have disappeared
in the outcome.
When I was in my early teens, a popu-
lar orthodontist in my Midwestern home
town metalicized my mouth for a couple of
years in an attempt to straighten unusually
large teeth that were trying to occupy rel-
atively small jaws. He succeeded only par-
tially, given the comparatively limited tech-
nology of the time. He and two consultants
werent happy with the result, my anatomy
and even the fact that I played clarinet.
Page 52
They wanted to remove teeth and do jaw
surgery but my mother wouldnt allow it,
thankfully. Clarinet playing, they felt,
would simply undo whatever they could
accomplish anyway, so they finally gave up.
Over the years my teeth shifted back
into positions even more outrageous than
before the first course of treatment. Ulti-
mately, a lower incisor (one of the central
four slicing teeth) decided that it was going
to make its own row completely in front of
the others while the two teeth formerly on
either side of it approached to within a mil-
limeter of each other.
These two rows of teeth would, if you
think about it, seem to make a fulcrum
twice as long as normal upon which the
reed vibrates. Since this focus was to one
side of the midline, the layout was now
very asymmetrical. Intuitively, one might
conclude that this couldnt work very well:
The extruded tooth might dampen vibra-
tions along a plane separate from that
along which the reed is normally support-
ed and oscillates.
These problems, along with the fact that
the extruded tooth was just plain unattrac-
THE CLARINET
tive and made normal incisor slicing action
nearly impossible, caused me to think
about repeating orthodontia. However, I
didnt want to have my playing compro-
mised for the duration of treatment, so I
put it off indefinitely. Then one day
about 30 years later my dental hygienist
pointed out that professional cleaning was
now difficult at best and perhaps I should
reconsider orthodontia. It was time.
A visit to a nearby well-known actu-
ally world-renowned orthodontist who
has treated many of my medical colleagues
as well as several family members was in
order. He said he could help.
So at age 64, I joined the gaggle of
teenagers in Dr. Ts (not his real initial)
waiting room periodically for treatments.
Interestingly, I occasionally met there a
local cardiothoracic surgeon of my vin-
tage. And Dr. T even admitted to having
an octogenarian patient or two.
Of course I wont go into great detail
about numerous radiological studies,
molds and appliances over nearly a year
and a half. I will say that while it seemed
as if it would never end, it really wasnt
all that bad. It was a bit uncomfortable at
times, but tolerable. Clarinet playing was
affected only when a new set of brackets
and/or wires was assembled and irritated
or cut buccal (cheek and lip) mucosa when
I tried to practice too long, or a flock of
aphthous ulcers developed (stress related,
some say, but this could be viral). Wax
supplied by the orthodontist and judicious-
ly applied to the brackets attached to the
lower incisors prevented serious lip dam-
age during clarinet playing.
New techniques compared with my
teenage experience include brackets that
are glued to the outer tooth surface instead
of wrapping around the entire tooth, and
memory wires made of nitinol, a pecu-
liar alloy that has very interesting tempera-
ture related properties and is employed in
some of the strange devices I use in my
own practice of Interventional Radiology.
The best new thing is that visits are only
once a month instead of weekly.
Another new method of orthodontia
(InvisalignR) uses clear plastic removable
retainer-like external devices that are ex-
changed periodically in ever-mutating
configurations to move teeth about. This
method is not usable if one has severe
alignment problems and/or requires major
jaw reshaping.
The final result in my case is, I must
say, astounding and outstanding. Instead
of extracting that wandering tooth the
original plan the orthodontist managed
to put it back into proper position. That
was remarkable, unexpected and most
desirable since I really dont like losing or
irreparably altering body parts unless ab-
solutely necessary.
My lower jaw arch and tooth layout was
initially shaped like a V with that wander-
ing tooth just left of its apex. This added to
the skewed anatomy of the reed fulcrum.
And how does a fairly normal to slightly
long U shaped tongue rest in that space
comfortably? In my case, it had to rest
with its tip curled up and out of the cramped
wedge shape so that it attacked the reed
tip improperly with its underside much
of the time. The final arch is a nice U
shape with tongue fitting nicely in the
new space ready to attack the reed tip-to-
tip just as it should.
We finally did a bit of reshaping to
make a flat surface with no sharp edges
atop the lower incisors, a perfect fulcrum
for optimal reed vibration and lip comfort.
Additional reshaping made my two upper
central incisors slant a bit to fit the top of a
clarinet mouthpiece one was already
configured that way so I simply had the
other one, too long anyway, cut to match
(apparently just like Ricardo Morales
look at his photos).
There is one downside: Retainers. A
small wire is permanently affixed to the
back of those four mobile and previously
recalcitrant lower incisors. This does en-
croach a bit upon the new U shaped space
but the old V was considerably worse.
And there is a removable upper appliance,
plastic against the hard palate with big pro-
truding wires, that I initially had to wear all
the time but is slowly being weaned. Even-
tually this will only be needed every other
night, and then perhaps not at all.
The shape of the jaws and dental arches
is certainly critical to the proper grasp of
a clarinet mouthpiece, reed support and
tongue position. Orthodontia alters these
favorably, and has in my case slightly but
significantly improved sound and articula-
tion. Furthermore, it has made playing less
laborious after a half century of aging had
continued to worsen flawed anatomy. As
an added bonus, I find that somehow more
reeds seem to play right out of the box; my
embouchure is more normal so standard
items work more frequently and reliably
than before.
September 2006
The usual disclaimer: Orthodontia may
not be for everyone and it might not fix
all your problems. But check into it. It
could help.
ABOUT THE WRITER
Ray Pliskow, a shameless name-drop-
per, recently retired as senior partner in
Medical Imaging Northwest but continues
to practice both radiology and clarinet. He
has appeared with several ensembles and
as a soloist in the Tacoma, Washington,
area for 35 years. When they were teen-
agers, both Sam Caviezel and Sean Os-
borne were briefly his seconds. Larry
Combs, Pete Hadcock, Gary Gray and
Gene Zoro were contemporaries at Inter-
lochens summer music camp (NMC) 50
years ago. Richard Stoltzman attended
a small dinner party at Rays home over-
looking the Puget Sound following a Ta-
coma solo concert in 1996. If anyone cares,
he uses Vandoren V12 and Lgre reeds
on Greg Smith mouthpieces with Rossi
cocobolo (B and A) and Patricola rose-
wood (E) clarinets.
Another or more accurately the
other Dilettante Clarinetist article ap-
peared in this publication in 1993.
Page 53

The Bass Clarinetists
WORKBOOK
PART II
T
by David Bourque
his is the second in a series of
annotated bass clarinet excerpts.
With the exception of some bar
numbers, the printed excerpt that accompa-
nies the commentary is unaltered from the
orchestral part. The player may find it a
useful exercise to read the commentary
and then add markings to the clean part.
GUSTAV MAHLER,
SYMPHONY NO 1, D MAJOR
THE TITAN, MOVEMENT I
This movement is not technically diffi-
cult, but it has some places that are deli-
cate, transparent and challenging for into-
nation. This is orchestral chamber music at
its finest.
This symphony is a classic example as
to why playing an excerpt audition should
not be the sole criteria to consider when
filling an orchestral position. There is
much that needs to be done on the stand
and the sophisticated awareness required to
play fine ensemble, excellent intonation,
blend and balance cannot be heard in an
excerpt-only audition. However, there are
things that one must do at an excerpt-only
audition that can be heard by the commit-
tee, else one will not get the chance to try
them on the stand.
Measure 5: The two opening half notes
are usually a challenge for intonation.
Playing in three octaves with the English
horn and two flutes can be difficult. The
strings are playing natural harmonics and
these sound flat. The bass clarinet is play-
ing a chalumeau B that is often sharp. The
traditional result is that the first note the
bass clarinet, English horn and the flutes
play usually sounds out of tune and gener-
ally sharp. In consideration of the low
pitch of the string harmonic, be prepared to
play lower than the tuning pitch. I pull out
the neck about 1/8 for this opening. To
Page 54
see what it might be like onstage, try hav-
ing the tuner sing an A a few cents flat and
play against it. Confer with your wind col-
leagues and make sure you have octaves
within yourselves. In order to give a pitch
base for your colleagues to lock on, it is
helpful if the bass clarinet plays mp with
the English horn and the flutes playing pp
or less.
The next excerpt is common on audi-
tions. This is a distant fanfare in the two
clarinets and bass clarinet. It needs to be
very soft, but very clear in articulation. Be
sure to quickly push in if you have pulled
out to deal with intonation issues in the
previous bars. Play this excerpt more like
ppp and for articulation clarity and be sure
all of the notes start with a very square T
syllable. There is no crescendo over the
excerpt. Pick up the tempo from the Ada-
THE CLARINET
gio to a piu mosso, around mm. 126132.
Start the accelerando where indicated and
reach 138144 by the downbeat of mea-
sure 2. Start the rit. on the last beat of the
bar, and slow down considerably so the
tempo reached is about 108. There is still a
molto rit. to follow which brings things
back to Langsam as in the beginning. The
accents are important. They need to be
clear and bell like, but still in ppp.
Rehearsal No. 1: This passage has similar
intonation issues to measure 5. Be pre-
pared to pull out again for this excerpt, and
if you need to, add the lowest trill key(s)
for the f
and g if they are flat. In lieu of
pulling out, I play the long B without the
register key and I vent the front hole nor-
mally used for altissimo. This makes for a
B that is lower in pitch, softer and more
covered. This fingering has more resis-
tance, so be aware that it may tend to
speak a bit late.
Measures 2627: This rhythmic diminu-
tion of the descending perfect fourth inter-
val (a key cell for the entire symphony) is
a solo. Play it at least mf with an air, not
tongue sf. Make a quick dim. to p and a
further dim. to niente.
Rehearsal No. 2: This needs to be played
a solid f with a steep dim. right away.
Im Anfang sehr gemchlich: This is a
counter subject to the main theme. It is a
solo, and should be played more like mp
than pp. Play this line very legato with a
singing style. Play the accents with the
breath inside of this legato. Give it direc-
tion to the long B and put a slight tenuto
over this B making up the time over the
rest of this bar. Enjoy the tacet for the rest
of the movement, but be aware there is a
repeat that is often taken that returns to
just before this solo.
ABOUT THE WRITER
David Bourque has been the bass clar-
inetist in the Toronto Symphony Orchestra
since 1983. A regular guest instructor at
Indiana University School of Music, David
currently teaches clarinet and bass clarinet
at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Mu-
sic and for the National Youth Orchestra of
Canada. He is the editor of the Northdale
International editions of K. Anh. C 17.03,
17.04, 17.05 and 17.07. David is also the
author of the recently released DVD tutori-
al Working the Single Reed. Among his
current projects is the writing of The Work-
ing Bass Clarinettist: An Annotated Guide
To Symphonic Excerpts For Bass Clar-
inet. He can be reached through <www.
davidbourque.ca>.

Back Issues
of The Clarinet
Back-issue order forms for The Clarinet
may now be downloaded from the I.C.A.
Web site: <www.clarinet.org>. Copies may
also be requested by contacting:
James Gillespie
College of Music, University of North Texas
P.O. Box 311367
Denton, TX 76203-1367
E-mail: <jgillesp@music.unt.edu>

September 2006 Page 55

PART IV: INSTRUMENT
AND REED SELECTION
The author has surveyed early clar-
inet specialists from around the world
while writing the D.M.A. dissertation
Early Clarinet Performance as De -
scribed by Modern Specialists, with a
Performance Edition of Mathieu Frd-
ric Blasiuss IIe Concerto de clarinette,
under the supervision of Dr. Kelly Burke
at the University of North Carolina at
Greensboro. Fourth in a series, this ar-
ticle will examine options regarding the
selection of instruments and reeds. Sub-
sequent articles will discuss early clar-
inet collections, study programs, early
music festivals, early clarinet perform-
ers/ensembles, and selected repertoire
W
with reference to performance practice
of the early 19th century.
ith the expansion of the early
music scene, the term authen-
ticity has been the subject of
heated debates amongst scholars and per-
formers. The inscription performed on
authentic instruments can be found in
program notes of sound recordings from
the 19801990s. In some cases, the term is
used without supporting scholarship, and
specialists question the extent of its mean-
ing (ex., a performance of Mozart on a 10-
key clarinet). Since the term authentic
has many folds, and literally implies that
anything else would be inauthentic (or
fake), many have adopted the more positive
denomination of historically informed.
The process includes careful examination
of manuscripts, performance practice, icon-
ography, early instrumental techniques, and
the use of historically accurate instruments.
Is my clarinet historically accurate?
When acquiring an early clarinet, the first
dilemma encountered is whether one wish-
es to play an original instrument, or a mod-
ern replica. Surviving instruments repre-
sent the only tangible source of aural infor-
mation we have to recreate performances.
They were crafted with the materials and
technology available to makers, and were
most likely customized to the specifica-
tions of performers. Trees lived in a cleaner
environment, and lumber was sometimes
buried for up to 20 years in a mixture of
soil and manure before entering the ma-
kers shop. Boxwood so matured is a ma-
terial unlikely to be ever again available.2
Page 56
Early Clarinet Pedagogy
for Modern Performers by Luc Jackman
Methods, technologies and aging pro-
cedures have changed considerably in the
craft of musical instruments, and it is near-
ly impossible to go back: Instrument mak-
ers now have access to electricity, precise
measuring devices, and state-of-the-art
woodworking tools that were not imagin-
able in Grensers or Lotzs time. Because
boxwood is highly susceptible to warping
and cracking, original instruments survive
in various conditions. It is my belief that
the very best instruments were played to
death, and therefore no longer represent a
historically accurate performance medium.
Clarinets surviving in pristine condition
probably werent very good to begin with,
and therefore not representative either.
Pitch standards were far from standardized
in the early 19th-century, making it diffi-
cult let alone finding an original in good
playing condition to find an original
instrument at a playable pitch. In order to
preserve their precious historical value,
originals should probably only be played
sparingly, and should NEVER be modified
in any way. Original instruments are found
in private collections, auctions, and in sel-
ect antique stores. According to my disser-
tation survey, the most widely used origi-
nals by modern specialists are by George
Astor (London, ca. 17781831), Joseph
Baumann (Paris, ca. 17901830), Bhner
& Keller (Strasbourg, ca. 18021844), Ch.
Collin (Paris), Christian Gotthelf Finke
(Dresden, 18131874), Carl August Gren-
ser (worked in Dresden, 17801814), J.
Heinrich Grenser (worked in Dresden,
17961813), Mollenhauer (located in Ful-
da, 18221830) and Roberty (Bordeaux).3
Original instruments offer obvious his-
torical and antique qualities that replicas do
not have. However, clarinetists have
always played instruments that were new,
and it seems odd to now play an instrument
that is 200 years old. Accurate replicas
offer the possibility of using instruments
that would not be available at a playable
pitch, and may be customized to the per-
formers specifications. The situation is
analogous to the reality that modern clar-
THE CLARINET
inetists are essentially playing customized
replicas of the Klos 1844 instrument.
Dimensions of a model instrument are
gathered using high precision measuring
tools, and are then transferred to a blank
piece of boxwood to create a replica. The
most popular models used in this proce-
dure are by George and John Astor, Johann
Georg Braun (worked in Mannheim,
18161833), Carl August Grenser, Johann
Heinrich Grenser, J. Conrad Grieslsing
(maker located in Berlin, 18011835),
Frederik Gabriel August Kirst (Potsdam,
17721804), Theodor Lotz (Pressburg
1748Vienna 1792), Kaspar Tauber (Vi-
enna, 17981829), and Jacques Franois
Simiot (sold instruments in Lyons, c. 1808
1844). The dimensions of the model in-
strument can be recalculated to accommo-
date pitch standards, and performers have
the option of having their replica custom-
ized (adding keys, changing tone hole sizes
to improve intonation, )
Here are a few current instrument ma-
kers who specialize in early clarinet rep-
licas. (I am sure there are many more,
and pardon me for not including them in
this article.)
Daniel Deitch Historical Woodwinds
(<http://www.danieldeitch.com/eindex.
html>)
Stephen Fox Clarinets
(<http://www.sfoxclarinets.com/>)
Agns Guroult (Phone +33 1 48 06 12 15)
Peter van der Poel
(<p.v.vander.poel@freeler.nl>)
Andreas Schni Historische
Holzblasinstrumene
(<http://www.schoenibern.ch/>)
Schwenk & Seggelke
(<http://www.schwenk-und-seggelke.
de/>)
Rudolf Tutz Musikhaus
(<http://www.tutz.at/>)
Guntram Wolf
(<http://www.guntramwolf.de/>).
Period clarinet mouthpieces differ
greatly from their modern counterparts
with respect to size, facing, and tip open-
ing. Finding a reed that will fit the mouth- to fit my Grenser mouthpiece. When the struments (London: Tony Bingham, 1993), viiixiv.
piece exactly can therefore be a challenge. switch was made to the Lotz instrument, Johann Georg Heinrich Backofen. Answeig zur
4.

Klarinette, nebst einer Kurzen Abhandlung ber

The construction of the reed always is
determined by the shape of the mouthpiece
whose opening it must cover.4 Commerci-
ally manufactured reeds for present-day
mouthpieces come in all shapes, sizes,
cuts, models, and strengths. Most clar-
inetists prefer purchasing reeds rather than
making them, and this seems to hold true
for our colleagues from the past: Pre-
made clarinet reeds have been available
from makers and musical instrument deal-
ers at least since the 1760s. One of the ear-
liest firms to offer them was John Long-
man and Company (London), as noted in a
1769 catalog.5 Unfortunately, chalumeau
and early clarinet reeds are no longer
available at the local music store: The
select population of early clarinetists does
the tiny mouthpiece accommodated Ger-
man cut E reeds, but this combination
caused response problem in cross fingering
notes since the vamp of the reed was too
short. A colleague suggested I purchase
#2.0 reeds from a privately owned factory
in Europe. Amongst a variety of French
and German cuts, Foglietta (<http://www.
foglietta.de/>) offers the A5 model, copied
from surviving classical reeds, and avail-
able in short, medium and long facing.
While experimenting with equipment, it
is important to rid ourselves of precon-
ceived ideas, evaluating each individual in-
strument on its own merits. Originals in
good playing condition are hard to find,
and modern makers usually have a waiting
list for purchasing replicas. Discussing
das Basset-Hrner. Leipzig: Breitkopf und Hrtel,
[ca. 1803]. Reprint, Celle: Moeck Verlag, 1986.
Translated by Susan Carol Kohler in J. G. H. Bac-
kofens Answeisung zur Klarinette nebst einer
kurzen Abhandlung ber das Basset-Horn, Trans-
lation and Commentary, D.M.A. diss., University
of Washington, 1997, 9.
5.
Albert Rice, The Clarinet in the Classical Period
(New York: Oxford University Press, 2003), 19.
6.
Joseph Frhlich, Vollstndige Theoretisch-praktis-
che Musikschule fr alle beym Orchester geb-
rauliche wichtigen Instrumente. Bonn: Simrock,
18101811. Clarinet section translated by Eugne
E. Rousseau in Clarinet Instructional Materials
From 1732 to ca. 1825, Ph.D. diss., State Uni-
versity of Iowa, 1962, 175.
Visit the
I N T E R N AT I O N

CLARINET
not justify their being manufactured. with other early clarinetists can be very
Commercial B clarinet reeds are usually helpful in finding makers, sharing hints, or

A S S O C I AT I O N
too wide for narrow classical mouthpie- locating a specific fingering chart. Ques-
ces, and the vamp of E clarinet reeds is tions and comments are welcomed through

on the World Wide Web:

too short. In an effort to obtain a playable The Clarinet editorial, by contacting the
reed, modern players of the classical clar- author, or joining the discussions of the

inet have the option of making their own,
modifying commercially manufactured
reeds (using them as blanks), or finding a
commercial reed that will fit the dimen-
sions of their mouthpiece.
Early clarinet methods emphasize the
importance of obtaining a good reed, but
the suggestions on making and adjusting
reeds are usually of very general nature:
The most important thing for the clar-
inetist is a good reed, for only this enables
him to produce a good tone on his instru-
ment and to play certain passages with
ease which could otherwise not be played
at all, or only with the greatest difficulty.
[] One must carefully examine the
mouthpiece upon which the reed is to be
placed, since the reed must fit it exactly.6
From the methods Ive examined, Backo-
fen is the most detailed with regards to
reed making. Cultivating this skill is highly
recommended if the performer is willing to
invest the required time and patience.
www.clarinet.org
Yahoo! Early Clarinet Group (<Early
Clarinet-subscribe@yahoogroups.com>).
The latter has 215 members, including some
of the most widely known scholars and
performers, and is absolutely free!
ABOUT THE WRITER
Luc Jackman holds a masters degree
in chamber music performance from
McGill University in Montreal and a Doc-
torate of Musical Arts from the University
of North Carolina at Greensboro. He per-
forms regularly as a soloist, chamber musi-
cian, and with the Winston-Salem Sym-
phony. Main teachers include Robert Crow-
ley, Charles Neidich and Kelly Burke.
Luc has recently completed post-doctoral
studies in orchestral literature at the Uni-
versity of Montreal under Andr Moisan.
Luc can be reached at: <lucjackman@
hotmail.com>.

END NOTES
Modifying commercial reeds is proba-
bly the most practical option. The proce-
dure usually involves narrowing a German Jackmans document is available online at: <libres.
1.

uncg.edu/edocs/etd/1010/umi-uncg-1010.pdf>.
or Viennese cut reed, and scraping the tip. Michael G. Zadro, Woods used for woodwind
Being somewhat lazy, this was the course I
2.

instruments since the 16th Century, Early Music

chose, narrowing German cut reeds by
Vandoren (<http://www.vandoren.com>)
and Steuer (available through Howarth of
London:<http://www.howarth.uk.com/>)
3:135.
3.
Dates and locations are taken from Lindesay Gra-
ham Langwill, An Index of Musical Wind Instru-
ments Makers (Scotland: By the author, 1960); and
Phillip T. Young, 4900 Historical Woodwind In-

September 2006 Page 59

The Clarinetists of the
Orchestra dell Accademia
Nazionale di Santa Cecilia
by James Gillespie
A SHORT HISTORY
T
OF THE ORCHESTRA
he Orchestra dellAccademia Na-
zionale di Santa Cecilia was the
first orchestra in Italy to devote it-
self exclusively to the symphonic reper-
toire, presenting the premieres of many
20th-century masterpieces. Since the be-
ginning of the last century, the Orchestra
has played approximately 14,000 concerts,
collaborating with the eras leading musi-
cians under the direction of conductors
such as Mahler, Debussy, Strauss, Stra-
vinsky, Hindemith, Toscanini, De Sabata
and von Karajan.
The Orchestras permanent conductors
have been Bernardino Molinari, Franco
Ferrara, Fernando Previtali, Igor Marke-
vitch, Thomas Schippers, Giuseppe Sino-
poli, Daniele Gatti and, at present, Myung-
Whun Chung. Leonard Bernstein was its
Honorary President from 1983 to 1990.
From 1908 to 1936, the concert seasons
of the Accademia were held at the Au-
gusteo, the theatre built on the ruins of the
The Orchestra dellAccademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in the Auditorium Parco della Musica Sala Santa Cecilia
Page 60
Roman mausoleum of Emperor Augustus.
As a result the orchestra is usually referred
to as the Augusteo Orchestra during much
of this period. The Pius XII Auditorium
became the official concert hall after 1958
and remained so until the final move in
February 2003 to the Auditorium Parco
della Musica, designed by architect Renzo
Piano. During traditional concert seasons,
the Orchestra (often together with the
Chorus) performs important symphonic
choral works in a repertoire which ranges
from the 18th century to the present. In
addition, the Santa Cecilia Orchestra and
Chorus are regularly invited abroad by the
major musical institutions of other coun-
tries. The Orchestra has appeared at The
White Nights Festival of St. Petersburg and
at the celebrations for the centenary of The
Proms (Henry Wood Promenade Concerts
in London) the first Italian orchestra to
be invited to this festival. With Myung-
Whun Chung, the Orchestra has given con-
certs in Spain, Portugal and Belgium and it
made a particularly successful appearance
at the Royal Festival Hall of London in
November 1999. The Orchestra has also
toured the Far East on several occasions
(1997, 1998, 2000 and 2001).
THE CLARINET
In addition to annual appearances at
major Italian music festivals (Settembre
Musica, Turin; Settimana Musicale Sen-
ese, Siena; Sagra Malatestiana, Rimini),
the Orchestra has gained international
prestige thanks to its successes at the Ber-
lin Philharmonic Hall (the first Italian or-
chestra invited to appear at that orchestras
historic seat in Berlin), at the Istanbul Mu-
sic Festival, at the Festival of Santander in
Spain and on the lengthy Japanese tour for
the Italy in Japan festival.
In recent years, the Orchestra has made
numerous recordings for major record com-
panies, including: a series of CDs of sacred
music, conducted by Chung, for Deutsche
Grammophon on the occasion of Jubilee
Year; a CD of the Faur and Durufl re-
quiems, which was awarded the Diapason
dOr; a CD dedicated to the Te Deums of
Charpentier, Mozart and Prt; and a CD
featuring the sacred music of Giuseppe
Verdi (with Carmela Remigio) along with
Bacalovs Misa Tango, which was nomi-
nated for a Grammy Award. The Orches-
tras most recent recording is a collection
of Sinfonie from Italian operas, again with
Chung, for Deutsche Grammophon.
In addition to the orchestra, the Acca-
demia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia is one of
the oldest musical institutions in the world.
Officially founded in 1585, it has evolved
over the centuries from an organization of
largely local musicians to a modern
academy and symphonic concert organ-
ization of international repute. Uniting an
academic body of 100 of the most illustri-
ous exponents of culture and music with a
(photo: Riccardo Musacchio)
symphonic orchestra and chorus that are
among the most internationally renowned,
the Accademia carries out professional
musical training and conserves an ex -
tremely rich historical patrimony, thus re-
flecting its own multi-century history.
*****
Stefano Novelli,
Principal Clarinet
Born in Rome in 1967 into a family of
musicians, Stefano Novelli began learning
music with his father. He entered the Ac-
cademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia study-
ing in the class of Professor Vincenzo
Mariozzi, and at the age of 17 graduated
with honors.
Initially his repertoire and early record-
ings were for RCA, EDIPAN, labels which
eventually led him to play in chamber
groups as well as other ensembles. He has
performed with renown soloists, such as A.
Lonquich, B. Canino, M.W. Chung, M.
Quarta, M. Campanella, H.J. Schellen-
berger, among others.
Since 1992 he has been the principal
clarinet of the Orchestra Accademia Na-
zionale dell Santa Cecilia and has per-
formed with outstanding conductors, such
as Giulini, Sawallisch, Pretre, Gatti, Bern-
stein, Rostropovich and Thielemann. As
principal clarinet he has appeared with the
RAI Orchestra of Rome, the Teatro dell
Opera of Rome, Solisti Aquilani, etc.
He is frequently invited to perform and
lead master classes and courses with vari-
ous musical associations.
Stefano Novelli
(photo: Riccardo Musacchio)
He performs regularly on the film scores
of composer Ennio Morricone.
He plays a pair of Buffet RC clarinets
with a Vandoren B40 mouthpiece and liga-
ture and Vandoren or Rico Grand Concert
Select Evolution reeds.
Alessandro Carbonare,
Principal Clarinet
Alessandro Carbonare was born in
Desenzano del Garda (Northen Italy) in
1967. After graduating with a performers
degree in clarinet, today he ranks among
the worlds most distinguished clarinet
players and has been principal clarinetist
with the Orchestra di Santa Cecilia in
Rome since 2003. For 15 years he lived in
Paris where he was the principal clarinet
with the Orchestre National de France.
Mr. Carbonare has won many prizes and
is probably the most successful contempo-
rary clarinetist in international competitions
having been a prizewinner in the following
competitons: Geneva 1990, Prague 1991,
Toulon 1991, Duino 1991, ARD Munich
1991 and 1992, and Paris 1992.
He has given concerts and made radio
recordings all over Europe, North and
South America, Canada, Australia and
Asia. His concerto appearances include the
Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, National
Orchestra of Spain, Oslo Philarmonic
Orchestra, Sdwestdeutsches Kammer-
orchester, Bayerischer Rundfunk Munich,
Wien Sinfonietta, Orchestre National de
France, Berlin Radio Orchestra, all major
Italian orchestras and many others.
Alessandro Carbonare
(photo: Riccardo Musacchio)
September 2006
As principal clarinet he has also played
with the Bayerischer Rundfunk Orchestra
in Munich and with the Berlin Philhar-
monic Orchestra.
He has been very active as a guest in-
structor at Japanese, American and Euro-
pean universities. He is a member of Il
Quintetto Bibiena with which he won the
Munich International Competition in 1993
and received the prize of Italian chamber
ensemble of the year (Premio Abbiati).
With a personal invitation from Claudio
Abbado, he now plays in his new Mozart
Orchestra. He has performed and recently
recorded the Mozart Concerto, K. 622
(on basset clarinet) under the direction of
Claudio Abbado.
He plays a pair of Selmer Recital clar-
inets, a Vandoren B40 mouthpiece, Van-
doren V12 3.5 reeds, BG ligature and Bac-
kun and Mazzocchitti barrels. Web site:
<www.carbonare.com>.
Discography
J. Brahms works for clarinet and piano
(1994); Agor AG 008.1
Clarinet Sings Verdi (1995);
Agor AG017.1
Francis Poulenc works for winds,
Il quintetto Bibiena, (1995);
Agor AG021.1
Flamen, Il quintetto Bibiena (1995);
Aura 402-2
Modest Moussorsky: Pictures at an
Exhibition, A. Borodin: Petite suite and
scherzo, Il quintetto Bibiena (1996);
Agor AG062.1
Wolfang Amadeus Mozart, Clarinet
Concerto K. 622; G. Rossini, Andante
tema e Variazioni; G. Rossini,
Variazioni in Do, Sudwestdeuches
Kammerorchester Pforzheim,
Vladislav Czarnecki, Conductor,
(1997); Agor AG 111.1
Robert Schumann works for clarinet
and piano (1997); Agor AG 043.1
W.A. Mozart and J. Brahms quintets
(1999); Harmonia Mundi France
HMN 911691
La clarinette lOper (2001);
Harmonia Mundi France HMC 901722
No Mans Land F. Zappa, P. DRivera,
Phil Woods; Velut Luna CVLD07000
(2003)
C. M. von Weber. Concertos for clarinet
and orchestra, Haydn Orchester Bozen,
conductor and soloist Alessandro Car-
bonare; 47697-2 ARTS Music (2004)
Page 61
Clarinet Sings Opera; JVC Japan 60446
(2005)
O. Messiaen, Quatour pour fin de temp
(expected for 2006); Amadeus

Simone Sirugo,
Second Clarinet
Simone Sirugo was born in Avola (Si-
cily) in 1976 and began musical studies at
the age of 11 under the direction of Maes-
tro Vincenzo Mariozzi at the Saint Cecilia
Conservatory in Rome. He earned the di-
ploma at the age of 17 and continued with
courses with Anthony Pay and Richard
Stoltzman. He also played with Pavel Ver-
nikov and Vladimir Mendelstan.
At the age of 19 he held the position of
Simone Sirugo Davide Lattuada
first clarinet in the Regional Orchestra of (photo: Riccardo Musacchio) (photo: Riccardo Musacchio)
Lazio for three years; afterwards he began
to collaborate as first clarinet with St. Ce- Davide Lattuada, and completing his studies with Lorenzo
Bass Clarinet
cilia Academy Orchestra under the direc- Guzzoni (first solo clarinet of Solisti Ven-
tion of Savallisch, Chung, Sinopoli and eti) and bass clarinet with Rocco Parisi.
Daniel Oren. Presently he holds the posi- Davide Lattuada was born in 1975 in He also took part in master classes with
tion of second clarinet. Milan and joined the orchestra as the prin- J. Peitz and M. Bekavac.
He plays a Selmer 10 S2 B clarinet and cipal bass clarinet in 2005. He studied at In 1993, M. Delman chose Lattuada as
a Selmer Recital in A with a Vandoren lig- the Conservatory G. Verdi in Milan with bass clarinet for the G. Verdi Symphony
ature and Mazzocchitti barrel. M. P. Borali, earning his diploma in 1993 Orchestra of Milan, a position he held until

Page 62 THE CLARINET

 INTERNATIONAL CLARINET ASSOCIATION
2007 ORCHESTRAL AUDITION COMPETITION
Eligibility: The competition is open to clarinetists of all ages who are not employed full-time as salaried members of a profes-
sional symphony orchestra.
Application: Send materials postmarked no later than Monday, April 16, 2007 to:

2007 I.C.A. Orchestral Audition Competition Michael Webster, coordinator

Rice University, Shepherd School of MusicMS 532, P.O. Box 1892, Houston, TX 77251-1892 USA,
Phone: 713-348-3602, Fax: 713-348-5317, E-mail: <mwebster@rice.edu>

CONTEST RULES
III. Application fee: $50.00 U.S. All applicants must be members of the I.C.A., and must provide proof of membership. Non-
members wishing to compete may join the I.C.A. by including the appropriate membership fee with their contest application
fee. Make amount payable to the I.C.A. in U.S. currency. This fee is non-refundable.
III. Please provide a good quality recording (CD-R format required, cassette NOT acceptable) containing the following excerpts
in this exact order with appropriate track ID numbers:
1. Mozart: Concerto, Movement I, exposition only
First clarinet excerpts:
2. Debussy: Fetes #2 to #4
3. Bartk: Miraculous Mandarin #22 to #25 second bar
4. Brahms: Symphony No. 4, Mvt. II beginning to A; and F to 5 before end
5. Stravinsky: Petrouchka #58 bar 2 to #59; 4 before #79 to #82; and #100 to 7 after #100
6. Strauss: Don Juan 16 after M to 1 after N; 1 after P to S
7. Weber: Der Freischtz 16 after B to D
III. A separate written and signed statement, attesting that the recording is the playing of the contestant and has not been edited.
IV. A permanent address, telephone number, and E-mail address should be provided. Please note that no application form is
required.
JUDGING
Judging of recordings will be conducted with no knowledge of the contestants. Do not include any identification on the CD-R
or box. There should be no speaking on the recording, such as announcing of compositions. Preliminary judging will be by
recorded audition. Semifinalists will be chosen be committee. E-mail or letters of notification will be sent by Monday, May 21,
2007. Semifinal and final rounds will be held at ClarinetFest 2007 in Vancouver, BC in July 2007. Repertoire will consist of the
excerpts listed above. Past first-prize winners are not eligible to compete. All contestants will accept the decision of the judges as

final. All semifinalists will receive free registration at ClarinetFest 2007. Travel expenses will be the responsibility of the contes-
tant. All recordings will become the property of the I.C.A. and will not be returned.

PRIZES
First Place: $1,000 U.S.; Gregory Smith Custom Mouthpiece; The Reed Wizard by Ben Armato
Second Place: Gregory Smith Custom Mouthpiece; The PerfectaReed by Ben Armato
The I.C.A. is grateful to Gregory Smith and Ben Armato for their sponsorship of the Orchestral Audition Competition.

2005, taking part in all recordings and

concerts of particular significance under
the direction of M. R. Chailly. In 1998 he
won the audition for bass clarinetist at La
Scala theatre in Milan.
In January 2006 Lattuada won the au-
dition for bass clarinet with the Royal
Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam,
the first Italian to gain a place in this
pres tigious orchestra. He plays on a
Buffet Cram pon bass clarinet with
Selmer C** mouthpiece and Glotin reeds,
and Buffet Crampon RC with a Pyne
mouthpiece and Vandoren reeds.

September 2006 Page 63

 *****
The orchestra chooses not to have a full-
time E clarinetist preferring to hire one as
needed for each concerts repertoire.

*****

FORMER CLARINETISTS
OF THE SANTA CECILIA
ORCHESTRA
The first clarinet player we have infor-
mation on is Aurelio Magnani (1856
1921) who taught at the St. Cecilia Aca-
demy from 1883 until his death in 1921.
He was famous for his Mthod Complte
for the Boehm clarinet (published by Ev- Aurelio Magnani
ette & Schaeffer, ca. 1900) which was
translated into English, French and Span- Orchestra from 1905 until 1912 and later
ish. He also wrote studies and solo and played in the La Scala Orchestra under
chamber works for clarinet. Among Mag- Toscanini (19141924) and taught at the
nanis most prominent pupils who suc- Milan Conservatory from 1915 until 1934.
ceeded him upon his retirement in the Magnani dedicated his 2nd Divertissement
orchestra, then known as the Augusteo (1904) to him. Carlo Luberti (1885?)
Orchestra, were Antonio Micozzi (1886?) was another prominent former Magnani
who played in the orchestra from 1917 student who played in the Augusteo Or-
until 1930, and Umberto Blonk-Steiner chestra (19131919) and succeeded Mag-
(18841934), who played in the Augusteo nani as the principal clarinet professor at

Page 64 THE CLARINET

the Academy upon Magnanis death in
1921 after previously serving as an assis-
tant professor from 1913.
Michele Incenzo (b. 1931) was solo
clarinet from 1974 until 1992. He was pre-
viously a member of the San Carlo Opera
(19501953), and the Radio Telefis Eire-
ann Symphony (Ireland) (19531960).
His teaching positions included the Royal
Irish Academy of Music (19541960), the
Naples Conservatory (19601972) and the
Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia
(19741997).
Vincenzo Mariozzi was solo clarinet
from 1969 until 2000. In 1967 he was a
prizewinner in the Geneva Competition,
and he taught for several years at the
Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. His
student Stefano Novelli, who served as
second clarinet, succeeded him as principal
in 1992.
Former bass clarinetists include Pietro
Di Francesco (ca. 1950) and Vincenzo
Orlando, Rafaello. The Italian Scene,
The Clarinet, Vol. 17, No. 1 (Novem-
ber/December 1989), pp. 1821
Weston, Pamela. More Clarinet Virtuosi of
the Past, The author, London, England,
1977
_____. Clarinet Virtuosi of Today, Egon
Publishrs Ltd., 1989
_____. Yesterdays Clarinettists: a sequel,
Emerson Edition Ltd., Ampleforth, Eng-
land, 2002
Web site: <www.santacecilia.it/scw/servlet/
Controller?gerarchia=01.01>
Vincenzo Mariozzi
The Clarinet
PUBLICATION SCHEDULE
[The assistance and cooperation of
Luigi Magistrelli, Gino Mazzocchitti,
The magazine is usually
Alessandro Carbonare and all of his col-
mailed during the last week
leagues in the clarinet section are grate-
of February, May, August and
fully acknowledged. JG]
No vem ber. De livery time

Buonomo, and E clarinetists in the or-
chestra were Augusto Nardacci, Mr. Tad-
dei (19561988) and Gino Mazzocchitti
(until 2002).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Meloni, Fabrizio. il clarinetto, Zechini
Edition, Varese, Italy, 2000
within North America is nor-
mally 1014 days, while air-
mail delivery time outside
North America is 710 days.

September 2006 Page 65

From Tokyo to Osaka via Chicago:
An Interview with Nobuyuki Kanai, Principal Clarinetist of the Osaka Philharmonic
by Richard W. Fletcher
Note: This interview took place in Tama,
Tokyo, Japan at the Keio Plaza Hotel on
July 20, 2005.
R.: What influenced you to take up the
clarinet, Nobu?
N.: I have a long story. You know that my
father is a jazz saxophonist. Well, when
I would come home after school as a
youngster, Id hear him practicing every
day. He also made jazz arrangements
and transcribed music from recordings.
I heard a lot of music, mostly jazz, but
sometimes classical. I had been study-
ing piano since age four, but I hated
practicing and quit when I was ten. In
junior high I joined the band as a eu-
phonium player. I didnt join the band
until a month after the other students
and the only instrument available to me
was the euphonium. It was an interest-
ing situation. Boys could choose only
brass instruments and girls, woodwinds.
There was no way for me to play the
clarinet or even saxophone. My father
didnt know this restriction, and I didnt
tell him I was playing the euphonium.
But, since the instrument was old and
turned my hands green, my Mother
noticed this and said, What? Why are
your hands green? Then I told my par-
ents I was playing the euphonium. My
father said the euphonium is a minor
instrument, so why not change? But, I
told him, I liked the euphonium. He said
he had a clarinet that he would like me
to show to my band director. I didnt
know why he wanted me to do this, but
I took it to school and showed it to my
director. He said, Wow! You have a
Selmer clarinet. Okay, you can play
clarinet from now on. All the other
students had plastic Yamahas.
teach me. He had a music degree from
Kunitachi University. Since his studio
was too far from my house for me to go
there, he recommended Hiroshi Uchi-
yama, principal clarinetist of the NHK
Symphony (Japan Broadcasting Cor-
poration). He has since retired as princi-
pal and moved to second part, just like
in the Vienna Philharmonic.
R.: How old were you when you began
studying with Uchiyama?
N.: I was 16 and very lucky. Uchiyama was
probably the most famous clarinetist in
Japan at the time. It happened this way
because he and Hiromi Sano were class-
mates at Kunitachi, same age and class.
He did this as a favor. Uchiyama was a
wonderful teacher. I studied with him
through high school.
R.: When did you decide to make music
your career?
N.: At that time. I hated studying mathe-
matics, history everything except
music [chuckle].
R.: Did you attend a regular or a special
arts high school?
N.: A regular high school, but I was lucky
because my junior high director recom-
mended I attend Yokohama Hiranuma
High School. It is an amazing school.
There are many rooms with pianos and
rooms for private lessons. It has both a
concert band and orchestra. Actually,
you have been there.
R.: Yes, I remember visiting you there in
1988. You were the band director. Are
you originally from Yokohama?
N.: Yes. My father still lives there. It is in-
teresting that today we have three pro-
fessional Japanese clarinetists from this
high school. Actually, there were four,
but one retired last year!
R.: Would you describe your coursework
at Toho University?
N.: Well, Toho is a great school, famous
for conducting. Both Seiji Ozawa and
Eiji Oue, conductor of the Osaka Phil-
harmonic, are graduates of Toho. Eiji
Oue was a student there the same time
as me. He was a horn player at the time
and three years ahead of me.
R.: I know you enjoy directing bands. Did
you study conducting at Toho?

R.: So, you began on your fathers clari-

net. Who were your earliest teachers?
N.: Well, Hilda [chuckle], an older student
at my high school. She wasnt my real
teacher; my father helped me at first.
Then he asked his friend Hiromi Sano,
a jazz saxophonist and clarinetist, to Nobu Kanai and Richard Fletcher at ClarinetFest 2005, Tama-Tokyo

Page 66 THE CLARINET

N.: No, I only took the basic conducting
classes. Mostly, I studied chamber mu-
sic and played in the orchestra. At that
time, Toho had four orchestras. I was
lucky. When I was a freshman, there
were no junior or senior-level clarinets
at Toho, only a total of six freshman
and sophomores. I was placed principal
clarinet in the top orchestra when I was
only a sophomore. I was there four
years and graduated with a bachelors
degree in clarinet performance. Risei
Kitazume was my clarinet teacher. He
was a fine teacher.
R.: How does a degree from Toho differ
from one at an American university?
N.: Much of the coursework is similar.
I studied music theory, history, form
and analysis, etc. Band was not avail-
able since saxophone and euphonium
were not offered. I have heard that this
has changed today and now they offer
saxophone, but not euphonium. Actu-
ally, this is unusual because all other
Japanese music universities offer sym-
phonic band.
R.: What solos, studies and excerpts did
you study at Toho?
N.: Well, Japanese universities dont offer
orchestral excerpt classes like U.S. uni-
versities. This is the biggest difference
in the education. I played etudes by
Klos, Jeanjean, Cavallini, and the Rose
32 and 40. I also studied many solos
(Mozart Concerto, Weber Concertos,
Concertino and Grand Duo, and sona-
tas by Saint-Sans, Poulenc and Brahms,
and chamber music like the Brahms
Quintet and Trio).
R.: Do you remember any orchestral rep-
ertoire you performed at Toho?
N.: Well [chuckle], that was a long time
ago. I do remember playing the Bee-
thoven symphonies number 4, 6, 7 and
8. We also played some huge pieces
like Pictures at an Exhibition and Daph-
nis et Chlo. It was a good orchestra,
under the direction of Seiji Ozawa and
Kazuyoshi Akiyama, the former Van-
couver music director. That was great.
R.: Tell us about your work at DePaul
University with Larry Combs. Did you
get a masters degree there?
N.: No. I didnt complete a masters de-
gree. I discussed degrees with Larry. He
asked if I needed a degree in Japan and
I told him I didnt. He said okay, and
decided for me! I was there two years
and could have completed a degree, but
I didnt need it.
R.: So, you studied clarinet and played in
the orchestra?
N.: Yes. Again, I was lucky. When I en-
tered DePaul, Larry took four students.
He asked me to audition for the Uni-
versity Orchestra, Wind Ensemble and
Civic Orchestra of Chicago. I made all
three. The first time I auditioned for the
Chicago Civic, I was appointed second
and bass clarinet, the second time assis-
tant principal, after that principal.
R.: What did you study at DePaul?
N.: Clarinet lessons with Larry Combs and
John Bruce Yeh, and orchestral excerpt
class with Julie DeRoche. I had a lesson
with Larry every week and every other
week with John, three lessons in two
weeks. It was so interesting working
with two different kinds of teachers at
the same time.
R.: What clarinet materials did you study?
N.: I studied everything with both teach-
ers: etudes (Rose 32 and Cavallini),
solos, orchestral excerpts and chamber
music. I also took Julies orchestral ex-
cerpt class each semester and played in
the Wind Ensemble and Orchestra. I
was busy!
R.: So, after spending two years in Chi-
cago, you moved back to Japan and au-
ditioned for the Hiroshima Symphony.
What was that like?
N.: Again, I was lucky. When I came back
to Japan my primary job was studio re-
cording work. I also performed as an
extra in the NHK Symphony, various
other orchestras, and the Kosei Wind
Orchestra under Frederick Fennell. Do
you know of the Saito Kinen Orches-
tra? Saito is the name of the creator of
Toho University. He was Seiji Ozawas
conducting teacher. He died many years
ago. Saito Kinen means Saito Memor-
ial Orchestra. It is composed of Toho
graduates and meets for two weeks each
September. We have a Saito Kinen Fes-
tival in Nagano Prefecture each year.
September 2006
In 1990 I was invited to play bass clar-
inet in the Saito Kinen Orchestra. But, I
said no because I wanted to audition for
the Hiroshima Symphony, which was
scheduled at the same time. The Saito
Kinen Orchestra then asked if I could
wait two or three days to take the audi-
tion. I said okay, and the orchestra man-
ager said hed speak to the conductor,
Seiji Osawa, and then call me back.
Osawa gave me permission to take the
audition, and the Orchestra paid for my
train fare to Hiroshima and my hotel
bill! Now I felt even more pressure to
get the Hiroshima position since Seiji
Osawa and the Orchestra had done this
for me. Can you imagine the situation?
R.: Did you audition for a particular po-
sition in the Hiroshima Symphony Or-
chestra?
N.: The HSO doesnt use a principal sys-
tem. We had three clarinets. One played
only second, and two played first or
second. It worked like this: One princi-
pal played with the second; then the
two principals played together; then the
other principal played with the second.
Then we repeated the cycle. Each of us
played 2/3 of the concerts and was off
for 1/3. I played principal 1/3 of the
time and second 1/3 of the time. It is an
interesting system.
R.: Do you remember what you played for
the audition?
N.: For the first round we played the Mo-
zart Concerto, in the open without a
curtain. The second round consisted of
many excerpts.
R.: How long is the concert season in Hir-
oshima?
N.: Like most Japanese orchestras, the
season lasts all year. We have a 10-day
summer vacation, a 10-day New Years
vacation, and four to six days off each
month.
R.: So, a position in the HSO would be a
very good, full-time professional or-
chestra position.
N.: Yes. I was fortunate to have had the
job at age 33. I stayed there for three
and a half years before joining the
Osaka Philharmonic. Actually, I was in-
vited to audition for the Osaka Philhar-
monic. There was almost no audition at
Page 67
 all. Since they had already held audi-
tions twice without naming a winner,
they invited me to play with them as
an extra. After hearing me numerous
times, they offered me the position with-
out a regular audition.
R.: When you joined the Osaka Philhar-
monic in 1996, were you principal?
N.: The Osaka Philharmonic system is
typical of many Japanese orchestras,
but differs from the U.S. and Europe.
We have two principals and two sec-
onds. I also play E and bass clarinet
on occasion, and so does one of the
other players.
R.: I have heard recordings by the Osaka
Philharmonic and know that it is a first-
class orchestra.
N.: Yes, our conductor is Eiji Oue, former
conductor of the Minnesota Orchestra.
Before that the conductor was Takashi
Ashina, who holds the world record for
longevity in conducting the same or-
chestra. Ashina conducted the orchestra
in Osaka for 60 years! He died three
years ago at age 94, conducting up until
the end of his life.
Page 68
R.: Did you ever perform as soloist under
Ashina?
N.: I performed the Mozart and Weber
concertos in Osaka, but not with him.
R.: How do you like performing under
Eiji Oue? Have you performed any solo
concertos with him?
N.: Oue is great. He has been our conduc-
tor for three years. Only our concert-
master and guest soloists from outside
the orchestra have performed as soloists.
R.: Do you teach privately or at a univer-
sity?
N.: Yes. I have eight students. This in-
cludes high school students and those I
teach at Kobe-Jogakuin College and
Soai University.
R.: What is your approach to teaching
young clarinetists?
N.: That is hard to say. My youngest stu-
dent is 15. I teach students mostly the
same things I studied: etudes and scales.
For university students, I begin with a
method book, etudes and scales, and
then solos and orchestral excerpts.
Similar to the United States, I imagine.
THE CLARINET
Students get one 45-minute lesson
each week.
R.: Do you teach your students to double
tongue? I remember hearing your clar-
inets at Yokohama Hiranuma High
School double tongue when you were
band director there in 1988.
N.: I regularly double tongue on pieces
like Strauss Don Juan, but I dont
teach it as much now. Its better to de-
velop a fast single tongue before learn-
ing to double tongue. When I used to
teach double tonguing, students only
used double tonguing when the music
got fast, and did not develop a fast sin-
gle tongue.
R.: Did you ever study double tonguing
with Larry or John?
N.: No, never. I practiced it myself. How-
ever, I believe quality of tonguing is
more important than speed.
R.: Do you have any suggestions for young
clarinetists who are considering play-
ing careers?
N.: Yes. Listen to live performances! When
I was a student in Chicago I went to
 many concerts, at least four a week. I
heard Larry perform a lot. For me, that
was the most important thing. The clar-
inet lessons were valuable, but hearing
Larrys performances was even more
important to me.
R.: Do you have any special approaches to
teaching, reed work, or is there any-
thing else you would like to mention?
N.: Well, more than 90% of my teaching
methods are not from me but from oth-
ers. I just tell my students to do things
this way because Larry says so!
R.: You mentioned the importance of
sound production in your teaching.
What mouthpieces do you recommend
for your students?
N.: I use a Richard Hawkins mouthpiece
and a Greg Smith mouthpiece. Gregs is
more brilliant. Its a 1+ facing. My fa-
vorite Hawkins mouthpiece is a (typed)
B. I also have one with a (handwritten)
B. He makes both types. I use the Haw-
kins most of the time, but use Gregs
when I want a more brilliant sound. I
like Gregs for studio recording. I rec-
ommend these same mouthpieces for
my students. Since they are expensive, I
recommend a Vandoren 5RV Lyre for
younger players.
R.: Do you have any special techniques for
adjusting or making reeds?
N.: No, except I soak my reeds in water for
a long time before playingabout 35
minutes for new reeds. Then I wait for
eight hours until the reeds are dry and
in good condition. Next, I soak them
again for a little bit. Then they are ready
to be played. Its my own special tech-
nique [chuckle]. I play Vandoren #3
1/2, V12 reeds. Sometimes they need
adjusting, but most of the time I play
them right out of the box. On the aver-
age I can find at least one very good
reed in a box, and two or three others
for rehearsals or practice.
R.: What are your interests outside music?
N.: I enjoy watching soccer games and
major league baseball. I like Hideki
Matsui of the New York Yankees and
Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners. I
also like Tadahito Iguchi of the Chi-
cago White Sox. Im amazed that a Ja-
panese player can play major league
baseball in Chicago. Ive been a Cub
fan for a long time.
R.: Do you have other hobbies?
N.: Do you know the Japanese game Go? I
play Go a lot.
R.: Do you mind my asking your age?
N.: Im 44.
R.: Any final comments?
N.: I would like to mention that now I am
very interested in band music. I orga-
nized a Japanese professional band a
few years ago, the NANIWA Orches-
tral Winds. Its composed of principal
players from various symphony orches-
tras. We meet once a year in Osaka in
early May and invite guest conductors
for the event. Im principal clarinet.
R.: Thank you for taking time this morn-
ing for this interview. It has been a
real pleasure to see you again after all
these years.
ABOUT THE WRITER
Richard W. Fletcher is professor of
clarinet and saxophone at University of
WisconsinEau Claire. In 2005 he per-
formed at the Conference of the Interna-
tional Clarinet Association in Tokyo, at the
Hawaii International Conference on Arts
and Humanities, and at the Iowa Band-
masters Association. As a Visiting Fellow
at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts
and Music in 1988 he had the privilege of
studying the shakuhachi with virtuoso
Goro Yamaguchi. At present he is co-
authoring a guide to chamber music for
clarinet, bassoon and piano and recently has
completed a CD of some of these works:
Clearly Three performs Trios from the
Twentieth Century.
The Clarinet
PUBLICATION SCHEDULE
The magazine is usually mailed
during the last week of February,
May, August and November. De-
livery time within North America
is normally 1014 days, while air-
mail delivery time outside North
America is 710 days.
September 2006 Page 69
The Brahms Sonatas
An Examination of the Manuscripts
by Mitchell Estrin
PART 1 SONATA NO. 1
D
IN F-MINOR, OPUS 120
uring a recent visit to New York
City, I had a fascinating experience
examining the autograph manu-
scripts of the two Brahms clarinet sonatas.
This was made possible through a special
arrangement with The Pierpont Morgan
Library. As the library was under an exten-
sive three-year renovation, the manuscripts
were made available for the viewing in a
temporary facility in the depths of a base-
ment vault on New Yorks fashionable Fifth
Avenue. Sincere thanks to library manu-
script curator, Mr. Rigbie Turner, and ref-
erence librarian, Dr. Sylvie Merian, for
their kind assistance with my research.
Further thanks to Mrs. Robena Cornwell,
Music Librarian at the University of Flor-
ida, and Dr. Brenda Smith for their support
of my research.
Historical Overview
In 1891, at the age of 58, Johannes
Brahms (18331897) believed he had ex-
hausted his creative powers and resigned
himself to retirement. At the invitation of
the famed conductor Hans von Blow
(18301894), Brahms visited Meiningen to
hear the court orchestra perform. It was
there that he would hear clarinetist Richard
Mhlfeld (18561907), whose performan-
ces moved Brahms so deeply that he was
inspired to compose again. In a letter to
Clara Schumann (18191896) dated March
1891, Brahms wrote, Nobody can blow
the clarinet more beautifully than Herr
Mhlfeld of this place. Brahms regarded
Mhlfeld as the greatest wind instrumen-
talist of his time. Writing to Clara again in
July 1891, he continued his praise, You
have never heard such a clarinet player as
Mhlfeld. He is absolutely the best I know
The clarinet players in Vienna and many
other places are quite good in orchestra,
but solo they give one no real pleasure.
Brahms often referred to Mhlfeld affec-
tionately as My dear Nightingale, Meine
Page 70
Primadonna, and Frulein Klarinette.
Their friendship inspired four of the great-
est masterpieces ever written for the clar-
inet; the Trio, opus 114 for clarinet, cello
and piano (1891), the Quintet, opus 115 for
clarinet and string quartet (1891), and the
two Sonatas, opus 120 (1894) for clarinet
and piano. The two sonatas premiered in
Vienna at the Tonknstlerverein on Jan-
uary 7, 1895 by Mhlfeld with Brahms at
the piano.
After publication by Simrock in 1895,
the manuscripts, in Brahms own hand,
were given by the composer to Richard
Mhlfeld. The manuscripts remained in
the Mhlfeld family until quite recently,
when they were sold at auction (for a large
six-figure sum) to the Robert Owen Leh-
man Collection, which is currently on de-
posit at The Pierpont Morgan Library in
New York City.
Prelude
Prior to the viewing, I studied the Wei-
ner Urtext Edition of the sonatas. This edi-
tion is based on the publishers manuscript,
which was based on the composers origi-
nal manuscripts and approved by Brahms
prior to the first publishing. Upon arriving
at the viewing site, I had to provide a letter
of reference (sincere thanks to Lawrence
Tarlow, Principal Librarian of the New
York Philharmonic) and show a photo ID
in order to gain entrance into the locked
viewing room, where my belongings were
searched by security personnel in the man-
ner that they often are at airports. I was
also required to sign my acceptance of a
two-page list of rules and regulations which
I would be expected to follow during the
viewing. Photography and photocopying
were not permitted.
Meeting the Meister
As I entered the reading room, the an-
ticipation was flowing through my veins. I
have revered these sonatas since my first
experience playing them in my teens. The
sonatas are sine qua non in the clarinet
repertoire. I asked to examine the clarinet
part of the F-minor sonata first. As the
THE CLARINET
manuscript was placed in front of me I felt
a wave of excitement and butterflies in my
stomach. As I opened the black leather
cover to see the first page, I was struck by
the surprisingly good condition of the paper
and the clarity of the notes. Here was the
hand of Johannes Brahms, the great hero
of romantic music, right in front of me!
Anomalies in the Clarinet
Part Movement I
Having spent many practice sessions
and lessons with pupils working on the
problematical tenths in the first phrase, I
was shocked to see the first phrase written
one octave lower than it is customarily
printed and played! (See Example 1.) How
often have clarinetists wished that it had
been written this way, and here it was!
(Clarification on this later.) The next dif-
ference I noted were the accents on the low
B and G in measures 5152. (See Example
1, line 7, last 2 mm.) Within the pianissimo
dynamic, Im certain these accents were
placed there by Brahms to indicate a slight
expressive emphasis and to achieve a clear
rhythmic definition of the hemiola. I have
found this to be the case in the Brahms
symphonies as well. Next, I encountered
the notes in measures 116 and 118, which
did not match any edition I have ever seen.
(See Example 2, line 2, m. 3, m. 5.) Lastly,
in the coda section beginning at measure
214, the rhythmic structure of the music
was different from what I am accustomed
to playing, yet the melodic material was
very similar to what we see in the printed
editions. Brahms had scratched out the en-
tire section with a blue pencil. (See Exam-
ple 3.) I surmised by the end of the day
that blue pencil markings indicated edits
and changes for the publisher.
Discoveries in the Piano
Part Movement I
My questions were soon answered in
the piano part. Brahms the pianist notated
many changes and the final revisions in the
piano part from which he performed. Alas,
although the first phrase was indeed notat-
ed in the lower octave in the clarinet part,
Example 1: Brahms, Johannes, Sonata for Clarinet and Piano, Example 2: Brahms, Johannes, Sonata for Clarinet and Piano,
opus 120 no. 1 Clarinet Part, pg. 1; The Robert Owen Lehman opus 120 no. 1 Clarinet Part, pg. 3; The Robert Owen Lehman
Collection on Deposit at The Pierpont Morgan Library, Photo- Collection on Deposit at The Pierpont Morgan Library, Photo-
graphy: Joseph Zehavi, 2005 graphy: Joseph Zehavi, 2005

it became obvious from the edits in the clarinet line of the piano
part that Brahms and Mhlfeld had tried the passage in both the
lower and higher octaves and decided they preferred the higher tes-
situra. Measures 116 and 118 were changed to match the published
editions. In the coda section, Brahms pasted over the original mate-
rial that had been scratched out in blue pencil, with the material
which matches the published editions.

Anomalies in Movement II
The main ambiguity I noted in the second movement was in
regard to the articulations of four separate two-measure passages
consisting of similar melodic material. Specifically, I am referring
to the articulation markings of the last three 32nd notes in mea-
sures 56, 1718, 5354 and 6566.
Here is what I noted:
Measures 56: In the clarinet part, the last three 32nd notes were
not slurred (See Example 3.), yet in the piano part they were
slurred.
Measures 1718: In the clarinet part there were slurs on the last
three 32nd notes, but these had been removed. In the piano part
the slurs on the last three 32nd notes had been scratched out.

Example 3: Brahms, Johannes, Sonata for Clarinet and Piano,

opus 120 no. 1 Clarinet Part, pg. 5; The Robert Owen Lehman
Collection on Deposit at The Pierpont Morgan Library, Photography:
Joseph Zehavi, 2005

September 2006 Page 71

Example 4: Brahms, Johannes, Sonata for Clarinet and Piano,
opus 120 no. 1 Clarinet Part, pg. 6; The Robert Owen Lehman
Collection on Deposit at The Pierpont Morgan Library, Photo-
graphy: Joseph Zehavi, 2005
Measures 5354: In the clarinet part there were no slurs on the last
three 32nd notes and the piano part concurred.
Measures 6566: There were no slurs originally in either part,
but slurs had been added in pencil to the clarinet line of the
piano part!
In view of these inconsistencies and after careful consideration, I
have concluded that these phrases should be performed in a legato
manner whether or not they are slurred or articulated. There are no
short notes in this movement and the seamless espressivo quality
must be maintained regardless of the articulation method utilized.
The question then arises, should the articulation of these phrases be
consistent throughout the entire movement? This can only be
answered by each interpreter. In any case, when aiming for the cli-
mactic high C on the downbeat of measure 67, a powerful dramatic
effect can be achieved through the use of a subtle articulation of
these three notes in measures 65 and 66. (See Example 4, line 7,
mm. 23.)
Another interesting difference from the published editions was
noted at measures 4548. I am used to seeing (and quite happily I
might add!) four measures of rest here. In the clarinet part, there
were accompagnando notes written in each measure. (See Example
4, line 4, mm. 36.) These notes were subsequently scratched out
in the piano part. Perhaps Herr Mhlfeld asked the Meister for a
quick respite before retaking the melodic line at measure 49?
Page 72 THE CLARINET
Example 5: Brahms, Johannes, Sonata for Clarinet and Piano,
opus 120 no. 1 Clarinet Part, pg. 7; The Robert Owen Lehman
Collection on Deposit at The Pierpont Morgan Library, Photo-
graphy: Joseph Zehavi, 2005
Anomalies in Movement III
I noted a few interesting differences in movement III. What
appeared in my edition to be accents on the downbeats of measures
1516, should actually be diminuendi. (See Example 5, line 3, mm.
34.) In both the clarinet and piano parts, the movement was marked
Da Capo at measure 90 and returned to the beginning with a Fine
indicated at measure 46. The clarinet part indicated performance of
the Da Capo exactly as printed, mirroring the first time through. All
of the published editions I have seen have the Da Capo material
written out and include rests from measure 99 through the third
beat of 106, eliminating the clarinet line for eight measures. In the
piano part, Brahms removed the clarinet line from measures 916
on the Da Capo, which authenticates the published versions.
Anomalies in Movement IV
Most of this movement seemed to flow effortlessly off of Brahms
pen. It appeared that he wrote this movement with great ease until
reaching measure 183. From there until the end of the movement,
he appeared to struggle for a time with writing exactly what he
wanted. There were entire passages scratched out in blue pencil and
several revisions.
Here are the differences noted:
In measures 6061 the clarinet line was marked with a diminuendo.
This was changed in the piano part to reflect the fp of the
Example 6: Brahms, Johannes, Sonata for Clarinet and Piano,
opus 120 no. 1 Clarinet Part, pg. 11; The Robert Owen Leh-
man Collection on Deposit at The Pierpont Morgan Library,
Photography: Joseph Zehavi, 2005
published editions. There was no dot on the low B quarter note
at measure 112 in either part. The clarinet line was tacet in mea-
sures 135136 in the clarinet part.
Originally, from measures 184198, Brahms had restated the
main theme, exactly the same as from the last beat of measures
822. He preceded this with a one measure ascending arpeggio
at measure 183. (See Example 6, line 7, last m.) This was ulti-
mately scratched out in blue pencil with a pencil message to
himself (or perhaps his publisher) nach der partitur! This
translates to according to the score and clearly indicates that
the piano score holds the final revision of this passage. The revi-
sions in the piano part reflected the melodic material from the
published editions.
In measures 209210, the original long notes were Gs, just as in
measures 207208. (See Example 7, line 3.) These were changed
to Bs in the piano part. In measure 210, please observe the dif-
ferences in the melodic, rhythmic, and articulation structure
from the original to the final conception.
At measure 217, Brahms originally had the triplets on the third and
fourth beats going from low B to G above the staff. He later
added the low G and scratched out the G above the staff. (See
Example 7, last line.) Had he adhered to his original idea, this
passage would be much easier for clarinetists. For some reason
(perhaps the ghost of Brahms!), a superfluous G above the staff
often insists on appearing in this passage.
September 2006
Example 7: Brahms, Johannes, Sonata for Clarinet and Piano,
opus 120 no. 1 Clarinet Part, pg. 12; The Robert Owen
Lehman Collection on Deposit at The Pierpont Morgan Library,
Photography: Joseph Zehavi, 2005
One last thought is regarding the interpretation of measure 215.
Although not indicated, I include grace notes (EF ) after the trill,
as they are stylistically appropriate and add a spirited melodic flour-
ish to the triumphant close of the movement.
ABOUT THE WRITER
Mitchell Estrin is associate professor of clarinet at the Uni-
versity of Florida and Educational & Creative Development Mana-
ger for Buffet Crampon USA. Prior to his current appointments,
from 19791999 he performed in more than 2,000 concerts and on
19 international tours as a clarinetist with the New York Philhar-
monic. He continues to perform periodically as a guest artist with
the orchestra including several recent subscription series under
Music Director, Lorin Maazel. His discography includes over 100
recordings of solo, chamber, and orchestral music. During the past
25 years, he has recorded dozens of motion picture soundtracks,
including such recent releases as: The Alamo, Intolerable Cruelty,
The Score, The Rookie, and Youve Got Mail. Mr. Estrin received
his bachelors and masters degrees from The Juilliard School
where he studied with Stanley Drucker. He performs exclusively on
the Buffet R13 clarinet. As a Vandoren Performing Artist, he per-
forms on Vandoren reeds and mouthpieces.
Page 73

Kusti Aerila,
KAJANUSS CLARINETIST
by Paavo Helist
Kusti Aerila was the first Finnish wind
principal in the orchestra founded by Rob-
ert Kajanus, and he had the honor of play-
I
ing most of the clarinet solos in the pre-
mieres of the Sibelius symphonies.
n 1882 the young Finnish composer
and violinist Robert Kajanus, then
only 25 years of age, made an ambi-
tious dream come true: he founded a sym-
phony orchestra in Helsinki, at that time a
town of some 45,000 inhabitants. He was
forced to start almost from scratch. Having
spent five years studying in Leipzig and
Paris, he was in need of a job on his return
to Helsinki. The newly opened Music In-
stitute had no need of his services, so he
decided to keep himself employed as a
conductor. To do this, he needed an or-
chestra. With the support of a couple of
business patrons and personal financial
sacrifice, he succeeded in establishing a
society as backing for his orchestra. By the
end of a few hectic months he had engaged
the services of 36 musicians, most of them
foreigners and from Germany. There were
The Laitila brass band in 1891. Kusti Aerila with his E cornet on the right and
his teacher K.G. Tenln holding baton in the middle of the front row.
Page 74
at the time in Helsinki only a handful of
players fit for the job. Kajanus was able to
give his orchestras first concert on 3
October 1882. The closing item on the pro-
gram was, prophetically, Beethovens
Symphony No. 4 in C minor Beethoven
was to be Kajanuss idol throughout a ca-
reer lasting half a century.
Kajanus quickly became aware of the
acute shortage of Finnish orchestral musi-
cians. Three years later he therefore set up
a school primarily committed to training
professional Finnish players for his orches-
tra. Fifteen years later, one of the students
in this school, a clarinetist by the name of
Kusti Aerila, was to be the first wind-play-
ing Finn qualified to join the rank-and-file
and later the post of section leader in this
orchestra. Kajanus had been keeping such
a close watch on his development that
Aerila could quite justifiably consider him-
self Kajanuss clarinetist.
YOUNG MAN HEADS
FOR HELSINKI
Kusti Aerila was born at Laitila, in
Southwest Finland, about 60 km north of
THE CLARINET
Turku, in 1876. He was the son of a rela-
tively affluent farmer, and the home even
possessed a piano, a rarity at that time in a
Finnish country village. That he was mu-
sically gifted was already evident as a
schoolboy. In 1889 a brass band was formed
in Laitila and he was admitted as a lad of
12 to play the E cornet. As a boy he also
played the violin and piano. His teacher
was K.G. Tenln, leader of the band in
nearby Uusikaupunki, nowadays known as
the town where Bernhard Henrik Crusell,
the clarinetist-composer of international re-
nown, was born. Aerila also attended school
in the town for a year.
In 1893 Kusti and his teacher decided
that his future lay in music. If he were to
study it, he would have to move to Hel-
sinki, where there were two possible seats
of learning: the Helsinki Music Institute
and the orchestra school of the Philhar-
monic Society founded by Robert Kajanus.
The choice was a difficult one, but Aerila
finally came down in favor of the orchestra
school. As regards his future, this was a
wise decision, since the orchestra school
was the only one providing instruction in
instruments other than the violin, piano
and cello.
Initially, Aerila had thought to take the
violin as his main subject, but Kajanus per-
suaded him to change his plans. Since
there were too many violinists, and not
enough students of other orchestral instru-
ments, he suggested or rather chose
the clarinet as the instrument for Aerila.
For the first year Kusti also received tui-
tion in the violin alongside the clarinet.
His teacher was none other than Jean Si-
belius who, being a good friend of Robert
Kajanus, taught theory and the violin at
the orchestra school. The clarinet was
taught by the German Anton Modl, princi-
pal clarinettist in the Philharmonic Soci-
etys orchestra.
HARD WORK AND
POPULAR CONCERTS
The next six years were hard for Kusti
Aerila in many ways, struggling to make
ends meet and coming to terms with his
new instrument; he had been late nearly
17 when he first took up the clarinet.
His financial situation was slightly eased
by his extra job as percussionist in Kaja-
nuss orchestra, a job he had been offered
immediately after he entered the school.

The clarinet and bassoon sections of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra in the
193839 season. Aerila on the right end of the back row.
This gave him an opportunity to get to
know repertoire from the inside, as a mem-
ber of an orchestra, and in the process his
musical worldview expanded to take in
the basic Classical and Romantic works
chosen by Kajanus. Tchaikovsky, Grieg
and Svendsen were widely acclaimed at
the time and often featured on the pro-
gram; the two Norwegians were even per-
sonal friends of Kajanus. The orchestra
also regularly performed new works by
Sibelius. The Helsinki Philharmonic Soci-
etys was Sibeliuss own orchestra and
premiered most of his works. And Kaja-
nus was only too pleased to place it at his
friends disposal.
Making good progress in his lessons
with Anton Modl, Kusti Aerila was called
upon to play clarinet pieces typical of the
times at the orchestra schools public con-
certs. These included the Introduktion und
Polacca by Karl Reissiger, the Introduc-
tion and Fantasia from the opera Der Frei-
schtz by Carl Maria von Weber, the Con-
certino in E  major, also by Weber, and the
first movement of Mozarts clarinet quin-
tet. The reviews were very favorable; one
reckoned he would soon be playing in Ka-
januss orchestra, and this was indeed his
dearest wish. Kajanus also used him as the
soloist in the orchestras well-subscribed
popular concerts, the only opportunities for
a wind player to appear as a soloist with an
orchestra in Helsinki in those days. Not
until the 1920s did a clarinetist begin to
star as the soloist in symphony concerts. In
April 1899 Aerila performed two move-
ments from a Crusell clarinet concerto.
This was such a success that he jubilantly
wrote home to Laitila describing it:
Right now I am in such a satis-
fied mood that I simply must tell you
about it. For last Thursday I played
the solo in a Philharmonic Society
concert and it went better than I could
ever have hoped. The programme
for the concert was, incidentally, all
Finnish, my solo included. There
was quite a crush in the hall, perhaps
some 8001,000 people. The audi-
ence were so pleased with my play-
ing and clapped so hard and so long
that I had to play yet another piece.
A reception such as this is rare, es-
pecially for wind players. As you can
guess, that was a really special day
for me.
TO WRZBURG!
By September 1899, Kusti Aerila had
made such progress in his studies that it
was time to go abroad. Kajanus and Modl
were well acquainted with the German
conservatories and accordingly advised
him to try for Wrzburg in Bavaria. They
must also have known that the Royal Mu-
sic College in Wrzburg had a fine reputa-
tion and that it possessed the leading clar-
inet teacher in Germany, Robert Stark.
Born in 1847, Stark could look back over a
September 2006
brilliant virtuoso career; he had been the
clarinetist in the Chemnitz and Wiesbaden
orchestras and won a reputation for his
performance of the almost forgotten con-
certos of Louis Spohr. He had also ap-
peared with Brahmss clarinetist, Rich-
ard Mhlfeld. Starks extensive teaching
works have still not been entirely forgot-
ten, and nor have his three clarinet con-
certos, one of which Aerila played at a
concert at the Wrzburg Music College in
February 1900.
The relationship between Aerila and his
teacher was to prove warm and lasting
long after Kusti left the College. He per-
formed Starks concertos on his return to
Helsinki and the ranks of the Philharmonic
Society orchestra. His sojourn in Wrz-
burg ended suddenly in spring 1900 with a
letter from Kajanus saying that he was
planning an extensive European tour for
his orchestra culminating in two concerts
to be held at the world expo in Paris, and
asking Aerila to join the tour as second
clarinetist. The offer was so enticing that
Aerila could not refuse. He therefore re-
turned to Helsinki in May 1900 to attend
the two months of rehearsals preceding
the tour. He still had plans for returning to
Germany to resume his studies, but in fact
he never did. The tour marked the begin-
ning of a career lasting nearly 45 years
as Kajanuss clarinetist in the Philhar-
monic Society orchestra, later the Hel-
sinki Philharmonic.
Kusti Aerila in 1908
Page 75
THE KAJANUS ERA
45 ORCHESTRAL YEARS
The orchestra which 26-year-old Kusti
Aerila joined as first clarinetist in 1902 had
some 4550 players. About half the musi-
cians were still foreigners, mostly Ger-
mans, and Aerila was the first Finnish-born
leader of a wind section.
The only professional orchestra in Hel-
sinki, that of the Philharmonic Society,
was kept very busy. In addition to sympho-
ny concerts it gave some 5060 popular
concerts a year, accompanied theatre and
opera performances, played at galas and in
later years put on popular symphony and
student concerts. The musicians were, by
modern standards, grossly underpaid, and
their contracts initially covered only seven,
later eight months of the year. During the
summer months they had to survive as
best they could. It was therefore common
practice to sign on with some restaurant, A letter from
operetta or spa orchestra either in Finland Jean Sibelius
or a neighboring country. Thus for a cou- to Kusti Aerila.
ple of decades Aerila, too, had to seek
such temporary employment in ensembles
in St. Petersburg, the Baltic States, Swe-
den and Finland.

HOW DID AERILA SOUND?

Having completed his studies, Kusti
Aerila had to familiarize himself with a
vast amount of music. To begin with, this
was all completely new to him, since the
young musician in his day did not have the
opportunities for listening to music of his
colleagues nowadays. This was also an era
in which the Finnish wind player could not
possibly imagine ever being able to record
his performances. Even the Helsinki Phil-
harmonic did not make its first major re-
cordings until the 1930s, in conjunction
with a tour to England, when it recorded
the 4th and 6th symphonies of Sibelius in
London. Before that, it had only recorded
some small-scale works of national impor-
tance under Kajanus.
The only picture we can form of Aeri-
las playing is from the reviews of his per-
formances and his pupils reports. We also
know that both his main teachers were
German clarinetists, and that he played an
instrument of German type such as was
common in Finland until the 1940s50s.
His solo and chamber repertoire was most-
ly German, as were his musical ideals.
Typical of the German school was a
rounded sound free from vibrato, and such
was Kusti Aerilas. He is reputed to have
had an excellent technique and to have
been a versatile player, as reliable as a
rock. We may conjecture that he preferred
to be a little on the dry side but faithful to
the style of the piece. I would imagine that
hearing some of todays international virtu-
osos would have been a great trial to him!
MAN OF MANY TALENTS
Kusti Aerila began teaching right at the
start of the 20th century, first the clarinet
and piano, and privately. In 1907 he pub-
lished the first Finnish clarinet tutor, and
this has influenced clarinet playing in Fin-
land more than any other. It was founded on
the German Kleine theoretisch-praktische
Clarinettenschule by F.L. Schubert printed
in Leipzig around 1855. In his tutor in-
tended for self-taught amateurs Aerila drew
widely on the etudes and material provided
by F.L. Schubert, which he supplemented
with familiar Finnish folk-like melodies.
His instructions were mostly in line with
those of Schubert.
The Aerila tutor was a best-seller by
Finnish standards. Over the decades it ran
to 13,000 copies, the last of which were
sold as late as the 1980s. This tutor, and
Aerilas position as principal clarinetist in
the leading Finnish orchestra made him in
great demand as a teacher. In 1914 he was
appointed teacher of the clarinet at the
Helsinki Music Institute, later renamed the
Sibelius Academ a post from which he
did not retire until 1948. From 1926 on-
wards he also instructed Finnish military
band clarinetists on courses for band ca-
dets. Virtually all the professional Finnish
clarinetists and countless amateurs were
taught by him, and todays professionals
have as a rule benefited from the teaching
of his pupils.
The total number of Aerila pupils has
been estimated at around 250. Among the
most distinguished have been Matti Rajula,
Sven Lavela, Eero Linnala, Mauno Hir-
vonen and Paavo Lampinen all former
and highly acclaimed members of the Hel-
sinki Philharmonic or the Radio Sym -
phony Orchestra. Matti Rajula also made a
name for himself playing the clarinet and
saxophone in light music and jazz. We

Page 76 THE CLARINET

may thus look upon Kusti Aerila as the
grandfather of the Finnish clarinet school.
MUSIC COPYIST AND
UNION ACTIVIST
Aerila was kept so fully occupied as an
orchestral musician that chamber music
entered his repertoire only at a very late
date. One reason for this was the Finnish
practice of limiting concerts mainly to
chamber music for strings and piano until
well into the 20th century. Beethovens
Septet and E major Quintet, for example,
were not heard at Helsinki Music Institute
concerts until 1907, Franz Schuberts Oc-
tet not for another two years. Kusti Aerila
was the clarinetist at these performances.
In 1929 he and two of his orchestra col-
leagues gave the Finnish premiere of the
Trio for flute, clarinet and bassoon by
Erkki Melartin.
The Melartin Trio was to become fa-
miliar to Aerila in another way, too, when
the composer asked him to make clean
copies of the parts. Even as a young man
Aerila already had an enviably fair hand,
whether he was writing words or music,
and over the years he became in great
demand as a music copyist. Among those
who requested his services were Jean Si-
belius, Selim Palmgren and Leevi Made-
toja. All the letters from them to Kusti
Aerila have been preserved.
Regrettably, Sibelius did not date two
letters to Aerila written between 1910 and
1920. Aerila had on a previous occasion
Aerila sent a postcard from the Paris World Expo in 1900.
already helped with writing out the correc-
tions to the parts used for the premiere of
the fourth symphony in 1911. The last
work by Sibelius needing his clear hand
was the seventh symphony: Aerila wrote
out the orchestral parts immediately after
its premiere in 1924. During that same
year he also wrote out orchestral parts for
The Ostrobothnians by Leevi Madetoja,
since hailed as Finlands national opera.
Aerila was also needed to found the
Finnish Musicians Union. The players in
the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra,
among them Kusti Aerila, founded a union
in 1917. He, if anyone, was familiar with
the problems encountered by the orchestral
musician, not least of which were the mis-
erable remuneration and the vast amount
of work. The large number of foreign mu-
sicians working in Finland was also a mat-
ter for concern, though the ravages of the
First World War decimated the ranks of
those from Central Europe at least for a
few years to come. The next big change to
affect musicians was the breakthrough of
the sound film.
THE LAST ORCHESTRAL
YEARS
In 1931 Kusti Aerila transferred to sec-
ond clarinet. He was succeeded as princi-
pal by Cosimo Sgobba, an Italian who had
joined the orchestra in 1920. The reason
for Aerilas downgrade may have been
Kajanuss retirement in 1932 after a career
spanning 50 years. Kajanus died a year
September 2006
later, on July 6, 1933. His successor as
Chief Conductor of the Helsinki Phil -
harmonic Orchestra was another distin-
guished Finn, Georg Schnevoigt. Aerila
already knew Schnevoigt well, having
played in many of the Baltic summer or-
chestras conducted by him in the early
years of the century. Schnevoigt was a
virtuoso and made a great international
career, even though the members of his
orchestras were not always able to admire
him for his personal qualities.
The closing years of Schnevoigts
term were cut short by the Second World
War, which frequently interrupted the
workings of the orchestra. Schnevoigt
went abroad and there continued his inter-
national career. Kusti Aerilas long ser-
vice to the orchestra ended with his retire-
ment in 1943. He had first joined the or-
chestra as an extra in 1893 and had thus
spent nearly half a century in its ranks.
His rich life ended in 1954.
ABOUT THE WRITER
Paavo Helist is a journalist, author of
many books and former senior adminstra-
tor in the music department of the Finnish
Broadcasting Company (YLE). A biogra-
phy of Kusti Aerila, Aerila, Kajanuksen
klarinetisti by Paavo Helist was published
(in Finnish) by the Folk Music Institute in
July 2005.
[This article was first published in The
Finnish Music Quarterly in January of
2006 and is reprinted here with its kind
permission. Ed.]
Back Issues
of The Clarinet
Back-issue order forms for The Clarinet
may now be downloaded from the I.C.A.
Web site: <www.clarinet.org>. Copies
may also be requested by contacting:
James Gillespie
College of Music
University of North Texas
P.O. Box 311367
Denton, TX 76203-1367
E-mail: <jgillesp@music.unt.edu>
Page 77

Past Memory
JOSEP TALENS SEBASTIA
by Enrique Prez Piquer
I
An excellent person, a great clarinet-
ist, a magnificent teacher.
still remember that night. My teacher
at the very beginning, whose name
was Francisco Vidal, picked me up as
he did many times when we were going to
play with one of the numerous wind bands
there are in Valencia. I was a son for him.
That time we had a rehearsal in Villanova
de Castell with the Lira Castellonense
Band. Meanwhile we were waiting at the
casino musical1 before starting the re-
hearsal. Francisco Vidal told my father,
Look at that short man, bald and with
glasses sitting down there. I would like
your son to study with him. Yes, he is a
great clarinetist and will be a very good
teacher for him! So then they spoke with
him and I met him. I was only 12.
Mr. Jos Talens as I called him, or
Mr. Pepe or Mr. Talens as he was nick-
named in his village, had just retired from
his position as a clarinet soloist in the Mu-
nicipal Wind Band of Madrid. Despite be-
ing far from his village, his heart was still
close to his place of birth all his life. In or-
der to continue this, after his retirement
he gave lessons in Villanova to those who
Madrid Philharmonic Orchestra and Coral Vallisolentana, 1963
Page 78
wanted to learn the clarinet without re-
ceiving any money for it! Although I was
not born in Villanova, he made an excep-
tion for me. I often played with the wind
band of that village and he realized then
how interested I was in learning the clarinet.
Not only did I learn to play clarinet
from him, but also to love music, to be po-
lite, to be patient and how to teach and
enjoy pedagogy.
I remember him practicing the clarinet
when the students arrived at his home for
our lesson sometimes twice a week.
However, although we were children, he
quickly stood up to shake our hands as if
we were adults. When a new person came
into his room, we would stand up and do
the same. He always explained to us why
we should do that.
His methodology for teaching was rea-
sonable and effective: at the beginning of
the lesson we did the chromatic scale with
different articulations, and then played other
scales or arpeggios and mechanical stud-
ies. We had to play these exercises with
good sound, intonation, articulation, rhy-
thm and equal movement of fingers. What-
ever difficulty you had, he explained it to
you and provided a solution. Often he dem-
onstrated to us the right way of playing the
music. If you were tired, we would stop
THE CLARINET
playing and another pupil received his les-
son. When the round was finished, it start-
ed again with melodic studies or pieces.
After having lessons with him, you usually
went to the Conservatory to receive offi-
cial lessons, and your performances there
were great. You could feel confident with
yourself, not only technically but musi-
cally as well.
At that time students had only a few
options in becoming a professional musi-
cian. Most of his pupils were in the army
bands there were many years ago. Be-
sides teaching clarinet, he also served as an
advisor to other musicians, such as flutis-
tists, oboists or trumpet players who sought
his counsel.
Many of his former students hold im-
portant positions, such as mine in the Na-
cional Orchestra of Spain and a friend of
mine in the Barcelona Symphony Orches-
tra and Nacional of Catalunya. Others are
teaching in different conservatories or play
in municipal bands.
Mr. Talens was a very human person,
humble and extremely honest. When he
was teaching, you could not stop loving
him. He enjoyed teaching and you could
see it. I always thought despite his age
he died in his 80s he would be a young
man forever. He was a lively and enthusi-
astic person.
He told us about his many experiences
during his musical career, stories about the
musical life in Madrid and his colleagues
and the great Julin Menndez, with whom
he studied until he was 40. Mr. Talns was
an expert on playing the music of Menn-
dez, and asked him to perform every new
piece he composed.
JOSEP TALENS SEBASTI
He was born in Villanova de Castell
(Valencia, Spain) January 12, 1908. His
father was Josep Talens Lamata and his
mother Otilia Sebasti Pla. He was the old-
est of three brothers: Jos, Luis and Maria.
His grandfather was a sailor nicknamed el
barquere, 2 because he was an employee
on a small ship whose owner was the Duke
of Infantado. The ship had been made to
transport all kind of things between vil-
lages along the Jcar River. It was for that
reason that Josep Talens spent his child-
hood running up and down by the river-
side. One of the hobbies Jos practiced all
his life was fishing in the river.

Spanish Radio and Television Orchestra
His desire to become a musician came
from his father, who loved the village wind
band. Joseps brother, Luis, was a musi-
cian, too, and Jos said that Luis had more
skills in playing the clarinet than he did.
Unfortunately, Luis died in a tragic traffic
accident during his military service.
From the beginning Jos liked the clar-
inet. His first teachers were Jaime Fayos,
the conductor of the wind band of his vil-
lage, and Ramn Ramrez Carmelo. The inetist. The president of this ensemble was
bandmaster Fayos was an important person
in the village. He was a good musician and
teacher who raised the standard of the
wind band to win some of the most impor-
tant awards during that time. All the inhab-
itants of the village supported his work. He
was looking for children around the village
to offer them the opportunity of studying
music with him and playing in the wind
band. There is a famous painting saved
from a falla3 where we can see him fish-
ing children dressed as musicians from the
river! There is also a small sculpture in the
village which is dedicated to him to recog-
nize his enormous effort through all his life
to the wind band.
In Joseps words for an interview in
1966: When I was eight I started studying
music with the band master Fayos, who
supported me from the beginning. Not
only had I learned music but education for
my life. I will never forget what he did for
me. I did not have any hesitation in helping
him when he needed my modest help.
He moved to Madrid on October 23,
1927, when he was 19, to continue his
studies. He lived at Mayor Street, 32. Soon
afterwards, on November 3, he joined the
Engineers Band as a learning experience.
The conductor of this ensemble was a fa-
mous composer in Spain, Pascual Mar-
quina. At the same time he studied clarinet
with Julin Menndez, who was solo clar-
inet in the Madrid Philarmonic Orchestra
at the time and a member of the Municipal
Wind Band of Madrid. As Jos said, This
man showed a lot of interest in my musical
education, so I tried doing well.
In March of 1923, Jos got a job in the
Engineers Band. Five years later, as a re-
sult of his work with Menndez, he played
an excellent auditon with the Municipal
Wind Band of Madrid and won the posi-
tion. This was on December 28, 1928.
During the Civil War in Spain, he moved
to Valencia and was the soloist of the Pop-
ular School of War in Paterna (Valencia).
On May 11, 1940, he was married to
Mercedes Martn Prez. They had a daugh-
ter named Maria Luisa who was like her
father very responsible, enthusiastic,
honest, and an art lover but she did not
inherit his musical gifts.
Around 19401941(?), Jos joined the
Madrid Philarmonic Orchestra, conducted
by Bartolom Prez Casas, as the solo clar-
him. Curiously, he had an American stu-
the Duke of Alba, and Jos was chosen the
first vice-president. Other principal con-
ductors of this orchestra were Pablo Soro-
zbal and Odn Alonso. This orchestra
recorded various concerts for Televisin
Espaola, took part in the most important
festivals in Spain, played at the main halls
of Madrid (Cine Monumental, Teatro Es-
paol, Teatro Caldern, Teatro Madrid,
etc.) and toured in Germany.
After Julin Menndez gave up the
chair of solo clarinet in the Municipal Wind
Band of Madrid, Jos became the new
soloist, a position he held until his retire-
ment. He was very proud of it because this
chair had been previously occupied by Mi-
guel Yuste, Julin Menndez and Jos Cif-
uentes. The conductors of that ensemble
during that time were Armbarri, Echevar-
ra and Rodrguez de Santiago.
In 1955 he founded the Madrid Wind
Quintet. The flutist was Juan G. Azcorda-
beitia; the oboist Jos Vay; the bassoonist
Manuel Alonso and the horn player Mar-
celo Snchez. This ensemble played in
September 2006
many halls and premiered pieces by Eche-
varra, Muoz Molleda and Manuel Cas-
tillo. They made a recording for Televisin
Espaola on a program about Mozart.
Other composers works they played were
by Paul Hindemith, Henri Tomasi and Jo-
seph Haydn.
On September 17, 1964, Jos received a
letter from the famous Spanish composer
Cristbal Halffter. It stated that Jos had
been chosen as a member of the jury for
the auditions for the Radio Televisin
Spanish Orchestra. The panel was com-
posed of the composer Oscar Espl and
other important personalities of the Span-
ish musical world. The winners of the clari-
net positions were, Maximo Muoz (solo-
ist), Jos Vadillo (second) and Vicente La-
fuente (bass clarinet).
During the military service of Jos Va-
dillo, Jos Talens took his place. After
that, Jos was used sometimes as a B
clarinet and E clarinet player. The great
conductor Igor Markevitchs autograph to
him read, For my beloved Josep Talens.
Christmas 1968.
Jos was a man full of vitality and in
love with life, nature, the sun, the sea, and
he liked football very much (an enthusias-
tic fan of Real Madrid). I do not know if
he had students in Madrid, but I know he
gave advice to many people who asked
dent named Susana Dickenson, who after
listening to him in a concert, asked him
for a lesson because, as she said, You are
the best clarinetist in the world. She
played at the time in an orchestra in Fres-
no, California.
The Madrid Wind Quintet
Page 79
 On June 17, 1973, he retired from his
position in Madrid in the Municipal Wind
Band. In his last concert he played the
Larghetto from Mozarts Clarinet Quintet.
He was honored by his colleagues on June
7 with a delicious meal.
On the First National Day of Retire-
ment he performed the Adagio from Mo-
zarts Clarinet Concerto with the Young
Wind Band from his village.
After his retirement he began a new
time in his life, enjoying walking and fish-
ing along the Jcar River, talking with his
friends at the Garridos Bar and overall
Page 80
teaching all his human, artistic and profes-
sional experiences to children.
END NOTES
1
There is a street dedicated to him in his
home town to recognize all his personal
merits as a musician and as a man. He
2
passed away on November 2, 1988, at the
3
age of 80.
I think Josep Talens has been one of the
great clarinetists of Spain. Despite the dif-
ficulties for playing music when he lived,
he never faltered in his love for music, and
his talent, modesty, humility and work de-
serve to be known throughout in the world.
THE CLARINET
The place where wind band musicians meet to talk,
have a beer or play table games. This is very popu-
lar in any wind band in Valencia.
A person who steers a small ship.
A popular monument in Valencia made from paper,
wood and plastic that is burned as a celebration at
the beginning of spring. Its origin is from a tradition
of carpenters who burned their old materials in the
spring. It is a big party.
ELECTRONIC PHOTO SUBMISSIONS
FOR THE CLARINET
When scanning photos or setting your digital
camera to create electronic images for use in the
magazine, resolution is a very important consid-
eration. For high-resolution printing, each photo
must include at least 300 pixels per inch (ppi) at
the approximate dimensions anticipated for use.
To clarify, photos intended for reproduction at the
one-column width should be at least 2.25" wide
and include at least 300 ppi, while photos intend-
ed for reproduction at the two-column width
should be at least 5" wide and include at least
300 ppi. Photos with inappropriate resolution set-
tings may have to be rejected because they will
reproduce too poorly to use, or they may have
to be used at a size smaller than anticipated in
order to maintain their quality.
INTERNATIONAL CLARINET ASSOCIATION
2007 YOUNG ARTIST COMPETITION
Eligibility: The competition is open to all clarinetists who shall not have reached the age of 27 by January 1, 2008 and are not
currently under major artist management.
Application: Send materials postmarked no later than Monday, April 9, 2007 to:
Gary Whitman, School of Music, Texas Christian University,
P.O. Box 297500, Ed Landreth Hall, Fort Worth, TX 76129
(817) 257-6622 (office), (817) 257-7640 (fax), E-mail: <G.Whitman@tcu.edu>

CONTEST RULES
1. Application fee: $50 U.S. All applicants must be members of the I.C.A., and must provide proof of membership. Non-
members wishing to apply may join the I.C.A. by including the appropriate membership fee with their contest appli-
cation fee. Make amount payable to the I.C.A. in U.S. currency by bank check, money order, or credit card only. Other forms
of payment may be made only with prior arrangement and consent of the Executive Director. Please direct questions about
payment to the Executive Director prior to sending your materials. The application fee is non-refundable.
2. Recording instructions: Please provide a high quality recording on compact disk (CD-R) containing the following repertoire
in the exact order listed. Repertoire must be recorded with accompaniment when appropriate. Any published edition is
acceptable. Each selection/movement should be ID coded as tracks. Audiocassettes will not be accepted. Please be aware that
the quality of the recording will influence the judges. Recordings should not be edited and only continuous performances of
entire works or movements are allowed.

Gioacchino Rossini, Introduction, Theme, and Variations (do not play repeats)
Vincent Persichetti, Parable XIII for solo clarinet, Op. 126
Charles Marie Widor, Introduction & Rondo, Op. 72

3. A photocopy of the contestants drivers license, passport or birth certificate as proof of age.
4. Both the private teacher, if any, and the contestant attest in a separate written and signed statement that the recording is the
playing of the contestant and has not been edited.
5. A summer address, telephone number and e-mail address (all if possible) should be provided. Email is the preferred
means of communication.
Please note that no application form is required.

JUDGING
Judging of recordings will be conducted with no knowledge of the contestant. Do not include any identification on the CD-R
or box. There should be no speaking on the recording such as announcing of compositions.
Preliminary judging will be by taped audition. Semi-finalists will be chosen by committee. Notification will be sent by
Monday, May 14, 2007. Semi-final and final rounds will be held at the ClarinetFest 2007, to be held in Vancouver, British
Columbia, Canada, July 4-8, 2007. Semi-finalist will receive registration waiver for ClarinetFest 2007. Repertoire will consist

of the works listed above. Memorization for the semi-final and final rounds of competition is not required.

Past first-prize winners are not eligible to compete. All contestants will accept the decision of the judges as final. The I.C.A.
will provide a pianist for all finalists. All finalists will receive free registration at ClarinetFest 2007. Travel and other expenses
will be the responsibility of the contestant.

All recordings will become the property of the I.C.A. and will not be returned.

PRIZES
First Prize $2,000 U.S. Second Prize $1,500 U.S. Third Prize $1,000 U.S.
The I.C.A. assumes no tax liability that competition winners may incur through receiving prize money. Individuals are
responsible for investigating applicable tax laws and reporting prize winnings to requisite government agencies.

September 2006 Page 81

N
ew Orleans jazz legend Pete Foun-
tain received an honorary Doctor
of Music degree from Loyola Uni-
Pete Fountain Receives Honorary Degree
versity in New Orleans, Louisiana, at the
College of Music, College of Business Ad-
ministration, and City College Commence-
ment Ceremony on April 29, 2006. James
Carville, political consultant and analyst,
gave the commencement remarks.
Here is the citation read at the ceremony:
Born in 1930, Peter Pete Dewey Foun-
tain, Jr., has a strong claim to the title of
Mr. New Orleans. In his 67 years of
playing the clarinet, he and his wife lived
outside the state of Louisiana for only two
years when Mr. Fountain played on The
Lawrence Welk Show in California. The
Fountains and their three young children
were homesick and returned to New Or-
leans where Pete owned and headlined at
jazz clubs for more than 40 years. Still an
ambassador for New Orleans jazz, Pete
Fountain continues to play professionally
in his seventh decade. He also continues to
be active in the Half Fast Walking Club, a
Mardi Gras club he has led since 1963.
Pete Fountain got an unusual start for
a musician. Because he had weak lungs, it
was recommended that he play the clar-
inet. Taking up the instrument at the age of
nine, Pete was playing with professional
bands by age 15. Early stints included per-
forming with the Junior Dixieland Band
and Phil Zitos International Dixieland Ex-
press. In these bands the clarinetist honed a
style that was primarily influenced by Ben-
ny Goodman and a local clarinetist, Irving
Fazola. Mr. Fazola, who played with Bob
Crosbys Bobcats, had the fat sound that
is the hallmark of Pete Fountains own The Reverend Kevin Wm. Wildes, S.J., Ph.D., President of Loyola University, and Dr.
style, which he calls swinging Dixie. He Pete Fountain
went on to play with some of the best bands
in the world, including The Basin Street several major motion pictures. Although a bronze statue in New Orleans Musical
Six, the Dukes of Dixieland, and the band he prefers to play before a live audience, Legends Park.
led by New Orleans trumpeter Al Hirt. he has been recorded on approximately Mr. Fountains prestigious career has
Along with three gold albums and a 100 albums. Among the many honors he not overshadowed his commitment to his
gold record for his recording of Just a has received are a Doctorate of Music from family or his civic and charitable contri-
Closer Walk with Thee, Pete Fountain the College of Santa Fe and an Emmy for butions. He has been married to Beverly
gave command performances at the White his 1990 Super Bowl pre-game show. He Lang Fountain for more than fifty years.
House for Presidents Nixon, Reagan, and was voted #1 Jazz Clarinetist for 13 con- Their two sons and son-in-law have been
George H.W. Bush; played for Pope John secutive years in the Playboy Magazine an integral part of the business side of his
Paul II during the 1987 Papal visit to New readers poll. His many local honors in- career. A major figure in the Mardi Gras
Orleans; and performed at Carnegie Hall. clude the Mayors Medal of Honor (1996), celebration, Pete Fountain has served as
Over his long career, Pete Fountain has Lifetime Achievement Awards from the king of the Krewe of Bacchus, received
achieved many benchmarks. He appeared Art Council of New Orleans (2000) and the Golden Flambeau Award for lifetime
on the Johnny Carson Show 59 times, as Offbeat Magazine (2002), induction into achievement in the world of Carnival, and
well as the Ed Sullivan, Bob Hope, and the Hilton Hotels Walk of Fame, and the the Big Easy Entertainment Lifetime
Andy Williams television programs, and in placement of his likeness in the form of Achievement Award. Mr. Fountain has

Page 82 THE CLARINET

contributed the introduction to two books
on New Orleans life. He has been playing
for and supporting the Christian Brothers
for almost 40 years and was honored by
Associated Catholic Charities.
A consummate artist who has achieved
fame and recognition, Mr. Fountain is none-
theless an engaging individual known for
his positive attitude and humility. His per-
sonal character has been strongly tested
this year when he became one of the vic-
tims of Hurricane Katrina. He lost his home
and gold records and missed Mardi Gras
for the first time in 46 years. But Pete Foun-
tains continued fortitude is an example of
New Orleans culture and spirit.
For sharing his musical gift; for his
ambassadorship on behalf of New Or -
leans; for his many civic and cultural con-
tributions; and for his exemplary family
life, The Board of Trustees and the Facul-
ties of Loyola University New Orleans pre-
sent with the degree of Doctor of Music,
Honoris Causa.
[With appreciation to Elizabeth Dal-
feres, Loyola University, Office of Public
Affairs. Ed]

September 2006 Page 83

MUSIC REVIEWS
by Michle Gingras
Conradin Kreutzer Variations for Clari-
net and Orchestra, Op. 36 for clarinet
and piano, edited by John Newhill. Breit-
kopf & Hrtel. 2003. Duration: approx.
seven minutes.
Kreutzer (17801849) was a prolific
composer who was mostly known for his
operas and songs. His clarinet works in-
clude two sets of variations with orchestra
and two other sets with piano accompani-
ment. Variations, Op. 36 was composed
circa 1822 for clarinet and orchestra. John
Newhill published this version with piano
in 2003.
Reminiscent of Rossinis Introduction,
Theme and Variations except easier tech-
nically and somewhat shorter in duration,
the Kreutzer Variations is a terrific little
piece, and a perfect choice for intermediate
to advanced students who wish to study
and perform a work in the operatic style. It
contains a short introduction followed by a
theme with four variations, the third one
being slow as is customary. The variations
are clever and fun to play, with the typical
showcase ending, only simpler technically.
The edition is beautiful and clear as ex-
pected from any Breitkopf & Hrtel publi-
cation. I recommend it wholeheartedly for
students and professionals alike.
Roberta Sierra Tema y Variaciones for
clarinet and piano. Subito Music Pub-
lishing. 2003, $18.95. Duration: seven
minutes.
Born in Puerto Rico in 1953, Roberto
Sierra wrote numerous commissions for
major American orchestras as well as en-
sembles in Europe. He studied at the Con-
servatory and the University of Puerto Rico,
and later studied at the Royal College of
Music, the University of London, the Insti-
tute for Sonology in the Netherlands, and
at the Hochschule fr Musik in Hamburg
under Gyrgy Ligeti. Roberto Sierra is cur-
rently the Old Dominion Foundation Pro-
fessor of Composition at Cornell University.
Composed in 19992000, Tema y Vari-
aciones is a lively and intriguing work
written in Latino or Spanish style, with
extremely complex mixed-meter rhythms.
It is a professional-level work with techni-
Page 84
cal and ensemble challenges in every bar.
For example, there are many passages re-
quiring technical velocity, some pages are
filled with trills and rapid grace notes, and
the first 10 bars include the following
meters: 10/16, 13/16, 11/16, 7/16, 8/16,
11/16, 10/16, 10/16, 5/8, and 4/8. An ex-
cellent pianist is mandatory.
Without a doubt, previous experience
with Latin rhythms is imperative in order
to fully convey its intended style. The work
is relatively short but needs many hours of
preparation and maturing before blooming
on stage. I have not performed the work,
but I venture to say that the hours spent
working on this piece would be well worth
the effort and yield a spectacular end result.
Subito Musics engraving is top notch, and
the score is clear and attractive.
Ezra Laderman Quintet for Clarinet and
String Quartet. G. Schirmer. 1987, First
printing: 1993. Duration: 23 minutes.
Born in 1924, Ezra Ladermans compo-
sitions range from solo instrumental and
vocal works to large-scale choral and or-
chestral music. His 11 string quartets and
his concertos for piano, violin, viola, cello,
flute, string quartet, and double winds are
notable contributions to the repertory.
Laderman was apparently inspired by
Brahms and envisioned this as a composi-
tion for quintet rather than for clarinet with
string accompaniment. The emphasis on
melody rather than virtuosity make ensem-
ble blending paramount. The work was
premired by James Campbell and the Au-
dubon Quartet at Merkin Concert Hall in
New York City in 1987.
The quintet (for A clarinet) is in four
movements and is relatively traditional
with tonal mixed with dissonant harmon-
ies. It starts with a short Andantino, fol-
lowed by various sections at increasing
THE CLARINET
tempi, with a march-like section and slow
ending. The first movement has an Andan-
tino introduction and an Allegro con brio
main section, with the initial theme return-
ing later in the movement and at the end of
the piece. Some very interesting rhythms
include many syncopations within a 5/4 in
Allegro con brio.
The second movement again opens
with a slow section, followed by a faster
section. The third movement, Presto, is for
the most part light and airy with rapid piz-
zicato and staccato exchanges between the
strings and clarinet. The last movement,
Allegro spirito, concludes with all parts
playing the same triplet rhythm with a high
spirit ending.
The score is included, and the parts are
very attractive and on high quality paper,
as to be expected with Schirmer.
Ruben Greenberg Melodic Finger Twist-
ers for Clarinet + Tips on Technique.
Hunt Edition, 2004.
Clarinetist and teacher Ruben Green-
berg wrote his Finger Twisters to comple-
ment some of our main etude repertoire in-
cluding books by Jeanjean and Kroepsch,
but with a lighthearted and fun approach.
He adds a short commentary at the end of
each exercise, including notes on psycho-
logical factors involved in technique. Even
the cover is light-hearted with a drawing of
an octopus holding a clarinet and sheets of
music in its tentacles.
The style of Greenburgs teaching is
somewhat represented in his Foreword. He
writes: Mechanical exercises are very
useful because they are a condensation of
the difficulties we have simply in getting
from one note to the other. Playing any in-
strument is a labour fit for a contortionist.
Our fingers are called upon to do all sorts
of awkward unnatural things. The only
trouble is that the usual exercises useful
though they certainly are are as sterile
as they are painful. We practise them with
the puritanical idea that we must take our
medicine beaten into us by our stern, disci-
plinarian teachers. The danger in this is
that it insidiously cultivates the idea that on
the one hand there is technique and on the
other hand, music and seldom do the twain
meet. Yet there is nothing more counter-
productive and unmusical than drudgery.
Although I find his technical exercises
quite useful and well composed, I am less
convinced about the pedagogical style of
his writing. Many tips are helpful, and the
short exercises provide good training to
improve technical issues. Exercise titles
such as Acid Indigestion, Urban Stress,
and the Fright of the Bumbled Bee in-
deed show good humor, but at the same
time, they fail to clearly explain the specif-
ic goal of each exercise, except perhaps a
few like Bumbled Bee (chromatic pas-
sages), Poule Inc Polka (dotted rhythms)
and Mingus Dynasty (quintuplets).
Although Greenburgs comments in his
Foreword obviously show he wants to step
away from old-school teaching, his peda-
gogical approach still seems dated or old-
school in itself, with notes such as: If you
want to pass an audition to get into a top
music school or orchestra, your technique
will have to be well-nigh impeccable. Of
course, if they have any sense, this is not
the only thing they will judge you on. Al-
though there is obvious truth to this state-
ment, to me there is much to be said about
positive and reinforcing rhetoric, rather
than tainting pedagogy with negativity,
which is getting less and less popular with
teachers today.
Moreover, some pedagogical statements
are rather limited and hardly innovative
like Always play melodically. Make a mel-
odic statement. Avoid sounding mechani-
cal, and Be expressive and creative.
Other, more helpful and detailed sugges-
tions include: When you are confronted
with repeated patterns, your fingers or
mind tire and you may lose the figure.
The secret is to relax your mind, your fin-
gers and your whole body during the long
values. It is like repeating the phrase toy
boat twenty times; after a few times, your
tongue gets sluggish and the words end up
becoming unpronounceable, and Con-
centrate more on blowing and singing than
on fingering. The fingers dont produce the
sound; the breath does.
Finally, although I appreciate the au-
thors good humor and fun approach, I
wonder if he is accurately targeting his
intended audience of intermediate and ad-
vanced players with titles such as Dance
of the Little Green Men and Crawly
Crea tures, which might please much
younger audiences instead. A well-done
clarinet duet arranged by Xavier Bodart
with material from Cosi fan tutte is en-
closed at the end.
Eva Wasserman-Margolis Generation of
Hope for A clarinet and String Orches-
tra. Israel Brass Woodwind Publica-
tions (OR-TAV). 1995 and 2000. Score
only, contact publisher for parts. Dura-
tion: approx. five minutes.
Born on the island of Key West, Flor-
ida, Eva Wasserman-Margolis earned her
Masters Degree in 1980 at the University
of Illinois, and later on she won the princi-
pal clarinet position with the Haifa Sym-
phony Orchestra in Israel. In 1998, she
founded Trio Resonance (clarinet, cello
and piano), a performing group dedicated
to performances of lesser-known works for
small audiences.
Currently serving as the principal in-
structor at the Givatayim Conservatory and
Petach Tikva, and former principal in-
structor at the Music Center in Tel Aviv,
Eva Wasserman-Margolis initiated and or-
ganized the first Israeli International Clari-
net Festival in 1998. She serves as the Na-
tional Chairperson for the International
Clarinet Association in Israel, and was the
first clarinetist to represent Israel, at the
1999 ClarinetFest in Belgium
OR-TAV Music Publications published
her music and books: Learning Clarinet
the Artistic Way, the first clarinet method
to be published in Hebrew, and Time for
Tone, published in five languages, as well
as her works for solo clarinet, The Genera-
tion Of Hope and Ode to Odessa.
Originally for solo clarinet and required
for a number of clarinet competitions, The
Generation Of Hope by Eva Wasserman-
Margolis was arranged for A clarinet and
string orchestra by Ukraine conductor and
composer Anatoly Davidenko. The piece
is based on an old Chassidic tune Am Yis-
roel Chai (The people of Israel live). It starts
with an austere Adagio doloroso opening,
followed by a Vivace 6/8 dance in the Phry-
gian mode, which gives Eastern European
music its characteristic flavor. The strings
energetic accompaniment is made up of
accented rhythms and interjecting phrases.
The work concludes with the opening state-
ment, dying away, illustrating the mourn-
ful result of the sad event that inspired the
work. Indeed, Generation of Hope is ded-
icated to the 22 victims of the suicide
bombing of the No. 5 bus line in Tel Aviv
on October 19, 1994.
Incidentally, Eva Wasserman-Margolis
recorded a wonderful CD of clarinet duets
September 2006
with piano with well-known Italian clar-
inetist Luigi Magistrelli, also available at
OR-TAV
Joel Rubin, editor. Mazltov! Jewish-Am-
erican Wedding Music for Clarinet (in
English and German). Schott.
Joel Rubin needs no introduction in the
world of klezmer. A very well respected
scholar, performer, producer, teacher and
writer, Rubin performs with the interna-
tionally acclaimed Joel Rubin Jewish Mu-
sic Ensemble, a seven-piece orchestra dedi-
cated to Jewish instrumental klezmer music.
Mazltov! is a wonderful collection of
Jewish-American wedding music from the
repertoire of legendary klezmer clarinetist
Dave Tarras for clarinet (B or C) or other
melodic instruments.
Klezmer, dating back as far as the 16th
century, is the traditional instrumental mu-
sic for weddings and celebrations of the
Yiddish-speaking Ashkenazim Jewish
people of Eastern Europe. The book in-
cludes 16 titles, recorded by Rubin on the
CD Zeydes un Eniklekh (Grandfathers
and Grandsons) (Wergo SM 1610-2). The
clarinet part supplies chords for accompa-
nying instruments. A detailed introductory
20-page text provides information (in Eng-
lish and German) and photos on the history
of American Klezmer and Dave Tarras,
klezmer modes (with musical examples),
notes on ensemble and instrumentation
(with many musical examples to illustrate
various rhythm figures and harmoniza-
tion), ornamentation, and very detailed in-
formation on each piece. Rubin also in-
cludes a very useful Selected Bibliography
and a Discography.
The album contains 16 klezmer pieces
with chord symbols (in the same key as the
clarinet part): No Name Sirba, Mayn
Eynikl (My Grandson), Baym Zeydns Tish
(At Grandfathers Table), South Fallsburg,
Kale Bazetsn (Seating the Bride), Buko-
viner Freylekhs, Freylekher Sher, Doina,
Baym Shotser Rebn (At the Rebbes from
Suceava), Freylekher Nushiele, Hora and
Sirba, Seymours Bar Mitzvah, A Khasene
in Shtetl (A Wedding in Town), Lebedik un
Freylekh (Lively and Merry), Brownies
Khasene (Brownies Wedding), Rumeni-
sher Freylekhs.
Rubin annotated the music with mor-
dents, trills, and ornaments, making it eas-
ier for klezmer novices to grasp the folk
Page 85
style and perform it in a more convincing
way. Although the pieces may be per-
formed with ad hoc accompaniment, it
would be helpful if the chord symbols
would accommodate accompanying pi-
anists or guitarists. In the book, the
chords are in the same key as the clarinet
part, which is perfect if the performer
plays on a C clarinet, however, B clar-
inetists probably would have to transpose
if the other instruments were to use the
written chords. This should not be a prob-
lem though because klezmer clarinetists
eventually need to master the art of trans-
position. Better yet, a written out piano or
guitar part would undoubtedly be helpful
for novice klezmorim.
Rubin does include several pages of
clear explanations on how to play accom-
paniment drum rhythms and bass lines.
This book is an excellent source for
the clarinetist who is learning how to
phrase and ornament a klezmer piece.
Naturally, it would be ideal for the player
to listen to recordings by Rubin and Tar-
ras (<jewishmusic.com>) in order to study
the pieces along with the score before
attempting the first reading. The parts are
extremely well done and clearly engraved,
with superior paper quality, as is always
the case with Schott.
I wholeheartedly recommend this (or
any) book by Joel Rubin. Rubin obvious-
ly loves what he does, and his expertise in
klezmer is evident. One can only hope to
see more from him in the coming years.
In my opinion, this is the best and most
de tailed book on the market for clari -
netists wishing to learn about specific
clarinet klezmer ornamentation, style, and
performance practice. I just have to say it:
Mazltov!
Otto Henry Three Serial Duets for flute
and clarinet. Media Press, Inc. 2004,
$12.00. Duration: 10 minutes.
M. Wiliam Karlins Just A Line From
Chameleon for two clarinets. Media
Press, Inc. 2004. $9.75.
These two duets are published by Me-
dia Press, a publishing company specializ-
ing in contemporary music since 1969.
Born in Reno, Nevada in 1933, Otto
Henry received two degrees from Boston
University where he studied music compo-
sition with Hugo Norden and Gardner Read.
He earned his Ph.D at Tulane University.
Page 86
He taught at Washington and Jefferson
College in Washington, PA, where he
chaired the music department and built his
own electronic music studio. In 1968 he
joined the faculty of the School of Music at
East Carolina University where he taught
composition, history and ethnomusicology
for 30 years until his retirement in 1998.
Three Serial Duets is about 10 minutes
in duration. Written in the early 1960s, it
borrows elements from the 12-tone serial
technique of Schoenberg, Berg and We-
bern. The composer explains in his notes
that the duet is comprised of a hexachor-
dicrow (the second 6 notes were a mirror
inversion of the first, which eliminated two
of the four traditional forms of the row and
produced only 24 transposed rows.
This description hints at how academic
the duet actually sounds, and it is my opin-
ion that audiences might find it a little out-
dated and dry compared to contemporary
chamber music repertoire performed to-
day. The score does not include contact in-
formation, however I did find Media Press
address and Web site in the cover of the
following duet called Just A Line From
Chameleon for two clarinets by M. Wil-
liam Karlins.
M. William Karlins was born in New
York City in 1932. He earned a B.M. and
M.M. from the Manhattan School of Mu-
sic, and a Ph.D. from the University of
lowa in 1965. Among his principal teach-
ers were Frederick Piket, Philip Bezanson,
Richard Hervig, Stefan Wolpe and Vittorio
Giannini. He joined the faculty of North-
western University in Evanston, IL in 1967.
He composed a large number of works in
various styles, including orchestral, cham-
ber, solo and choral pieces.
Just A Line From Chameleon was writ-
ten for Richard Nunemaker who is well-
known for his impressive endeavors with
jazz and new music. The first movement is
unusual in that both clarinets do not play
together during the first three pages (they
trade phrases back and forth). Following
the three pages, both clarinets intertwine
their quasi-similar parts almost one beat
apart, so it is challenging and fun to per-
form with accurate rhythm. However, I
must say that performers will probably get
more out of the music than the audience
itself, except for the next-to-last page that
includes a more complex section. The duet
ends slowly and softly. Two books with
both clarinet lines are included, making it
THE CLARINET
both practical and easier to perform on
stage facing each other.
This piece is challenging to pull off on
a stage unless both performers are ex-
tremely mature and advanced musically,
with an understanding of how to convinc-
ingly convey a message with only two
clarinets playing atonal music LIVE. Re-
commended for adventurous performers.
Guy Lacour Moments partags pour deux
clarinettes. Editions Grard Billaudot
(U.S. agent Theodore Presser). 2003,
$17.95. Duration: 9' 30"
Born in 1932, French composer Guy
Lacour is mostly known for his saxophone
etude books and quartets. He studied saxo-
phone at the Paris Conservatory and was
awarded the Premier Prix in 1952. In 1961,
he became a member of Marcel Mules
acclaimed saxophone quartet and later
played tenor saxophone in the Nouveau
Quatuor de Saxophones de Paris.
Moments partags for two clarinets is
in two movements, Moderato cantabile
and Allegro ma non troppo. Although the
duet is pleasant to play, the two musical
lines do not seem to specifically grasp the
clarinet duet idiom per se. The first move-
ment is melodically uneventful and the
second movement picks up in terms of
tech nique without really grabbing the
players and making the duet genre shine
through. The book contains both clarinet
lines on each page. At $17.95, I would
pass and move on to the next piece in this
list, which truly addresses the joys and
challenges of duet performance practice.
Allan Blank A Melodic Tour for Two
Clar inets. International Opus, Inc.
1998, $19.00. Duration: 24 minutes.
International Opus is dedicated to musi-
cal diversity and publishes an array of
works from all over the world, including
many works by well-known clarinetist-
composer Paquito DRivera.
Allan Blank was born in New York in
1925. He attended The Juilliard School of
Music (19451947), Washington Square
College (BA, 1948), University of Minne-
sota (MA, 1950) and the University of
Iowa. He was a violinist with the Pitts-
burgh Symphony Orchestra (19501952)
and is a Professor Emeritus at Virginia
Commonwealth University, where he
taught from 19781996. He composed
more than 70 works.
A Melodic Tour for Two Clarinets is a
lovely collection of 19 duos from various
countries, including American, Asian,
Caribbean, English, French, Greek, Irish,
Italian, Jewish and Welsh folk music.
They are well suited for both students and
professionals, and each movement em-
braces each countrys characteristic musi-
cal flavors.
Like a box filled with a wonderful
assortment of chocolates, this piece con-
tains delicious little pieces that are not only
a joy to play, but delightful for audiences
as well. The different countries represented
in the book offer just the right assortment
and combination of movements to present
as an entire piece, or as a pick and
choose shorter rendition.
Two books with both clarinet lines are
included, making it both practical and easi-
er to perform on stage facing each other.
There are two misprints in the second clar-
inet part, where two low Ds (four ledger
lines below the staff) should be low Es
instead. The writing is clever, fun, and
beautifully done. I would eagerly put this
piece on a recital program any day.
CD REVIEWS
by Gregory Barrett
Lieder. Karl Leister, clarinet; Letizia
Scherrer, soprano; Ferenc Bognr, pi-
ano; and assisting artists. Spohr: Sechs
Deutsche Lieder, Op. 103; Beethoven:
Adelaide, Op. 46 (arr. I. Mller);
Kalliwoda: Heimathlied, Op. 117;
Mendelssohn: Romanze, Op. 8, No. 10,
and Lieder ohne Worte, Nos. 2, 3, 5,
and 8 (arr. T. King and A. Frank);
Schubert: Romanze der Helene from
Die Verschworenen, D. 787 (arr. R.
Fontaine) and Sechs Lieder (arr. C.
Baermann); Kreutzer: Das Mhlrad;
von Weber: Duetto Se il mio ben, cor
mio tu sei. CAMERATA CMCD
28081. Total time 70:27. (Web site:
<camerata.co.jp>)
The clarinet is the vehicle for this gentle
CD journey back to the first half of the
19th century. Before Strauss and Mahler
revolutionized the course of music making,
Lieder, intimate miniatures for voice and
piano, figured prominently in the catalogs
of many leading composers. Occasionally
an obbligato instrument would be added to
work in dialogue with the singer as in the
Spohr, Kalliwoda, Kreutzer, and one of the
Schubert works recorded here. The prac-
tice of the clarinet replacing the voice
began even earlier in 18th century har-
monie wind ensemble arrangements from
opera scores. John A. Phillips provides this
fact in his concise yet informative CD
booklet notes. In the early 19th century,
clarinet virtuosi extended this practice,
making arrangements of solo works for
clarinet and piano. Clarinetist Ivan Mller
expanded Beethovens Adelaide with ca-
denza passages and elaboration of the mel-
ody. Others such as Carl Baermann, and
then in the 20th-century Thea King and
Robert Fontaine used a lighter touch, often
only transposing the song to a key better
suited to the clarinet. Such is the case with
the Mendelssohn and Schubert Lieder on
this recording. Carl Maria von Webers
duet Se il mio ben, cor mio tu sei is unique-
ly scored for two lower female voices,
obbligato clarinet, two horns, string quartet
and double bass. Heinrich Baermanns
friendship with Weber provided the inspi-
ration for the clarinets cadenza-like con-
necting passage before introducing a dance-
like motive. This motive reminds me of
Webers overture to Der Freischtz.
What clarinetist better to connect us
with the 19th-century German Lied than
Karl Leister? These gentle, soothing, and
relaxing works seem closest to the original
concept when played by Leister. His play-
ing is imaginative in agogic and dynamic
nuance, never hurried, beautifully in tune,
and highly expressive while still being
extremely faithful to the score. His com-
pact velvety sound, musicianship, and blend
coupled with Bognrs Bsendorfer Imper-
ial piano is a treat. Soprano Letizia Scher-
September 2006
rer performs with a clear, ringing voice.
Camerata has captured the performances
with great sensitivity to balance among the
participants. Everything sounds natural and
just right.
by Gail Lehto Zugger
Virtuoso Italian Clarinet Works by
Girolamo Salieri. Giuseppe Porgo,
clarinet; Southwest German Chamber
Orchestra of Pforzheim conducted by
Sebastian Tewinkel. Girolamo Salieri:
Adagio, Theme and Variations on a
theme of Rossini; Andante, Theme and
Variations on a theme of Bellini; Theme
and Variations on a theme of Giovanni
Pacini; Introductions, Theme and Vari-
ations; Gioacchino Rossini: Introduc-
tion, Theme and Variations. GENUIN
GEN 85053. Total time 59:19. (Web
site: <www.genuin.de> or from artist:
<giuseppeporgo@hotmail.com>)
Nineteenth-century clarinetist Girolamo
Salieri, the nephew of the more well-
known Viennese composer Antonio Sali-
eri, composed a number of virtuosic works
to perform at his own concert appearances
in the 1830s. This recording features four
such works, each a theme and variations
for clarinet and orchestra, followed by the
incomparable Rossini. Salieris gift for
crafting clever variations from sweet opera
melodies by Rossini, Bellini and Pacini is
worthy of a listen. My favorite Salieri work
on the recording is the one based on Pa-
cinis opera I crociati a Tolemaide. In this
work, Salieri departs from the other three
by creatively adding cadenzas throughout
the work before the statement of the
theme, the slow variation, and also before
the final statement of the theme concludes
Page 87
the work to further capture the virtuosic
possibilities of the clarinet. In addition, Pa-
cinis theme is delightful, and Salieri scores
it as a duet between solo clarinet and oboe.
Each of Salieris theme and variations is
full of pyrotechnics, a number of gestures
reminiscent of Spohr wide leaps and
broken chord passages and frequent
sojourns into the altissimo including sever-
al double high Cs. The final variation in
each work is technically very demanding
and requiring great agility.
Certainly, Salieri must have been a fab-
ulous clarinetist, based on the virtuosic
quality of this music, and indeed Guiseppe
Porgo is as well. Born in 1979 in Reggio
Calabria, Italy, Porgo has won prizes in
many clarinet competitions and performs
as principal clarinetist in orchestras includ-
ing the Ferruccio Busoni Orchestra, the
Philharmonie der Nationen, and the Can-
telli Orchestra of Milan. His teachers in-
clude Luigi Magistrelli and Dieter Klc-
ker, and he has taken part in master classes
with Karl Leister and Charles Neidich.
This recording showcases Mr. Porgos vir-
tuosity, flawless technique, lightning fast
articulation, acrobatic flexibility and all the
while with a beauty of tone quality that is
perfectly resonant. The expressive, oper-
atic, often fanfare-like openings of each of
these pieces showcase the clarinets dra-
matic capabilities, and Porgo is right for
the task. Porgo shines on the final offering
on the disc, a standard in the repertory,
Rossinis Introduction, Theme and Varia-
tions. The second variation is rather fast,
and yet impeccably executed. The final
Page 88
cadenza is also a treat, perfectly honoring
the theme, before drawing the piece to its
conclusion and of course, offering us one
last double high C!
This recording has it all. The liner notes
are unusually thorough, offering insight
about the life of Girolamo Salieri and the
works. The recording quality is impressive.
Not only is balance between soloist and
orchestra perfect throughout, but the
recording captures Porgos clarinet sound,
which has lots of sparkle and ring through-
out all ranges. Giuseppe Porgo can also be
heard on recordings of concertos for two
clarinets with Dieter Klcker, and I look Karl-Heinz Steffens, coprincipal clar-
forward to future releases from this talent- inetist of the Berlin Philharmonic, shows
ed clarinetist. us his jazz side in this 2002 Tudor Records
release Lush Life. He covers many of the
by Lawrence Gibbs greatest jazz standards in the genre and
does so with grace, charm and taste. This
Lush Life. Karl-Heinz Steffens, clarinet; album is a straightforward honest look at
David Gazarov, piano. Duke Ellington: some of the worlds most beautiful jazz
Im Beginning to See the Light; Billy melodies. Steffens is accompanied in a
Strayhorn: Lush Life; George Gersh- most exciting fashion by David Gazarov.
win: My Mans Gone Now; Antonio The combination makes for one very beau-
Carlos Jobim: Corcovado and Wave; tiful recording. This disc is not designed as
Sonny Rollins: Oleo; Victor Young: one to compete with the likes of an Eddie
My Foolish Heart; David Gazarov: Daniels or Buddy DeFranco release. Clar-
Variations About a German Lullaby; inetist Steffens stays close to the melodic
Bill Evans: Very Early; Jerome Kern: line for most selections sharing much of the
Im Old Fashioned and The Song is improvisational work with pianist Gazarov.
You; Richard Rodgers: My Funny I would like to mention a few tunes that
Valentine; Ivan Lins/Vitor Martins: deserve special merit. The first number,
Velas; Thelonius Monk/Coleman Im Beginning to See the Light gets your
Hawkins: I Mean You; Richie Beirach: attention from the opening sweep of the
Elm. TUDOR 7103. Total time 67:51. piano. Gazarov plays like an entire big
(Available from: <ArkivMusic.com>. band. His comping changes as the music
THE CLARINET
changes. We notice hints of Erroll Garner,
Joe Bushkin, and maybe a little Oscar Pet-
erson in the mix. Next up is the title selec-
tion Lush Life in a gorgeous vocally
inspired rendition. Steffens is at his most
beautiful here. By the way, Steffens seems
to be performing on his German-system
clarinet throughout. The Sonny Rollins
tune Oleo gets a very unique treatment
here. Steffens burns through the lead line
directly into a laid-back blues vs. double-
time treatment from at least the 20 fingers
of David Gazarov very interesting. La-
ter we have very impressive romping
treatments of The Song is You and I
Mean You.
The sound of this album is simply
beautiful. The tone and clarity of both the
clarinet and piano are amazing. In this
writers opinion, this album includes some
of the most beautiful liquid gold jazz
clarinet ever recorded. Music director (en-
gineer and editor) Torsten Schreier, and
producers Oswald Beaujean and Wladek
Glowacz are to be commended on a stel-
lar recording.
by Ani Berberian
International Connections. Elsa Lude-
wig-Verdehr, clarinet; Walter Verdehr,
violin; Silvia Roederer, piano. Jennifer
Higdon: Dash; Gernot Wolfgang: Re-
flections; Bright Sheng: Tibetan Dance;
Stephen Chatman: Trio; Wolfgang
Rihm: Gesangstck. CRYSTAL RE-
CORDS CD 946. Total time 64:19.
(available from major retail outlets and
Crystal Records: <www.crystalrecords.
com>)
International Connections is the 16th
recording in the Making of a Medium
Series, which is a series dedicated to the
expansion and promotion of literature for
the violin, clarinet and piano trio medium.
In residence at Michigan State University,
the world renowned Verdehr Trio has been
a leading innovator in the new music realm
for over 30 years, commissioning an aston-
ishing 200 or so works from some of the
worlds most gifted and up and coming
composers. Constantly defining and re-
defining the basic character and repertoire
for this instrumental combination, the Ver-
dehr Trio has certainly made a medium
from their ongoing endeavors.
Continuing in the tradition of musical
innovation, the Verdehr Trio and Michi-
gan State University commissioned all
five of the works programmed here. The
recording is appropriately entitled, as
each composer originates from a separate
country and/or continent, and each com-
position represents a unique and at times,
a culturally diverse style. It is a delightful
tour of the world, spanning the countries
of the United States, Austria, China, Can-
ada and Germany.
The front cover of the compact disc
liner prepares the listener for the upcoming
journey. It is a painting of a castle in Ulm,
Germany which overlooks the Danube
River. Interestingly enough, it was painted
by Walter Verdehrs uncle, Richard Lack-
ner, who actually occupied the castle for
over 40 years! The liner notes are most
informative regarding each composers
background and compositional intent of
his/her respective work. More often than
not, this is not the case, especially with
younger, flourishing composers who have
already impacted the musical world more
than one would realize. It is refreshing to
see that detailed, adequate information is
provided about the composers, and that one
does not have to rely on an Internet search.
Beginning in the United States, the first
work on the recording is Dash by Ameri-
can-born Jennifer Higdon. Composed in
2001, it portrays the speed at which every-
one and everything moves in the new mil-
lennium. The composition displays the
refined and immeasurable technical prow-
ess of the ensemble and of its individual
players. The upward and downward scale-
like passages, performed over an agitated,
syncopated motive, are perfectly executed
with fluidity and brilliance. The conse-
quent interplays between the players are
also impeccably timed and flawless. The
rhythmic intensity is superbly sustained
September 2006
throughout the work. This short four-
minute work is an excellent choice to be-
gin the recording, as its fast paced, exciting
nature easily draws attention and keeps the
listener engaged throughout. It is Inter-
national Connections fanfare, per se.
A true Renaissance man, Austrian-born
Gernot Wolfgang is an accomplished com-
poser, orchestrator and jazz guitarist. This
versatility is showcased in his Reflections,
which combines elements of jazz with for-
mal elements of 20th-century music. The
work is a human beings never-ending
journey through life, traveling through
many musical landscapes, styles, textures
and moods. In this respect, it is interesting
and appealing for the listener, as the direc-
tion of the work is not always evident. The
violin and clarinet are the actors while the
piano performs the role of the analyzer, or
the reflector. The violin and clarinet solos
at the beginning are musically well paced
and performed with a masterful control of
the high register in a soft dynamic level.
The ensembles musical lines are cleverly
well crafted and homogenous. Although
the work resembles a palindrome, the ener-
getic coda does not allow this lifes jour-
ney to resolve. The ensembles capacity
to perform in this assortment of musical
styles and to hastily change from one style
to the next is especially impressive. Most
notably, the pianists perfect sense of time
and rhythmic accuracy is the glue that
fastens all of the elements together, result-
ing in a seamless cohesiveness.
China is the next destination as the Ti-
betan Dance is featured. Composed by
Bright Sheng, who is Professor of Com-
position at the University of Michigan, this
three-movement work is based on a rhyth-
mic and melodic motive of a Tibetan folk
dance from the Chinese province of Quing-
hai, where Sheng lived during his teenage
years. The first two movements are distant
and dreamlike. In Prelude, the demon-
strative control of the soft dynamic in the
violin and clarinet lines is astounding. In
the beautifully performed Song, Elsa Ver-
dehr transforms the clarinets timbre into
the sound of an ancient flute, while Walter
Verdehr transforms the violin into the lyri-
cal, singing voice of a woman from afar.
They are able to surpass the sound concept
boundaries of their respective instruments
in order to communicate the composers
intent, a gift which defines them as musi-
cians in the truest sense of the word. And
the exuberant third movement, Tibetan
Page 89
Dance, actually commences from afar
and comes to the forefront. At times, the
pianist is required to perform such tasks as
knocking on wood while vacillating be-
tween an accompanimental, percussive role
and a more dominant role. Silvia Roeder-
ers dazzling power as a pianist is exposed.
Our next stop on the itinerary is Canada
and Stephen Chatmans humorous and col-
orful Trio. Chatman is Professor of Com-
position at the University of British Co-
lumbia in Vancouver. Composed in 2001,
the trio is an abstract three-movement
work. The first movement portrays a dri-
ving, hypnotic warm-up of diatonic scales
moving in parallel and contrary motion.
Again, the ensemble demonstrates water-
tight interplay and flawless technical facil-
ity. In contrast, the second movement is an
unhurried, improvisatory-style blues with
the use of such techniques as portamento,
pitch bending, and note shading. Once
more, the movement showcases Walter and
Elsa Verdehrs amazing capacity to per-
form in various musical styles. Further-
more, it also showcases their musical sensi-
tivity to the emotional malleability of this
movement. The syncopated and lively third
movement, Dance, reveals Chatmans
sense of humor with the return of scale frag-
ments. The rhythmic integrity and timing
within the ensemble is again, impeccable.
Gesangstck, by German composer
Wolfgang Rihm, is an attempt to harmo-
nize the tone qualities of the three instru-
ments through a continuous flow of long,
musical lines and dense textures. This one-
movement work, subtitled a Trio-Phanta-
sie, is in seven parts and is the most sub-
stantial work on the recording, lasting over
25 minutes. The compositional influences
of Berg, Brahms and Stockhausen (who
was Rihms mentor) are present in this
work. The trio sings through these exten-
sive musical lines with a tender and homo-
genous vocal-like quality. Furthermore, the
ensemble does an excellent job of tying all
of these sections together into one cohe-
sive unit while clearly communicating the
individual character and sentiment of each
section. Communicative breathing is no-
ticeably audible in this selection which
lends itself to the quality of a live perfor-
mance. Even though the trios performance
is marvelously executed, this selection
may have not been the best choice for the
final work of the recording, due to its com-
plex nature and length.
Page 90
The recording quality of the first two
selections slightly differs from the remain-
ing works as they were recorded in a dif-
ferent venue. While listening to Dash and
Reflections, I felt the recording was clear,
yet warm, containing a tasteful amount of
reverb. This warmer, darker quality, most
evident in the clarinet, contributed to the
more serious, thought-provoking atmos-
pheres originating in these works. The re-
cording quality for the remaining three
pieces is clearer and more vibrant sound-
ing with less reverb present. This sound
quality complements the singing, dancing
and folk characteristics found in these
compositions. Whether or not this is inten-
tional is, for now, a mystery!
The legendary Verdehr Trio is the epit-
ome of innovative, musical genius and
sparkling technical perfection. The histori-
cally significant recordings in The Making
of a Medium series are an invaluable re-
source and source of enjoyment for many
around the world. There are several more
recordings currently in production for this
series which is an exciting prospect in-
deed! For more information on the Ver-
dehr Trio and its enormous impact on con-
temporary music, please visit their Web
site at <www.verdehr.com>.
by Lori Ardovino
Evgeny Petrov. Evgeny Petrov, clarinet;
Alexandra Polyakova, piano. F. Pou-
lenc: Sonata; I. Stravinsky: Three Pie-
ces for Solo Clarinet; C. Saint-Sans/
arr. Petrov: Introduction and Rondo
capriccioso; A. Piazzolla/arr. Shtegman:
Oblivion; L. Bassi: Fantasy on Themes
from Verdis Rigoletto; N. Rimsky-
Korsakov/arr. Rozanov: The Flight of
the Bumble-Bee; S. Prokofiev/arr. Pror-
vitch: Mercutio from Romeo and Ju-
li et; B. Kovcs: Hommage a M. De
Falla; F. Schubert (Dresden)/arr. Bere-
zin: Binchen. TRIOLE 10/24304CD-
02-001. Total time 54:33. (for availabil-
ity contact: <burmistrova@orekhovo.
net> or <lmb@s-audit.ru>)
Evgeny Petrov was born in Moscow in
1972, and studied clarinet at the Moscow
Conservatory with Professor Vladimir So-
kolov, with whom he pursued postgraduate
study as well. His concert life began at age
14, and has since taken him to the finest
halls in Russia as well as on tour through
THE CLARINET
much of Europe, the U.S., Mexico, and
Japan. He is currently a professor of clar-
inet at the Moscow Conservatory.
This CD contains a program based upon
standard original works for clarinet and
arrangements of string and orchestral pie-
ces. This is a delightful mix of the tradition
and flair of the opera, all in one CD. The
two most standard works, the Poulenc
Sonata and the Stravinsky Three Pieces
are played flawlessly by Petrov. Most not-
a ble on this disc is perhaps the Intro -
duction and Rondo-capriccioso by Saint-
Sans, arranged by Petrov. Written about
1863, the piece is a great show stopper for
violin and orchestra. Filled with typical
Saint-Sans qualities, it is enchanting mu-
sic. Petrovs performance of this showoff
violin gem is nothing short of stunning.
His exceptional skill and striking tone
leave nothing missed in this arrangement.
Shtegmans arrangement of Piazollas
Oblivion, amid all of the virtuosity of pre-
vious and forthcoming works, was one of
my favorites. Although far from the exces-
sively showy companions on this CD, the
clarity of expression, and the sheer sim-
plicity of this piece are quite sublime. With
the Bassi Rigoletto Fantasy, the Flight of
the Bumble-Bee, and the Mercutio selec-
tion from Prokofievs Romeo and Juliet,
once again the listener is indulged by the
extraordinary technical skill of Petrovs
mastery of the clarinet. The solo clarinet
work, Kovacs Hommage a M. De Falla,
leaves the listener with the feeling that the
music is suitable to accompany a flamenco
dance. Binchen (The Bee), reminiscent of
the Flight of the Bumble-Bee, yet another
work originally composed for violin and
piano arranged here for the clarinet, once
again shows off the impeccable style por-
trayed so exceptionally by Petrov.
 This is a first-rate CD performed by
topnotch performers. My attention was
held fast by each and every selection on
this disc. It is quite varied and most enjoy-
able. If you have not yet heard of this gift-
ed performer, now is your chance.
by David Niethamer
Ernesto Cavallini Virtuoso Clarinet
Music. Sergio Bosi, clarinet; Riccardo
Bartoli, piano. Ernesto Cavallini: Ada-
gio e tarantella; Lontano dalla partia
Romanza; Canto Greco; La calma
Romanza senza parole; Fiori Rossinia-
ni (Capriccio on opera motives of Ros-
sini); Elegie; Serenata; Adagio senti-
mentale. BONGIOVANNI GB 5113-2.
Total time 63:16. (Web site: <www.
bongiovanni70.com> or contact artist
at: <www.sergiobosi.it> ).
Ernesto Cavallini (18041874) is well
known to clarinetists for his Thirty Ca-
prices for clarinet, which are the bane of
many a clarinetists study, and as the inspi-
ration for the long clarinet solo at the
beginning of the third act of Verdis La
Forza del Destino.
After graduation from the Milan Con-
servatory, Cavallini played second clarinet
at La Scala, where his teacher, Carulli,
played first clarinet. Ultimately, Cavallini
became the principal at La Scala. He toured
widely as a soloist, performing in Paris,
Vienna and London, where Henry Lazarus
said he might well be called the Paganini
of the clarinet for his wonderful execu-
tion. In 1852, Cavallini moved to Russia,
where he played and taught for the next 18
years. In 1862, Anton Rubenstein invited
Cavallini to become the Professor of Clar-
inet at the newly formed St. Petersburg
Conservatory. As an interesting sidelight,
Cavallini also taught singing there. Caval-
lini returned to Milan in 1870 and taught at
that conservatory until the end of his life.
The music on this disc reflects the style
of 19th-century virtuoso music that was
popular at that time with instrumentalists
of all sorts. Often this music is devoid of
any particularly interesting musical con-
tent. Its primary purpose is to show off the
virtuosity of the performer. Cavallinis com-
positions, however, have just enough mel-
odic and harmonic interest to keep the lis-
tener engaged with more than the showy
technical skill of the performer.
Adagio e tarantella, which opens this
recording, brings back childhood memo-
ries of my first All-District Band audition,
a not particularly successful event! This is
perhaps the most famous of Cavallinis solo
pieces, and it receives a very characteristic
performance here.
Lontano dalla partia Romanza is an
episodic composition with some interest-
ing turns of harmony. It is by turns beauti-
fully melodic and rapidly virtuosic. The
piece ends with a graceful virtuoso varia-
tion on the opening melody.
Canto Greco is a classic 19th-century
theme and virtuoso variations style piece.
After a slow introduction, the theme is pre-
sented. It is an ABAB of 32 measures in
3/4 time with a waltz feel. The variations
build in virtuosity and intensity from the
fluid eighth-note first variation, through
variations that use rapid register changes
(with grace notes!) to what seems like the
grand finale a Carnival of Venice celebrate the music of this master rather
style variation with all the stops pulled out
technically. But youre not finished a
slow and expressive variation in a minor
key is followed by the real finale, a jumpy
dotted rhythm variation. Sergio Bosis play-
ing is impressive in this piece. There is not
a note out of place, and a wide range of
dynamic contrast is displayed, even in the
midst of the most fiendishly difficult tech-
nical passages. Pianist Riccardo Bartoli
follows all the tempo shifts and dynamic
variations flawlessly, providing support to
the soloist as required, and moving to the
forefront in the interludes to change the
character as required for the coming varia-
tion. The shortest work on this disc, at
3:49, is La calma Romanza senza pa-
role. Fully one fourth of the piece is taken
up by a piano introduction. The theme is a
simple ABA with a coda that includes an
September 2006
interesting modulation, an obligato varia-
tion for the clarinet while the piano carries
the melody, and finally a solo variation for
the clarinet. Its a beautiful little miniature
that shows off the clarinetist well without
seeming overly difficult.
The most typical operatic fantasy on
this recording is Fiori Rossiniani, subtitled
Capriccio su motivi de Opere di Giaoc-
chino Rossini. Five melodies from various
Rossini operas are used one from Wil-
liam Tell, two from Othello, and two from
The Barber of Seville. Henry Lazarus tran-
scribed these same two Othello melodies
into duets for his famous method. All the
usual fireworks are here, all flawlessly
played by Bosi and Bartoli.
Elegie, an aria in operatic style for clar-
inet and piano, is very beautiful and well
played on this disc. The CD booklet des-
cribes it as slow, mournful, and almost
funereal, but the beauty of the writing
seems to me more nostalgic than sad. This
would be a great teaching or recital piece
to display a vocal style of phrasing.
Serenata begins in the same vein as the
Elegie but turns to more virtuoso style
playing at the midpoint, with nonstandard
phrase lengths and interesting harmonies to
help hold the listeners attention.
Adagio sentimentale bears the subtitle
Una lagrima sulla tomba dell immortale
Rossini. Once again, this lament is more
nostalgic for the beautiful melodic writing
and humorous antics of the well-known
Rossini operas. No overt sadness here
the sunny major key and virtuoso playing
than mourn his death.
Sergio Bosi plays with phenomenally
accurate technique and a beautiful sound.
His dynamic range is very large, even in
the most challenging of technical passages.
If I may be permitted one small reservation
I often wished as I listened to this re-
cording for a more vocal or operatic style
of playing. Even more flexibility of tonal
color, and even more flexibility of tempo
at times would have been welcome. Al-
though I know this point of view is contro-
versial, I sometimes mourn the disappear-
ance of national styles of playing, brought
on in part by the wide dissemination of
recordings. Bosi, as he is heard on this
recording, could easily be confused in a
blind listening test for a fine American or-
chestral player. Still, one cant argue with
wonderful playing heard here.
Page 91
 Riccardo Bartoli is a sensitive colla-
borator. He supports Bosis every turn of
phrase, and plays his few brief solo pas-
sages with character and a beautiful sound.
A small quibble about the documenta-
tion with this CD there is no biographi-
cal information about the performers! A
quick trip to <www.sergiobosi.it> reme-
dies this oversight, but still, it would be
nice to have this in the booklet. Also, the
notes on the music, at least in their English
translation, are vague and rambling, with
very little information of substance about
the compositions programmed on the disc.
A Web search turned up little helpful ma-
terial, and perhaps this information is no
longer easily available. Dates and circum-
stances of the various compositions would
have been very welcome to place them in
perspective of the composers life. Ah well
perhaps a dissertation subject!
For those of you who may now be think-
ing 63+ minutes of Cavallini! Will I be
able to stand it? let me reassure you.
There is enough musical variety here to
hold the attention of any clarinetist. As a
catalog of this significant clarinetists com-
positions, it is an important recording, and
one couldnt ask for a better performance.
by Richard Fletcher
Larry Combs, Clarinet. Gail Williams,
horn; Mary Ann Covert, piano. Mikls
Rzsa: Sonata for clarinet solo and
Sonatina for clarinet solo; George
Rochberg: Trio for clarinet, horn and
piano; Gunther Schuller: Romantic
Sonata for clarinet, horn and piano.
CRYSTAL RECORDS CD 731. Total
time 55:07. (available at major retail
out lets and from Crystal Web site:
<crystalrecords.com>)
Page 92
Larry Combs, appointed principal clar-
inet of the Chicago Symphony by Sir
Georg Solti in 1978, joined the orchestra in
1974 after serving in the New Orleans,
Montral and Santa Fe Opera orchestras.
He is a founding member of the Chicago
Chamber Musicians, and has appeared
with the Chamber Music Society of Lin-
coln Center and the Smithsonian Chamber
Ensemble. His lifelong association with
jazz led to performances at the 1999 Chi-
cago Jazz Festival and a Tribute to Benny
Goodman concert with the Chicago Jazz
Orchestra in 1999. Gail Williams, a mem-
ber of the horn section of the Chicago
Symphony from 1979 until 1998, became
associate principal in 1984. She is a found-
ing member of the Chicago Chamber
Musicians and Summit Brass, has per-
formed with the Chamber Music Society
of Lincoln Center, and has appeared as
soloist with numerous orchestras. Cur-
rently she serves as associate professor of
horn at Northwestern University. Mary
Ann Covert, Professor Emeritus at Ithaca
College, served there as professor of piano
from 1968 to 1995. In addition to her
extensive collaborative and chamber mu-
sic performances, she has recorded the
keyboard works of Karel Husa and other
solo recordings.
Featuring definitive performances by
Larry Combs of Rzsas Sonatina and his
more recent Sonata for clarinet solo, this
recording also includes two substantial
works for clarinet, horn and piano, beauti-
fully performed. While the Sonatina and
the trios were issued earlier in LP format,
the addition of the Sonata makes this new
release a bonus.
Hungarian-born Mikls Rzsa (1907
1995) graduated from the Leipzig Con-
servatory in piano and composition before
settling in Paris in 1932, where he became
a successful composer. After spending a
few years in London as a film composer,
he emigrated to the U.S. in 1939 and set-
tled in Hollywood. While several of his
noteworthy film scores won Oscars, Rzsa
was also a prolific composer of orchestral,
choral and chamber music. The opening
work on this disc is his Sonata. Larry
Combs states, Rzsa mailed me a copy of
the Sonata, also for unaccompanied clar-
inet. It has some similarity to the Sonatina,
but is in three movements, with the two
lively movements surrounding the beauti-
ful slow movement. Published in 1988 by
THE CLARINET
Broude Brothers, the Sonata per Clarinetto
Solo, Op. 41 (1987) differs slightly from
the version played here. It is a captivating
work and will, with the help of this record-
ing, take its place alongside the earlier
Sonatina. Mr. Combs performance is su-
perb in all respects, and if Rzsa were
alive today he would be most delighted
with it.
The second work on this recording is
George Rochbergs Trio for B clarinet,
horn and piano. A major figure in Amer-
ican music, Rochberg (19182005) wrote
an opera, choral works, five symphonies,
and numerous orchestral and chamber mu-
sic works. Prior to becoming Director of
Publications for Theodore Presser, he taught
at the Curtis Institute and the University of
Pennsylvania, where he also served as
chairman of the Music Department. Accor-
ding to the composer, the Trio for clarinet,
horn and piano was written about 1947 and
was revised in 1980. A thoroughly appeal-
ing tonal work in three movements, the
Trio is melodic from start to finish. Fol-
lowing an expressive introduction for horn
alone, the clarinet states an energetic
melody that dominates the Allegro con
moto. Throughout the rapid 12/8 move-
ment, the tight-knit ensemble maintains the
constant drive and momentum. After a
brief respite featuring a clarinet cadenza,
the movement concludes with a rapid
coda. The expressive Adagio opens with
a lyric melody for clarinet and muted horn,
beautifully played and well balanced. Fol-
lowing a varied repeat by piano alone, an
agitated middle section builds to a climax
featuring short, dramatic cadenzas first for
horn and then clarinet. A return of the
opening material brings the movement to a
quiet close. The interesting third movement
is, on the one hand, dance- like and playful,
and on the other, complex because of its
contrapuntal intricacies and frequent paus-
es. The performance is flawless in its rhy-
thmic precision and ease in which the per-
formers shift from one texture to the next.
Gunther Schuller, born in 1925, has
achieved prominence as a conductor, horn
player, writer, teacher, and educational
administrator. His works include numerous
orchestral works, concertos, two operas,
chamber music and songs. His close asso-
ciation with jazz, which began in his youth
when he played horn under Miles Davis
and was associated with John Lewis of the
Modern Jazz Quartet, is frequently reflect- Tema con variazioni, consists of a sim- technique and precise rhythm add to the
ed in his compositions. The Romantic Son- ple, folk-like melody followed by seven excitement of this movement. In a letter to
ata for clarinet, horn and piano was com- variations. Mr. Combs plays with a beauti- Larry Combs, Rzsa made these com-
posed in 1941 when Schuller was 16. He ful tone and impeccable technique through- ments about this recording: Your tone is
revised the work in 1983. The three-move- out the attractive variations that expand the beautiful, the tempi are correct and the
ment work shows a subtle jazz influence in lyrical character of the theme and illustrate interpretation convincing. What more can
each of its short movements. The opening the clarinets virtuosic capabilities. The a composer ask for? I highly recommend
Adagietto features rich, lush harmonies brilliant second movement, Vivo e qio- this recording. In fact, I purchased it as an
in the piano, romantic melodies in the coso, opens con fuoco with a spirited, LP many years ago. It features recordings
winds, and a touch of the blues. In the fol- syncopated melody that leads directly into by legendary performers of works that will
lowing Adagio, a chordal accompani- a contrasting dolce theme, that alternates be of interest to both instrumentalists and
ment in the piano supports a gentle, synco- with the first theme. The movement picks to chamber music enthusiasts. The record-
pated melody beautifully played by the up momentum near the end and closes ing engineering is first rate and English
clarinet and horn. A dramatic middle sec- with a sparkling coda. Mr. Combs splendid program notes are included.
tion builds to a climax before returning to
the quiet opening material. The brief
Vivace opens with a jaunty melody for
horn and clarinet that quickly establishes
the buoyant character of the movement. A
contrasting dolce section presents a lovely
melody in the horn, reminiscent of Pou-
lenc. The movement comes to a close with
a repetition of the opening material. All
three instrumentalists give outstanding per-
formances, showing their expertise and
fondness for chamber music.
The final work on this CD is Rzsas
Sonatina Op. 27 (1957), which is dedi-
cated to the Polish-American composer
Bronislaw Kaper. The first movement,

September 2006 Page 93

STUDENT
Joel Bernal, clarinet, assisted by An-
drea Harrell, clarinet, Senior Recital, Sam
Houston State University, March 26, 2006.
Grand Duo Concertant, Weber; Rhapso-
dy for Clarinet, Osborne; Sonata for Two
Clarinets and Piano, Schocker; Premire
Rhapsodie, Debussy
Britni Driggers, clarinet, Junior Recital,
Sam Houston State University, April 22,
2006. Sonata, Hindemith; Fantasy Pieces,
Gade; Five Bagatelles for Clarinet and
Percussion, Parker
Amy Dykes, clarinet, Junior Recital,
Sam Houston State University, April 30,
2006. Sonata in B , Wanhal; Monolog 3,
von Koch; Two Pieces for Clarinet, Viola
and Piano, Op. 83, Bruch
Byron Graves, clarinet, Junior Honors
Recital, Andrews University, April 12,
2006. Trois pices brves, Ibert; Abme des
oiseaux from Quatour pour la fin du temps,
Messiaen; Sonata for Clarinet and Piano,
Bernstein; Premire rapsodie, Debussy;
Trio for Clarinet, Cello and Piano in A Mi-
nor, Op. 114, Brahms
Andrea Harrell, clarinet, assisted by
Joel Bernal, clarinet, Junior Recital, Sam
Houston State University, April 30, 2006.
Sonate, Saint-Sans; Three Etudes on
Themes of Gershwin, Harvey; Sonata for
Two Clarinets and Piano, Schocker
Alejandro Lozada, clarinet, D.M.A.
Lecture Recital, Works for Clarinet Solo
by Roberto Sierra, University of Nebras-
kaLincoln, March 29, 2006. Cinco Boce-
tos, Sierra; Ritmorroto, Sierra
Mana Shoji, clarinet, Junior Recital,
Brigham Young UniversityIdaho, April
Page 94
7, 2006. Solo de concours, Messager; Son-
ata in A Major, Op. 100, Brahms; Dance
Preludes, Lutoslawski
Lindsay Taylor, Senior Recital, Brig-
ham Young UniversityIdaho, April 8,
2006. Sonata for Clarinet and Piano,
Poulenc; Der Hirt auf dem Felsen, Schu-
bert; Sonata in F minor for Clarinet and
Piano, Op. 120, No. 1, Brahms
Pance Zaev, clarinet, D.M.A. Recital,
University of NebraskaLincoln, March
30, 2006. Solo de Concours, Messager;
Vier Stcke fr Klarinette und Klavier, Op.
5, Berg; Hillandale Waltzes, Babin;
Quintet in A Major, K. 581, Mozart
FACULTY AND PROFESSIONAL
Diane Barger, clarinet, with the Moran
Woodwind Quintet, University of Nebras-
kaLincoln, March 23, 2006. Diverti -
mento No. 14 in B  Major, K. 270, Mo-
zart; Serenade, Pilss; La Chemine du Roi
Ren, Op. 205, Milhaud; Sextet for Piano
and Winds, Martinu
Patricia P. Card, clarinet, Sam Houston
State University, March 28, 2006. Fan-
tasy Pieces, Op. 43, Gade; Soliloquies,
Bassett; Variations, Velzquez; Sonata
for Two Clarinets and Piano, Schocker;
Sonata, Poulenc
Bruce Creditor, clarinet, MONTAGE
Music Society, Boston University College
of Fine Arts, May 24, 2006. LHistoire du
Soldat (clarinet, violin and piano), Stra-
vinsky; Trio for Clarinet, Cello and Piano,
Op. 3, Zemlinsky
Duo Karudan, Christopher Ayer, clari-
net, Kae Hosoda-Ayer, piano, Sam Hous-
ton State University, April 4, 2006. Duo
THE CLARINET
Concertant, Milhaud; Four Pieces in Bird
Shape, Op. 18, Yoshimatsu; Sonatina,
Horovitz; Sonata, Hindemith; Klezmuzik,
Sargon
Keith Koons, clarinet, University of
Central Florida, January 24, 2006. Fan-
taisie, Gaubert; Hommage Richard
Strauss, Kovcs; Impromptu for clarinet
and marimba, Buss; Hommage Bla
Bartk, Kovcs; Corker for clarinet and
percussion, Larsen; Introduction et
Rondo, Widor; Hommage Manuel de
Falla, Kovcs; Tema con Variazioni,
Franaix
15th Annual University of Central
Florida Clarinet Day, January 28, 2006,
Orlando Clarinet Orchestra, Rick Kis -
senger, director. Barber of Seville, Rossi-
ni (arr. Herman); Night On Bald Mountain,
Mussorgsky (arr. Kreines); In the
Mood, Garland (arr. Custer); Recital by
F. Gerard Errante, guest artist, Gerryman-
der for clarinet and computer (2002),
Pinkston; Echoes of the Invisible (2003)
clarinet and prerecorded electronics,
Terry; Swing Bridge for clarinet, electron-
ic processing, and color video (1997), Wei-
denaar; a light went out for clarinet and
electronic processing (2004), Errante
Mixed Medleys, Jules Elias, clarinet,
Tina Frost, contrabass, Marlise Stroebe,
piano, The Oasis, Portland, Oregon, April
12, 2006. Romanian and Israeli Dances;
Lullaby, Okumura; Badinerie Suite No. 2,
Bach; Three Pieces, Hindemith; Romanze,
Reger; Latin Dances, Rivoal and Lambert
(arr.); Klezmer Medley; Andante Cantabile
from Sonata No. 23, Scarlatti; Bennys
Gig, Gould; Cuban Rondo, MacDonald
*****
Programs intended for publication in
The Clarinet should be sent to James
Gillespie, P.O. Box 311367, College of
Music, University of North Texas, Denton,
TX 76203-1367. To ensure accurate pro-
gram information, please send a printed
program and a summary of pertinent date
(names of performers and composers, site,
date and titles of the works, etc.) in the for-
mat above. For student recitals, only solo
degree recital programs (junior, senior,
masters and doctoral) will be listed.

George Stoffan
Oakland University
Rochester, Minnesota
George Stoffan
has been appointed
assistant professor of
clarinet at Oakland
University, beginning
in the 20062007 aca-
demic year. He will
also serve as principal
clarinetist with the
Pontiac-Auburn Hills George Stoffan
Symphony. Mr. Stof-
fan previously served on the faculty of
Southern Utah University. He joined the
United States Air Force Band in Wash-
ington, D.C. in 1997 and served as that
ensembles concertmaster and principal
clarinetist from 1998 until 2001. He has
appeared in chamber recitals at the An-
derson House Museum in Washington
D.C., the Lyceum Museum, Montgomery
(MD) College, and at George Mason Uni-
versitys Harris Theater. He has also per-
formed with the National Philharmonic,
Washington Cathedral Choral Society,
National Gallery Chamber Orchestra,
Washington D.C. Contemporary Music
Forum, Fairfax (VA) Symphony, Anna-
polis (MD) Symphony, Green Bay Sym-
phony, Madison (WI) Symphony, the Or-
chestra of Southern Utah, and performed
with the Massachusetts Symphony on its
March 2002 tour of Spain. Mr. Stoffan
participated in the Kent/Blossom Chamber
Music Festival during the summers of
1996 and 1997. He performed at the 2004
ClarinetFest at the University of Mary-
land, and again at the 2006 Atlanta Clari-
netFest . Mr. Stoffan has served on the
teaching faculties of the Duke Ellington
School of the Arts, Washington Conserva-
tory, the D.C. Youth Orchestra Program,
George Mason University, and the Capitol
Hill Arts Workshop. His research interests
include contemporary Czech clarinet mu-
sic. Mr. Stoffans dissertation, Revolu-
tions and Revelations: the clarinet music of
the Czech composer, Zbynk Matj, released by Boston Records.
explores Czech musical life after the fall of
communism. He presented excerpts from
this research at the 2006 International Con-
liard School, and the Precollege Divisions
of the Manhattan School of Music and
Mannes College of Music.
ference on the Arts and Humanities. Other *****
research interests include Classic-era per- Notices of recently filled positions in
formance practice. He delivered his paper colleges, universities, orchestras and major
entitled The Mozart Clarinet Concerto, in military bands should be sent to the Editor.
Text and Context at the 1998 International
Clarinet Association Symposium, Vienna
and the Clarinet. While at the University
of Wisconsin, Mr. Stoffan directed the Contacts for
clarinet choir and studied instrumental
conducting with David Becker and James
Smith. He received his Doctor of Musical
Arts from the University of Wisconsin, his
The Clarinet:
Master of Music degree from Indiana Uni- Send all articles, recital programs, orders for back
versity, and Bachelor of Music degree and
Bachelor of Arts degree in political science
issues, announcements and any other non-commercial
from the University of Michigan. Mr. Stof- items intended for publication in The Clarinet to:
fans teachers have included Richard Shil-
lea, John Mohler, Howard Klug, Eli Eban, James Gillespie, Editor/Publisher
Linda Bartley and Steve Barta. College of Music, University of North Texas
Larry Guy
P.O. Box 311367
New York University
Denton, Texas 76203-1367
New York, New York
E-mail: <jgillesp@music.unt.edu>
Larry Guy has Send all printed materials (music, books, etc.)
joined the faculty of
intended for review in The Clarinet to:
New York University
as adjunct professor of
Joseph Messenger, Editor of Reviews
clarinet beginning in
September 2006.
Department of Music, Iowa State University
He is an active free- Ames, Iowa 50011
lance player in New
E-mail: <jmesseng@iastate.edu>
York and currently
Larry Guy
plays principal clarinet
Send all recordings intended for review
with the Long Island
Philharmonic and the Lake George Opera. in The Clarinet to:
He received his music degrees from Ober-
lin College, Catholic University and the
William Nichols, Audio Review Editor
Manhattan School of Music. His teachers 111 Steeplechase Circle
include Anthony Gigliotti, Robert Mar-
cellus and Kalmen Opperman.
West Monroe, Louisiana 71291
He is the author of four handbooks for E-mail: <wrnichols@bellsouth.net>
clarinetists: Embouchure Building for
Clarinetists; The Daniel Bonade Work- Send all inquiries about advertising, notices of change
book; Selection, Adjustment, and Care of
of address, inquiries about I.C.A. membership,
Single Reeds; and Intonation Training for
Clarinetists, all available from Rivernote missing issues, etc., to:
Press. He has produced two educational
CDs: The Legacy of Daniel Bonade and
So Rhee, Executive Director
The Artistry of Ralph McLane, both P.O. Box 1310
In addition to his new position at NYU,
Lyons, Colorado 80540
Mr. Guy teaches at Vassar College, the E-mail: <execdirector@clarinet.org>
Music Advancement Program at The Juil-
September 2006 Page 95

A
round the time of my publication
deadline for this The Presidents
Message, I had a rather unfortu-
nate incident occur in my musical life. But
my story has a happy ending, in part due to
my experience with the I.C.A.
In May I was playing a pops concert
with the Utah Symphony. I was doubling
on B and bass clarinet, and there was just
enough bass clarinet in the book that I
needed to have it out on a stand. The first
half of the program was uneventful. When
I got up from my chair to go off stage for
intermission, I bumped the side of my bass
just enough to knock it free from the top
bracket on the stand that normally holds it
in place. Time then seemed to go in very
slow motion as the bass fell to the floor of
the stage. I hope that none of you ever
have the experience of seeing and especi-
Page 96
ally hearing a bass clarinet hit a hard wood
floor at high velocity! It is very unpleasant.
In shock, I picked the bass up off the
floor and took it off stage to assess the
damage. On first look, it didnt seem too
bad. But when I tried to play it, the right-
hand notes didnt respond. Closer inspec-
tion revealed a crack at the top of the bot-
tom joint. The next day I took it to my
repair technician. When his first utterance
was a groan, I knew it wasnt going to be
good. He kept groaning for a while, and
finally told me that he could see a least
five different cracks in the bottom joint.
His diagnosis was that the joint was be-
yond repair and that I should start looking
for a new bass.
Lisa Argiris had helped me find this
bass three years ago and I was very happy
with it. But now I was in need of a replace-
THE CLARINET
ment as soon as possible, particularly for a
Ring Cycle Highlights Concert the orches-
tra was ending the regular season with.
Much to my dismay, I soon discovered
that everyone was out of the bass I need-
ed. My local dealer said they couldnt get
one until January!
Numerous phone calls followed to ev-
eryone I could think of who might be able
to help me find a bass. I wasnt sure what I
was going to do until I got a call from Pam
Muncy. I had called them earlier and they,
like everyone else at the time, were out of
stock. Pam had gotten the message about
my old bass and had coincidentally been
having dinner with Franois Kloc the night
before. They had also just received three
basses from the manufacturers. Pam sent
the three instruments out immediately, and
I now own another bass that I think and
hope will rival the one I lost.
All of the people mentioned above I
met at a ClarinetFest and have been
pleased to know for many years. We are
very fortunate to have people like Lisa,
Pam and Phil, Franois, and many others
from the vending and manufacturing fields
so closely and meaningfully involved in
the I.C.A. I hope to never go through any-
thing like this again, but if I or any of you
do, it will be a great comfort to know that
we have a wonderful community of clar-
inetists, makers, manufacturers, vendors,
and friends to look after each other and
make our lives more beautiful.
Very special thanks go out to Joe Eller
and D. Ray McCellan for their tireless and
marvelous efforts as co-artistic directors
for ClarinetFest 2006. They have spent
hours over the last year dealing with the
logistics of hosting this event and, on
behalf of the board, I want to thank them
for their great work and congratulate them
on a fantastic conference.
We can all now look forward to Clar-
inetFest 2007 in Vancouver. Joe and D.
Ray have passed the torch to Wes Foster,
Cris Inguanti, and their colleagues from
Vancouver. Start making your plans to
come to Canada next July.
Finally, it gives me great pleasure to an-
nounce that Kansas City has been selected
as the location for ClarinetFest 2008. Jane
Carl and the University of Missouri at Kan-
sas City will be hosting the festivities, and
I look forward to another great event. Until
next time, be well.
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