about the writersâ¦ - International Clarinet Association

Volume 34, Number 4 September 2007 

ABOUT THE COVER… 

The clarinet section of Les Orchestres de la 

Garde Républicaine, Paris, France. First row 

(seated, l to r): André Moreau, Pascal 

Beauvineau, Christelle Pochet, Gilles 

Clermont, Pierre Ragu, Fabian Lefèvre; 

second row (standing, l to r): Frank Amet, 

Sylvain Magnolini, Philippe Montury, 

Denis Mayeux, Thierry Marcher, Claire 

Vergnory, François Dartinet, Sandrine 

Vasseur, Christian Roca, Thierry Vaysse 

(Eb clarinet), Rémy Lerner (bass clarinet), 

Olivier Patey (principal and bass 

clarinet), Bruno Dubois, Vincent Penot 

(principal), Sylvie Hue (principal) (photo by 

Philippe Bague) See article on page 50. 

INDEX OF ADVERTISERS 

Alea Publishing .........................................................82 

Ben Armato .................................................................7 

Backun Musical Services........................................IBC 

Charles Bay ...............................................................76 

Kristin Bertrand Woodwind Repair...........................67 

The Boston Conservatory ..........................................10 

Brannen Woodwinds .................................................16 

Buffet Crampon USA, Inc. ......................................IFC 

CalArts School of Music ...........................................71 

Centaur Records Inc. .................................................77 

Classical Collection Inc.............................................28 

Cleveland Institute of Music......................................31 

Crane School of Music — 

Potsdam Single Reed Summit .................................5 

Crystal Records .........................................................79 

DePaul University School of Music ..........................51 

Elkhart Musical Services...........................................33 

Expert Woodwind Service, Inc..................................30 

Clare Fischer..............................................................73 

Leblanc (Conn-Selmer) .........................................OBC 

Lisa’s Clarinet Shop ..................................................40 

Luyben Music Co. .....................................................53 

Lynn University Conservatory of Music...................65 

Muncy Winds ............................................................23 

Naylor’s Custom Wind Repair ..................................68 

Richard Nunemaker...................................................69 

Olivieri Reeds............................................................74 

Ongaku Records, Inc. ..................................................5 

Orsi & Weir ...............................................................44 

Edward Palanker........................................................70 

Patricola Brothers ......................................................18 

Pyne Clarion Inc. .......................................................21 

Quodlibet, Inc. ...........................................................67 

RedwineJazz ........................................................42, 55 

Reeds Australia..........................................................42 

Rice University — 

The Shepherd School of Music .............................84 

Rico............................................................................81 

Luis Rossi ..................................................................45 

San Francisco Conservatory of Music.......................17 

Sayre Woodwinds........................................................5 

Dr. Allan Segal ..........................................................42 

Selmer Paris (Conn-Selmer)........................................2 

The Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, 

and Human Development ......................................15 

Tap Music Sales ........................................................82 

Margaret Thornhill ....................................................55 

University of Illinois....................................................8 

Van Cott Information Services..................................13 

Vandoren SAS .................................................4, 41, 83 

Wehr’s Music House .................................................28 

Wichita Band Instrument Co. ....................................20 

Woodwindiana, Inc....................................................37 

Yamaha Corporation of America ..............................43 

Features 

BENNY GOODMAN — 

THE CLASSICAL CLARINETIST — PART 1 by Maureen Hurd ........32 

THE CLARINETISTS OF THE 

JOHN PHILIP SOUSA BAND: 1892–1931 by Jesse Krebs ..................39 

THE CLARINET SECTION OF LES ORCHESTRES 

DE LA GARDE RÉPUBLICAINE by Sylvie Hue....................................50 

IN MEMORIAM: DAME THEA KING by David Campbell.................54 

IN MEMORIAM: ALVIN BATISTE.....................................................54 

IN MEMORIAM: MICHAEL SULLIVAN by Denise A. Gainey...........55 

DON’T LET IT END — 

PART II: BOBBY GORDON by Eleisa Marsala Trampler......................56 

THE CLARINET TEACHING OF 

KEITH STEIN — PART 20: TEACHING THE 

CLARINET TO CHILDREN by David Pino ..........................................61 

A CLARINETIST’S JOURNEY OF THE SPIRIT by Joe Rosen........64 

EDINBURGH SHACKLETON COLLECTION — 

A CELEBRATION by Eric Hoeprich ......................................................78 

Departments 

LETTERS...................................................................................................5 

TEACHING CLARINET by Michael Webster ..........................................6 

CLARINOTES ........................................................................................11 

AUDIO NOTES by William Nichols .........................................................13 

CONFERENCES & WORKSHOPS.....................................................16 

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING… by Deborah Check Reeves..................19 

LETTER FROM THE U.K. by Paul Harris...........................................20 

THE JAZZ SCENE by Thomas W. Jacobsen............................................22 

UNIVERSITY SNAPSHOTS by Peggy Dees .........................................24 

THE CLARINET CHOIR by Margaret Thornhill...................................28 

REVIEWS................................................................................................66 

MUSICAL CHAIRS ...............................................................................78 

RECITALS AND CONCERTS..............................................................80 

THE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE by Lee Livengood ..............................82 

September 2007 Page 1

INTERNATIONAL CLARINET ASSOCIATION 

President: Lee Livengood, 490 Northmont Way, Salt Lake City, UT 84103, E-mail: 

Past President: Robert Walzel, School of Music, University of Utah, 204 David P. Gardner Hall, 1375 East Presidents 

Circle, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0030, 801/273-0805 (home), 801/581-6765 (office), 801/581-5683 (fax), E-mail: 

 

President Elect: 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: 

Secretary: Kristina Belisle, School of Music, University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325-1002, 330/972-8404 (office), 

330/972-6409 (fax), E-mail: 

Treasurer: Diane Barger, School of Music, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, 120 Westbook Music Building, Lincoln, NE 

68588-0100, 402/472-0582 (office), 402/472-8962 (fax), E-mail: 

Executive Director: So Rhee, P.O. Box 1310, Lyons, CO 80540, 801/867-4336 (phone), 212/457-6124 (fax), E-mail: 

 

Editor/Publisher: James Gillespie, College of Music, University of North Texas, P.O. Box 311367, Denton, TX 76203-1367, 

940/565-4096 (office), 940/565-2002 (fax), E-mail: or 

Editorial Associates: Himie Voxman, 821 N. Linn, Iowa City, IA 52245 

Contributing Editor: Joan Porter, 400 West 43rd, Apt. 41L, New York, NY 10036 

Editorial Staff: Joseph Messenger (Editor of Reviews), Department of Music, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, 

515/294-3143, E-mail: ; William Nichols (Audio Review Editor), 111 Steeplechase Circle, 

West Monroe, LA 71291, 318/396-8299, E-mail: ; Tsuneya Hirai, 11-9 Oidecho, 

Nishinomiya, 662-0036 Japan; Kalmen Opperman, 17 West 67th Street, #1 D/S, New York, NY 10023; Heston L. 

Wilson, M.D., 1155 Akron Street, San Diego, CA 92106, E-mail: ; Michael Webster, 

Shepherd School of Music, Rice University, P.O. Box 1892, Houston, TX 77251-1892, 713/838-0420 (home), 

713/838-0078 (fax), E-mail: ; Bruce Creditor, 11 Fisher Road, Sharon, MA 02067, 

E-mail: ; Thomas W. Jacobsen, 3970 Laurel Street, New Orleans, LA 70115, E-mail: 

; Jean-Marie Paul, Vandoren, 56 rue Lepic, F-75018 Paris, France, (33) 1 53 41 83 08 (phone), 

(33) 1 53 41 83 02 (fax), E-mail: ; Deborah Check Reeves, Curator of Education, National 

Music Museum, University of South Dakota, 414 E. Clark St., Vermillion, SD 57069; phone: 605/ 677-5306; fax: 

605/677-6995; Museum Web site: ; Personal Web site: ; 

Paul Harris, 15, Mallard Drive, Buckingham, Bucks. MK18 1GJ, U.K.; E-mail: ; 

Margaret Thornhill, 806 Superba Avenue, Venice, CA 90291; phone: 310/464-7653; e-mail ; 

personal Web site: 

I.C.A. Research Center: SCPA, Performing Arts Library, University of Maryland, 2511 Clarice Smith Performing 

Arts Center, College Park, MD 20742-1630 

Research Coordinator and Library Liaison: John Cipolla, Department of Music, Western Kentucky University, 

1906 College Heights Blvd #41029, Bowling Green, KY 41029, (S) 270/745-7093 

Webmaster: Kevin Jocius, Headed North, Inc. Web Design, 847/742-4730 (phone), 

Historian: Alan Stanek, 1352 East Lewis Street, Pocatello, ID 83201-4865, 208/232-1338 (phone), 208/282-4884 (fax), 

E-mail: 

International Liaisons: 

Australasia: Floyd Williams, 27 Airlie Rd, Pullenvale, Qld, Australia, (61)7 3374 2392 (phone), E-mail 

Europe/Mediterranean: Guido Six, Artanstraat 3, BE-8670 Oostduinkerke, Belgium, (32) 58 52 33 94 (home), (32) 59 70 70 

08 (office), (32) 58 51 02 94 (home fax), (32) 59 51 82 19 (office fax), E-mail: 

North America: Luan Mueller, 275 Old Camp Church Road, Carrollton, GA 30117, 678/796-2414 (cell), E-mail: 

South America: Marino Calva, Ejido Xalpa # 30 Col. Culhuacan, Mexico D.F. 04420 Coyoacan, (55) 56 95 42 10 

(phone/fax), (55) 91 95 85 10 (cell), E-mail: 

National Chairpersons: 

Argentina: Mariano Frogioni, Bauness 2760 4to. B, CP: 1431, Capital Federal, Argentina 

Armenia: Alexandr G. Manukyan, Aigestan str. 6 h. 34,Yerevan 375070, Armenia, E-mail: 

Australia: Floyd Williams, Queensland Conservatorium, P. O. Box 3428, Brisbane 4001, Australia; 61/7 3875 6235 (office); 

61/7 3374 2392 (home); 61/733740347 (fax); E-mail: 

Austria: Alfred Prinz, 3712 Tamarron Dr., Bloomington, Indiana 47408, U.S.A. 812/334-2226 

Belgium: Guido Six, Artanstraat 3, B-8670 Oostduinkerke, Belgium, 32/58 52 33 94 (home), 32 59 70 70 08 (office), 

Fax 32 58 51 02 94 (home), 32 59 51 82 19 (office), E-mail: 

Brazil: Ricardo Dourado Freire, SHIS QI 17 conj. 11 casa 02, 71.645-110 Brasília-DF, Brazil, 5561/248-1436 (phone), 

5561/248-2869 (fax), E-mail: 

Canada: vacant 

Eastern Canada: Stan Fisher, School of Music, Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia B0P 1XO, Canada 

Central Canada: Connie Gitlin, School of Music, University of Manitoba, 65 Dafoe Road, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2, Phone 

204/797-3220, E-mail: 

Western Canada: Gerald N. King, School of Music, University of Victoria, Box 1700 STN CSC, Victoria, British Columbia V8W 

2Y2, Canada, Phone 250/721-7889, Fax 250/721-6597, E-mail: 

Caribbean: Kathleen Jones, Torrimar, Calle Toledo 14-1, Guaynabo, PR 00966-3105, Phone 787/782-4963, 

E-mail: 

Chile: Luis Rossi, Coquimbo 1033 #1, Santiago centro, Chile, (phone/fax) 562/222-0162, E-mail: 

Costa Rica: Alvaro D. Guevara-Duarte, 300 M. Este Fabrica de Hielo, Santa Cruz-Guanacaste, Costa Rica, Central America, 

E-mail: 

Czech Republic: Stepán Koutník, K haji 375/15 165 00 Praha 6, Czech Republic, E-mail: 

Denmark: Jørn Nielsen, Kirkevaenget 10, DK-2500 Valby, Denmark, 45-36 16 69 61 (phone), 

E-mail: 

Finland: Antti Nuorivuori, Ainonkatu 4, FL-48200 Kotka, Finland, 358 400 50 1909 (phone), 358 401 50 1909 (fax), 

E-mail: 

France: Guy Deplus, 37 Square St. Charles, Paris, France 75012, phone 33 (0) 143406540 

Germany: Ulrich Mehlhart, Dornholzhauser Str. 20, D-61440 Oberursel, Germany, 

Great Britain: David Campbell, 83, Woodwarde Road, London SE22 8UL, England, 44 (0)20 8693 5696 (phone/fax), 

E-mail: 

Greece: Paula Smith Diamandis, S. Petroula 5, Thermi 57001, Thessaloniki, Greece, E-mail: 

Hong Kong: Andrew Simon, Flat A2, 20th Floor, Block A, The Fortune Gardens, 11 Seymour Road, Hong Kong, 

(011) 852 2987 9603 (phone), E-mail , 

Hungary: József Balogh, Hold utca 23, Fszt. 6, 1054 Budapest, Hungary, 361 388 6689 (phone), E-mail: , 

 

Iceland: Kjartan ‘Oskarsson, Tungata 47, IS-101, Reykjavik, Iceland, 354 552 9612 (phone), E-mail: 

Ireland: Tim Hanafin, Orchestral Studies Dept., DIT, Conservatory of Music, Chatham Row, Dublin 2, Ireland, 

353 1 4023577 (fax), 353 1 4023599 (home phone), E-mail: 

Israel: Eva Wasserman-Margolis, Weizman 6, Apt. 3, Givatayim, Israel 53236, E-mail: 

Italy: Luigi Magistrelli, Via Buonarroti 6, 20010 S. Stefano Ticino (Mi), Italy, 39/(0) 2 97 27 01 45 (phone/fax), 

E-mail: 

Japan: Koichi Hamanaka, Rm 575 9-1-7 Akasaka Minatoku, Tokyo 107-0052 Japan, 81-3-3475-2844 (phone), 81-3-3475-6417 

(fax), Web site: , E-mail: 

Korea: Im Soo Lee, Hanshin 2nd Apt., 108-302, Chamwondong Suhchoku, Seoul, Korea. (02) 533-6952 (phone), 

(02) 3476-6952 (fax), E-mail: 

Luxembourg: Marcel Lallemang, 11 Rue Michelshof, L-6251 Scheidgen, Luxembourg, E-mail: 

Mexico: Luis Humberto Ramos, Calz. Guadalupe I. Ramire No. 505-401 Col. San Bernadino, Xochimilco, Mexico D.F., 

16030. 6768709 (fax), E-mail: 

Netherlands: Nancy Wierdsma-Braithwaite, Arie van de Heuvelstraat 10, 3981 CV, Bunnik, Netherlands, E-mail: 

 

New Zealand: Andrew Uren, 26 Appleyard Crescent, Meadowbank, Auckland 5, New Zealand, 

64 9 521 2663 (phone and fax). 

Norway: Håkon Stødle, Fogd Dreyersgt. 21, 9008 Tromsø, Norway 47/77 68 63 76 (home phone), 47/77 66 05 51 (phone, 

Tromsø College), 47/77 61 88 99 (fax, Tromsø College), E-mail: 

People’s Republic of China: Guang Ri Jin, Music Department, Central National University, No. 27 Bai Shi Qiao Road, 

Haidian District, Beijing, People’s Republic of China, 86/10-6893-3290 (phone) 

Peru: Ruben Valenzuela Alejo, Av. Alejandro Bertello 1092, Lima, Peru 01, 564-0350 or 564-0360 (phone), 

(51-1) 564-4123 (fax), E-mail: 

Poland: Krzysztof Klima, os. Wysokie 10/28, 31-819 Krakow, Poland. 48 12 648 08 82 (phone), 48 12 648 08 82 (fax), 

E-mail: 

Portugal: António Saiote, Rua 66, N. 125, 2 Dto., 4500 Espinho, Portugal, 351-2-731 0389 (phone) 

Slovenia: Jurij Jenko, C. Na Svetje 56 A, 61215 Medvode, Slovenia. Phone 386 61 612 477 

South Africa: Edouard L. Miasnikov, P.O. Box 249, Auckland Park, 2006, Johannesburg, South Africa, 

(011) 476-6652 (phone/fax) 

Spain: Carlos Jesús Casadó Tarín, Calle Bausá, 8-10, Ptal.1-2°G Madrid 28033, Spain, (00 34) 690694557 (phone), 

E-mail: 

Sweden: Kjell-Inge Stevensson, Erikssund, S-193 00 Sigtuna, Sweden 

Switzerland: Andreas Ramseier, Alter Markt 6, CH-3400 Burgdorf, Switzerland 

Taiwan: Chien-Ming, 3F, 33, Lane 120, Hsin-Min Street, Tamsui, Taipei, Taiwan 25103 

Thailand: Peter Goldberg, 105/7 Soi Suparat, Paholyotin 14, Phyathai, Bangkok 10400 Thailand 

662/616-8332 (phone) or 662/271-4256 (fax), E-mail: 

Uruguay: Horst G. Prentki, José Martí 3292 / 701, Montevideo, Uruguay 11300, 00598-2-709 32 01 (phone) 

Venezuela: Victor Salamanques, Calle Bonpland, Res. Los Arboles, Torrec Apt. C-14D, Colinas de Bello Yonte Caracas 

1050, Venezuela, E-mail: 

Betty Brockett (1936–2003) 

Clark Brody, Evanston, Illinois 

Jack Brymer (1915–2003) 

Larry Combs, Evanston, Illinois 

Guy Deplus, Paris, France 

Stanley Drucker, New York, New York 

F. Gerard Errante, Norfolk, Virginia 

Lee Gibson, Denton, Texas 

James Gillespie, Denton, Texas 

Paul Harvey, Twickenham, Middlesex, U.K. 

Stanley Hasty, Rochester, New York 

Ramon Kireilis, Denver, Colorado 

Jacques Lancelot, Paris, France 

Karl Leister, Berlin, Germany 

HONORARY MEMBERS 

Mitchell Lurie, Los Angeles, California 

John McCaw, London, England 

John Mohler, Chelsea, Michigan 

Bernard Portnoy (1915–2006) 

Alfred Prinz, Bloomington, Indiana 

Harry Rubin, York, Pennsylvania 

James Sauers (1921–1988) 

William O. Smith, Seattle, Washington 

Ralph Strouf (1926–2002) 

Elsa Ludewig-Verdehr, East Lansing, Michigan 

Himie Voxman, Iowa City, Iowa 

George Waln (1904–1999) 

David Weber (1914–2006) 

Pamela Weston, Hothfield, Kent, U.K. 

Commercial Advertising / General Advertising Rates 

RATES & SPECIFICATIONS 

The Clarinet is published four times a year and contains at least 48 pages printed offset on 70 

lb. gloss stock. Trim size is approximately 8 1/4" x 11". All pages are printed with black ink, 

with 4,000 to 4,500 copies printed per issue. 

DEADLINES FOR ARTICLES, ANNOUNCEMENTS, 

RECITAL PROGRAMS, ADVERTISEMENTS, ETC. 

Sept. 1 for Dec. issue • Dec. 1 for Mar. issue • Mar. 1 for June issue • June 1 for Sept. issue 

—ADVERTISING RATES — 

Size Picas Inches Single Issue (B/W) Color** 

Outside Cover* 46x60 7-5/8x10 $1,000 

Inside Cover* 46x60 7-5/8x10 $560 $ 855 

Full Page 46x60 7-5/8x10 $420 $ 690 

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NOTE: Line screen values for the magazine are 150 for black & white ads and 175 for color. If the poor quality of 

any ad submitted requires that it be re-typeset, additional charges may be incurred. 

All new ads must be submitted in an electronic format. For more information concerning this procedure, 

contact Executive Director So Rhee. 

THE INTERNATIONAL CLARINET ASSOCIATION 

MEMBERSHIP FEES 

Student: $25 (U.S. dollars)/one year; $45 (U.S. dollars)/two years 

Regular: $50 (U.S. dollars)/one year; $95 (U.S. dollars)/two years 

Institutional: $50 (U.S. dollars)/one year; $95 (U.S. dollars)/two years 

Payment must be made by check, money order, Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or 

Discover. Make checks payable to the International Clarinet Association in U.S. dollars. 

Please use International Money Order or check drawn on U.S. bank only. Send payment to: 

The International Clarinet Association, So Rhee, P.O. Box 1310, Lyons, CO 80540 USA. 

© Copyright 2007, INTERNATIONAL CLARINET ASSOCIATION 

ISSN 0361-5553 All Rights Reserved 

Published quarterly by the INTERNATIONAL CLARINET ASSOCIATION 

Designed and printed by BUCHANAN VISUAL COMMUNICATIONS – Dallas, Texas U.S.A. 

Views expressed by the writers and reviewers in The Clarinet are not necessarily those of the staff of the journal or of the International Clarinet Association 


By a strange coincidence my current 

issue of The Clarinet arrived 

on the same day as an e-mail from 

the Editor of Clarinet and Saxophone, the 

CASS magazine, asking if I knew the 

whereabouts of Uncle Paul, who used to 

write a problem page in the early days of 

the Clarinet & Saxophone Society of 

Great Britain. I believe that the Mystery 

Clarinetist pictured on p. 30 [in the June 

issue] is none other than he, now known 

as Great Uncle Paul. He became embittered 

by the lack of recognition he 

received for his revolutionary theories on 

the consistency of cork grease, and went 

to live on a kibbutz in Israel. A significant 

clue is his telephone number, 999, written 

on the side of his hut. I understand that 

Helen Pearse plans to fly to Israel to interview 

this venerable clarinetist. 

— Paul Harvey 


Example 1 

A 

B 

C 

D 

by Michael Webster 

Rose Sperrazza 

Michael Webster 

HOW DRY AM I 

Thirty-eighth in a series of articles using 

excerpts from a clarinet method in progress 

by the Professor of Clarinet at Rice University’s 

Shepherd School of Music. 

Sometimes you get lucky. After 

seven years of tonguing incorrectly 

I went to Aspen, where Earl Bates 

(1920–1991; See The Clarinet 18/3, 

May/June 1991 for Henry Gulick’s tribute) 

taught me how to tongue “tip-to-tip” 

correctly. A year later, I matriculated at 

Eastman and found Stanley Hasty’s approach 

to be identical. 

Mr. Bates drew diagrams of two types 

of tone, in which the height represented 

dynamic and the width represented duration 

(see Example 1). 

Page 6 

A and B represent sustained air tonguing, 

tenuto and staccato. C and D represent 

notes that are tapered by the breath, C 

without silence and D with silence. When 

the sound stops abruptly, as in B, the style 

is called dry (secco in Italian, sec in 

French). There doesn’t seem to be a universally 

accepted term for C and D, so I 

call C wet and D moist. Both are versions 

of an articulation often indicated with dots 

and a slur, called legato-staccato. A is 

sometimes called legato tongue, but I prefer 

to call it tenuto (indicated by dashes 

over each note), reserving legato for 

slurred notes. With Mr. Bates I learned 

how to play dryly, sustaining the air while 

stopping notes with the tongue. 

Mr. Hasty used two signs to indicate 

A and B, placed between notes, as in 

Example 2. 

B, a deep V shape, is called a clip, and 

A is a plus that he didn’t give a name to, 

so let’s call it a non-clip. In general, the 

clip is used to shorten the last note of a 

slur in preparation for staccato, whereas 

the non-clip is used between slurs and is 

identical to tenuto tongue. After a clip, 

the tongue stays on the reed for a short 

time, whereas as it bounces off the reed 

immediately after a non-clip. All of 

Hasty’s undergrads were given a diet of 

Klosé and Rose, laden with clips and 

non-clips, and the explanation that they 

seem like exaggerations in practice but 

Example 2 

THE CLARINET 

sound normal and natural when performed 

at speed. 

Students will have better success with 

Rose studies if they have a strongly 

developed sense of how and when to clip 

or not to clip, starting at the intermediate 

level. Speed is important, because clipping 

at a slow tempo can indeed conjure 

up images of the Sahara. So these examples 

are all at a tempo that is fast enough 

for clipping to be viable, but slow enough 

for the intermediate student. 

The Ländler by Schubert (Example 2) 

must be fast enough to have the characteristic 

lilt of this Austrian dance, a slow 

waltz also favored by Brahms and Mahler, 

among others. Measure 1 demonstrates the 

easiest way to approach the non-clip, via 

repeated notes that do not require coordination 

of finger and tongue. Crossing the 

bar line into m. 2 is an exception to the 

general rule of clipping to prepare staccato 

notes. Here the need to lead to the emphasized 

downbeat of the Ländler supersedes 

the usual practice. The first clip comes in 

m. 7, followed by several more (mm. 9, 

10, 12, 13, 14). 

In our zeal to practice clips and nonclips 

let’s not forget to make music! For 

example, the breath can emphasize each 

downbeat to impart the characteristic 

feeling of one beat per bar in a Ländler, 

with the even-numbered bars having 

more emphasis than the odd-numbered. 

The quarter notes in mm. 2, 4, and 6

CALL FOR 

PROPOSALS 

ClarinetFest® 2008 

Kansas City, 

Missouri, USA 

July 2–6, 2008 

2008 will ClarinetFest® 

take place on the campus 

of the University 

of Missouri–Kansas 

City. Co-sponsored by the UMKC 

Conservatory of Music and Dance, 

the conference takes place in the 

heart of Kansas City, the city with 

more fountains than any other than 

Rome and second to only Paris in 

number of boulevards. The campus 

is very close to the Plaza restaurant 

and shopping district, modeled after 

historic Seville, Spain. 

If you are interested in sending 

in a presentation proposal, please 

download and complete the Callfor-Proposals 

Application Form 

from and send 

to the address below. Recordings 

and written requests will be accepted 

through September 1, 2007 and 

will be reviewed by the committee. 

Jane Carl, Artistic Director 

ClarinetFest® 2008 

University of Missouri–Kansas City 

Conservatory of Music and Dance 

4949 Cherry 

Kansas City, MO 64110 

 


www.music.uiuc.edu 

Example 3 

KARL KRAMER, DIRECTOR 

• Consistently ranked among the 

best American music schools 

• Internationally renowned faculty 

• Numerous financial awards 

• Thousands of successful alumni 

• Excellent facilities 

VARIETY OF ACADEMIC 

PROGRAMS 

Bachelor’s, Master’s, and 

Doctoral degrees 

ARTIST 

FACULTY 

Page 8 

For more information, please contact: 

Music Admissions Office 

Phone: 217-244-7899 

E-mail: musadm@music.uiuc.edu 

J. David Harris 

clarinet 

John Dee 

oboe 

Jonathan Keeble 

flute 

Timothy McGovern 

bassoon 

Debra Richtmeyer 

saxophone 

Accredited institutional member of the National 

Association of Schools of Music since 1933. 

should be tapered with the breath, as in 

Example 1, C or D. There is also room 

for variety in the length and style of the 

staccato notes and clips. 

I like Carmine Campione’s conception 

of articulated notes having five possible 

lengths between the longest tenuto and 

the shortest staccato. One can practice 

any of these examples using all five, but 

the most stylish option here would be 

number 4, medium short. One should 

also experiment with the firm, hard, 

pointed tongue tip; lightness of touch on 

the reed; and lateral placement between 

the center and corner of the reed. Rather 

than stopping the sound too abruptly, 

allowing the reed to have the tiniest 

“echo” due to lightness or lateral placement 

of the tongue can render a nice 

pizzicato-like quality: short but resonant. 

This menu allows you to have your cake 

THE CLARINET 

and eat it too, with a wine that is dry but 

not too dry! 

The Handel Pièce pour le Clavecin is 

a bit more complicated and difficult. The 

first four measures have typical clips 

ending each two-note slur. Measure 5 is 

also typical: four non-clips. Unlike the 

Ländler, this offers an opportunity to 

practice coordinating fingers and tongue 

during non-clips. The second note of m. 

6 could be clipped or not, depending on 

personal preference. I think it sounds better 

not clipped, continuing the sequence 

of the previous four. The 16th notes do 

not influence the clipping of B ♭ at the end 

of the third beat. I choose not to clip at 

the barline of m. 10 for the same reason 

as in m. 6. The three-note slur, often 

favored by Heinrich Baermann in his 

articulation of Weber, should also be 

clipped, as in m. 18.

Example 4 

Example 5 

No clarinet method would be complete 

without the Clarinet Polka. It is fun 

to play and also pedagogically rich, containing 

arpeggio study on the tonic triad 

and dominant seventh, short trills, fast 

triplets, “moist” quarters, clips and nonclips. 

It is also a very good means of 

gaining speed in mixed articulations. 

There are non-clips at the first double bar 

and in mm. 11, 14, and 15 and clips in 

mm. 1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 12, 13, 16, and 17. 

Meanwhile, the repeated quarters (mm. 2, 

6, 10, and 18) demonstrate how clips and 

non-clips don’t work well at slower 

speeds. These quarters must be tapered or 

stopped with the air to achieve a joyful 

bounce without dryness. The trills can be 

two finger wiggles, single inverted mordents, 

or omitted, depending upon the 

ability of the individual student. 

Finally we have a sample of the rich 

pedagogical repertoire for piano by one 

of the best composers for children, 

Robert Schumann. His works for piano 

solo (e.g. Kinderszenen, Op. 15; Album 

für die Jugend, Op. 67) and piano duet 

(e.g. 12 Vierhändige Klavierstücke für 

kleine und grosse Kinder, Op. 85; 

Kinderball, Op. 130) contain dozens and 

dozens of musical pictures that are richly 

varied in mood and expression, sophisticated 

but easy to play. Many of them are 

adaptable for clarinet, and The Wild 

Horseman (Example 5) is one of my 

favorites. It offers the budding pianist 

staccato practice in both hands, and the 

clarinetist the same staccato practice in 

both registers. A short staccato (number 

4 or 5 on the Campione length scale) 

with exaggerated clips is appropriate for 

the fast clip clop of hooves, the sforzandi 

adding to the drama. Don’t miss the 

chance to point out how the melody outlines 

tonic and dominant triads in D 

minor and B ♭ major. 

Whether the repertoire is Mozart, 

Weber, Brahms, Muczynski, or Stockhausen, 

mastering the art of clipping is essential 

to becoming a fine clarinetist. For most 

people, clip art is a child of the Internet, 

but for clarinetists, clip art goes back to 

Anton Stadler and beyond. By mastering 

the art of the clip and non-clip, a clarinetist 

can answer the question “How dry am I” 

confidently: “Just as dry as the musical 

style dictates.” 

WEBSTER’S WEB 

Your feedback and input are valuable to 

our readership. Please send comments and 

questions to Webster’s Web at or Michael Webster, Shepherd 

School of Music, MS-532, P.O. Box 

1892, Houston TX 77251-1892; fax 713- 

348-5317; Web site . Jim Gillespie and I are still 

interested in receiving articles about teaching 

beginning or younger clarinetists to 

supplement my current articles, which 


have reached the intermediate student 

level. Such articles may be sent directly to 

Webster’s Web. 

In response to the articles about yoga and 

the clarinet, I received the following letter 

from Josh Mietz, an ultramarathoning clarinetist 

who lives is Missoula, MT, where he 

is a GTA for the University of Montana: 

First I would like to thank and 

congratulate you on your recent articles. 

Your discussion of our physical 

selves and how awareness through 

yoga can nurture that is much needed, 

I feel. 

Second, I’d like to suggest two 

books. While I’m not an MD, I studied 

massage therapy (CMT) between 

my degrees in clarinet performance. 

Rather than taking the usual route of 

working on clients full time, I opted 

to teach cadaver-based anatomy and 

was involved in many dissections 

and presented lectures based on that 

work. While the Netter’s was certainly 

a reference for location, we 

used these books as a means of elaborating 

on various functions associated 

with the anatomy presented. 

The first, Anatomy of Hatha 

Yoga by H. David Coulter, has an 

amazing description of respiration 

and includes fascinating data regarding 

the autonomic nervous system 

and various lung capacities. It 

also goes into great detail about the 

function of the anatomy during each 

of the yoga poses. The second book 

is Anatomy Trains by Thomas W. 

Myers. This relates somewhat to the 

breathing issues but more specifically 

to postural anatomy. There are 

discussions of various instrumentalists 

(sadly the clarinet is not one, but 

the trumpet comes close) as well as 

athletes. This book takes a holistic 

approach to our bodies and how, for 

example, a hypertrophic muscle in 

our back may be affecting something 

in our leg or arm. The opposite 

can also be true that something 

in your leg may be affecting something 

in your neck. You may also 

find, as I did, as a runner, that this 

book will make you rethink some of 

your training patterns as well as 

clarinet practice habits. 

I hope this information helps. 

They are great references. 

All the best, 

Josh Mietz 

My comment: 

I purchased both books, and have had 

an opportunity only to skim them so far. 

Both are handsomely presented, profusely 

illustrated, and very detailed in approaching 

their subject matter. The first is specifically 

geared toward the yoga practitioner, 

while the second deals with a fascinating 

aspect of general anatomy. I am really looking 

forward to reading them in more detail. 

The Clarinet 

PUBLICATION SCHEDULE 

The magazine is usually 

mailed during the last week of 

February, May, August and November. 

Delivery time within 

North America is normally 

10–14 days, while airmail 

delivery time outside of North 

America is 7–10 days. 

Clarinet Dayat THE BOSTON CONSERVATORY 

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2007 

9 A.M.–10 P.M. 

ACTIVITIES: 

MASTERCLASSES, VENDOR EXHIBITS, 

PRESENTATIONS, EVENING CONCERT 

MEET THE ARTISTS: 

TOM MARTIN (BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA), 

MICHAEL NORSWORTHY, JONATHAN COHLER, 

IAN GREITZER (BOSTON POPS), AND OTHERS 

Join us in Boston this fall for a day devoted 

to the clarinet and an evening concert by 

some of the country’s top artists. 

Try new clarinets, mouthpieces, reeds, and 

equipment; attend public masterclasses; 

and experience all that the Boston clarinet 

community has to offer. All ages and ability 

levels are welcome. 

VENDORS: 

BUFFET CRAMPON, YAMAHA, BACKUN MUSICAL, ORSI & WEIR, 

CONN/SELMER, RICO REEDS, VANDOREN, CLARK FOBES, 

GARY GORCZYCA REPAIRS, AND MANY OTHERS. 

REGISTRATION FEE: $30 

Michael Norsworthy 

Clarinet Faculty 

Director, Clarinet Day at 

The Boston Conservatory 

8 The Fenway 

Boston, MA 02215 

www.bostonconservatory.edu 

Please vistit www.michaelnorsworthy.com/clarinetday for registration details and masterclass participation. 

Or call (617) 912-9124 or email mnorsworthy@bostonconservatory.edu 

Page 10 

THE CLARINET

2007 Harold Wright 

Clarinet Merit Award 

Yuan Gao 

Since its inception in 2003, The 

Boston Woodwind Society 

(BWWS) grants yearly merit awards 

to honor the artistry and achievements of 

five legendary woodwind musicians, 

including clarinetist Harold Wright. The 

recipient of the 2007 Harold Wright 

Clarinet Merit Award is Yuan Gao. Mr. 

Gao is currently a student of Jonathan 

Cohler at The Longy School of Music in 

Cambridge, MA, where he is an Artist 

Diploma candidate. At the age of 16, Mr. 

Gao won First Prize at the Second National 

Clarinet Competition of China, and a 

year later was the top prizewinner at the 

Jeunesses Musicales competition in Romania. 

As a member of Trio Diamante 

(clarinet, violin and piano), Mr. Gao was a 

First Prize winner at the 2006 International 

Chamber Music Ensemble Competition 

(sponsored by the Chamber Music Foundation 

of New England) and a quarterfinalist 

at the Fischoff National Chamber Music 

Competition. In June 2007, Mr. Gao participated 

in the International Woodwind 

Festival in Boston, performing in masterclasses 

led by Jessica Phillips and 

Valdemar Rodriguez. 

To learn more about the BWWS merit 

awards, visit their Web site at 

. 

“G. Mensi” International 

Clarinet Competition of 

Breno, Italy 

A Report by Luigi Magistrelli 

The fifth edition of the Breno 

International Clarinet Competition 

“G. Mensi” took place on May 

10–12, 2007. Breno is a nice little town 

in the northern part of Italy where 

Giacomo Mensi was born. He was a talented 

clarinetist who studied at the local 

Conservatory in Darfo Boario Terme, 

and then later took a diploma at the 

Hochschule of Freiburg (Germany) 

studying with the well-known player 

Dieter Klöcker. Soon after his graduation 

he died in a tragic car accident. This 

competition has been organized in order 

to keep alive the memory of this young 

player. In the competition the clarinetists 

could compete in three different categories: 

“young promises” Category A (up 

to 13 years old) and B (ages 14–17) and 

“excellence.” The president of the jury in 

the major category was Wenzel Fuchs of 

the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. The 

other members of the jury were Luigi 

Magistrelli, Nicola Miorada, Primo 

Borali and Silvio Maggioni, who was 

also the organizer and Artistic Director of 

the Competition. 

A good number of participants arrived 

from Italy and other European countries. 

In the “young promises” division the 

winners ex-aequo of Category A were 

Stefano Borghi from Modena (Italy) and 

Kalin Kante Aliaz from Slovenia who 

each won 100 Euros. Second prize went 

to Stefano Martinelli from Vercelli 

(Italy) who won 150 Euros, and third 

prize to Filip Rusnov from Croatia, who 

won 100 Euros. Special mention was 

made to Marco Laffranchini from Darfo 

Boario Terme (Italy). In the Category B 

first prize was awarded to Andrea Fallico 

CORRECTION 

In Rose Sperrazza’s Master 

Class article in the June 2007 issue 

(Vol. 34, No. 3, pp. 6,8), the musical 

examples were reversed by mistake. 

Figure 1 should be Figure 2, 

and vice versa. We apologize for 

the mistake and for any confusion it 

may have caused. 

—James Gillespie, Editor 

(l to r) prize winners: Manuela Vettori, Antonio Piemonte, Rumy Balazs, Igor Armani, 

Giampiero Pezzucchi (Breno city administration) and members of the jury: Primo 

Borali, Wenzel Fuchs, Nicola Miorada (behind) Luigi Magistrelli and Silvio Maggioni 


from Bronte who won 300 Euros, (Italy), 

second prize ex-aequo to Calogero Presti 

from Caltanisetta (Italy) and to Daniele 

Zamboni from Darfo Boario Terme who 

each won 100 Euros. Third prize exaequo 

went to Fabio Maini from San 

Giovanni Bianco (Italy) and to Damiano 

Pè from Darfo Boario Terme (Italy) who 

each won 75 Euros. Special mention 

went to Fabrizio Alessandrini from Roccafranca 

(Italy) and Gioele Rudari from 

Desenzano, (Italy). 

In the first round of the “Excellence” 

category the compulsory pieces were the 

Weber Concerto No. 1, Op. 73 and a 

modern and interesting piece, Elegy for 

Danny by Ciro Scarponi, an Italian clarinetist 

who recently died. In the second 

round 11 players out of 35 were passed 

on to the next round where they had to 

play the Stravinski 3 Pieces and the 

Mozart Concerto. Five players were 

selected for the last round, where the last 

two movements of the Weber Op. 73 

were chosen as the required repertoire. 

The winner was the Hungarian Balazs 

Rumy, who received 2,000 Euros and the 

opportunity to perform the Weber 

Concerto, Op 73 and Elegy for Danny 

with the Vivaldi Chamber Orchestra, 

conducted by Silvio Maggioni, the day 

after the conclusion of the competition. 

Second prize and 350 Euros each was 

given to Igor Armani (Trento, Italy) and 

Antonio Piemonte (Regalbuto, Italy) and 

third prize to Manuela Vettori (Trento, 

Italy) who received 300 Euros. Special 

mention went to Maria Francesca Latella 

(Lamantea, Italy). 

Karl Leister Master Classes 

On World Wide Web 

On April 25, 2007, German clarinetist 

Karl Leister presented a 

two-hour master class at Northwestern 

University to an enthusiastic 

group of student and professional players. 

The class was streamed live over the 

World Wide Web. Two evenings later 

Herr Leister presented an expressive performance 

of music by Mendelssohn, 

Schumann, Schubert and Beethoven. The 

event was arranged and hosted by Northwestern 

University faculty clarinetist 

Steve Cohen. 

Capitol Clarinet Choir 

On May 6, 2007, the Capitol Clarinet 

Choir, consisting of Washington, 

D.C.’s finest professional 

clarinetists, performed its first concert at 

St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church 

and Day School in Annapolis, Maryland. 

Ben Redwine, Artistic Director for the St. 

Andrew’s Concert Series (), 

organized the concert as 

the finale for the series’ inaugural season. 

Works performed were Samuel Barber’s 

Adagio for Strings, Peter Schickele’s 

Monochrome III, John Stephen’s Nocturne, 

Percy Aldridge Grainger’s No. 5 Irish Tune 

From County Derry, arr. Maurice Saylor 

and Walking Music, arr. Scott Farquhar, 

John Stephen’s Nonette, the world premiere 

of Maurice Saylor’s Three Fits from the 

Hunting of the Snark, Robert Roden’s A 

Difference of Opinion, and the world premiere 

of Tune Takes a Trip, by Henry 

Cowell. Maurice Saylor and Ben Redwine 

traveled to the Library of Congress, where 

Henry Cowell’s works are catalogued. The 

never before performed work, written in 

1948 by one of America’s preeminent composers, 

was copied and engraved for this 

premiere performance by Ben and Maurice. 

Third International 

Clarinet Competition 

“Saverio Mercadante’ 

The Third International Clarinet 

Compettion “Severio Mercadante” will be 

held in Noci (Bari), Italy, October 11–14, 

2007. Fabio di Casola will serve as 

Chairman for the Competition. There are 

three categories: senior soloists (born after 

1972), junior soloist (born after 1989) and 

chamber music (with clarinet from duo to 

sextet; contestants born after 1972). 

For more information and competition 

rules, consult the Web site: . 

Back Issues 

of The Clarinet 

Back-issue order forms for The 

Clarinet may now be downloaded 

from the I.C.A. Web site: . 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: 

Karl Leister instructs Northwestern student 

Michael Rezzo. 

Page 12 

(left to right) Ben Redwine, Sheila Buck, Carl Long, Dawn Henry, Lori Fowser, conductor 

John Stephens, Jim Hurd, Paul Skinner, Sam Chin, Maurice Saylor, and percussionist 

Greg Herron. Seated, from left to right: Scott Farquhar and Darin Thiriot. 

THE CLARINET

y William Nichols 

Awelcome new addition to this 

writer’s library is a release on the 

Phaedra label, a disc which is volume 

45 in the Phaedra series of Belgian 

music entitled In Flanders’ Fields. It presents 

two large works by composer, pianist 

and conductor Piet Swerts: the String 

Quartet No. 2 of 1998, and the Clarinet 

Quintet of 2001. The Belgian clarinetist 

Roeland Hendrikx joins the Tempera 

String Quartet of Finland in the quintet. 

The quartet is performed by the Spiegel 

String Quartet. 

This release is an effective chamber 

music experience which spans a wide 

emotional range and presents accessible 

and engaging music. The production 

notes justifiably state that “Piet Swert’s 

music succeeds splendidly in building a 

bridge between tradition and our own 

time. His warm, passionate and highly 

lyrical language charms everyone into an 

intense experience of the whole range of 

human feelings.” Swerts, now in his mid- 

40s, is an accomplished composer with 

more than 200 works to his credit. 

The Clarinet Quintet is a five-movement 

work of 32+ minutes and is a significant 

contribution to the repertoire. 

The clarinet is treated for the most part as 

an important but not dominating voice. 

The harmonic language is that of a contemporary 

tonal style, and traditional 

structural forms are at work here. There 

is a serene beauty present in much of this 

quintet and a stylistic intensity reminiscent 

of Shostakovich. The second movement, 

“Notturno,” and fourth movement, 

“Elegia,” are the longest sections, occupying 

more than half the quintet’s duration, 

and are seemingly the focal points 

of the work. The “Elegia” is a simple 

piece which is mesmerizing, and in its 

unique timeless way, remindful of the 

“Air” from Bach’s D-major orchestral 

suite. The two slow movements are separated 

by a satirical “Scherzo” which 

again hearkens somewhat to Shostakovich 

and even includes a quote from Johann 

Strauss. The quintet finale is a rondo 

of moderately fast tempo which features 

the different voices of the ensemble and 

presents the clarinet in a more virtuosic 

manner than previously heard. 

The performance by Roeland Hendrikx 

and the Tempera Quartet is exquisitely 

warm and committed. Hendrikx is the 

principal clarinetist of the Belgian 

National Orchestra and has demonstrated 

a devotion to the cause of Belgian music. 

He possesses a lovely, round tone, and his 

smooth facility is heard to great affect in 

this recording, especially in the quintet’s 

finale. The recorded sound is very good, 

transparent in texture, and well balanced, 

even if the string quartet work has a bit 

more sonic impact than that of the quintet. 

While the Clarinet Quintet will be of 

more interest to our readers, the String 

Quartet No. 2 is also enthusiastically recommended. 

The work is interesting, 

Van Cott Information 

Services, Inc. 

See our full catalog of woodwind 

books, music, and CDs at: 

http://www.vcisinc.com 

Shipping (Media Mail-U.S.): $4.50 

for the first item, $.50 for each 

additional. Priority and Overseas 

Air Mail also available. 

We accept purchase orders from 

US Universities. 

email: info@vcisinc.com 

P.O. Box 9569 

Las Vegas, NV 89191, USA 

(702) 438-2102 

Fax (801) 650-1719 

Clarinet Music 

Arnold Bass Cl Scale Book ....... $19.95 

Brahms Cl Sonatas [Henle]........ $29.95 

Brahms Cl Trio [Henle] ............. $32.95 

Messiean Qrt. For End of Time.. $44.95 

Mozart Cl Conc. K622 [Baer.] .. $20.95 

Mozart Cl Quintet K581 [Baer.] $18.95 

Neilsen Cl Conc. [W Hanson] ... $36.95 

Bernstein “Riffs” ....................... $16.95 

Viktor’s Tale Cl Pn (J. Williams) $14.95 

Music 750+ & CDs 200+ 

strongly dramatic, and varied in content. 

This disc in its entirety makes for wonderful 

listening experiences from first 

hearing to subsequent hearings. Piet 

Swert’s musicality as demonstrated in the 

Clarinet Quintet, and the piece’s playability, 

should make this a strong programming 

possibility for a clarinetist 

looking for a new clarinet/string quintet. 

The production is well annotated with 

photographs and notes in four languages. 

The release is PHAEDRA 92045, and the 

Web site is: . This 

music is available for order from the Phaedra 

Web site as a CD, or also as a download. The 

disc is also available through the artist’s Web 

site at: . 

* * * * * 

Another disc featuring compositions by 

one composer has come my way, this time a 

Clarinet Books 

32 Rose Studies: Analysis & Study Guide (Larsen) $29.95 

Advanced Intonation Tech w/CD (J.Gibson) ....... $29.95 

Bass Clarinet [Method] (Volta) ............................ $44.95 

Daniel Bonade (Kycia) ........................................ $35.95 

The Daniel Bonade Workbook (Guy) .................. $24.95 

Baroque Clarinet (Rice) ...................................... $34.95 

Campione on Clarinet (Campione) ...................... $44.95 

Clarinet (Brymer) ................................................ $19.95 

The Clarinet Doctor (Klug) .................................. $34.95 

Clarinet Fingerings (Ridenour)............................. $19.95 

Clarinetist’s Guide to Klezmer (Puwalski) ............ $24.95 

Clarinetist’s Notebook Vol. 1 (Schmidt)............... $29.95 




The Clarinet Revealed (Ferron) ............................ $29.95 

Clarinet Concerto in Outline (Heim) .............. $24.95 

Clarinet Literature in Outline (Heim) .................. $24.95 

Clarinet Secrets (Gingras)[Revised Ed.]................. $34.95 

Clarinet Sonata in Outline (Heim) [New Printing] $24.95 

Clarinet Virtuosi of the Past (Weston) .................. $38.95 

More Clarinet Virtuosi of the Past (Weston) ......... $38.95 

Yesterday’s Clarinettists: A Sequel (Weston) ........ $38.95 

Educators Guide to the Clarinet (Ridenour).......... $46.95 

Embouchure Building (Guy) ............................... $14.95 

Hand & Finger Development (Guy) ................. $24.95 

HB for Making and Adj. Sngl. Reeds (Opperman) $19.95 

Mozart Forgeries (Leeson) .................................. $19.95 

Orchestral Studies for the Eb Cl (Hadcock) .......... $21.95 

Orchestral Musician’s Library CD-ROM [each] ... $19.95 

(Vols 1-8() with discounts on 3 or more) 

Symphonic Rep. Bass Cl Vols 1-3 (Drapkin) ea. $21.95 

The Working Clarinetist (Hadcock)...................... $39.95 


2006 release from Centaur Records featuring 

three concertos by Rudolf Haken. 

Professor Haken is a violist and active 

orchestra, chamber music, new music, and 

solo performer, and chairs the string division 

of the University of Illinois School of 

Music. He was a member of the Houston 

Symphony and Houston Grand Opera 

Orchestra, he has participated in summer 

festivals, and has presented master classes 

internationally. In addition to concertizing 

in North and South America and in Europe, 

he has done extensive study of piano and 

composition. Information about his compositions 

and recordings can be found on his 

Web site: . 

The three concertos programmed on 

this disc are the Concerto for Five-String 

Viola, the Oboe Concerto, and the Clarinet 

Concerto. The soloists are Haken, Nancy 

Ambrose King, and William King, respectively. 

In each case the accompanying 

ensembles are not of traditional orchestral 

instrumentation, however they are all conducted 

by Julien Benichou. 

Just a quick perusal of the accompanying 

ensemble for the Clarinet Concerto is a 

tip off that this not a traditional concerto: 

piccolo, oboe, clarinet, bass clarinet, soprano 

saxophone, contrabassoon, horn, trumpet, 

trombone, tuba, marimba, tom-toms, 

vibes, cymbal, two lead steel pans, snare, 

two double second pans, cello pan, triangle, 

bass pan, tam-tam, 1st violins, 2nd 

violins, violas, cellos, and six-string electric 

bass. The piece is dedicated to the 

soloist, William King. 

The steel drums are used to good 

effect, primarily in the opening of the 

concerto and in a return of the opening 

material, and mark the first time this listener 

has encountered steel pans used in 

an orchestral context, and in a large form 

(a 25-minute solo work). The movement 

is based on the four-note B(B ♭ )ACH(B) 

pitch motive used by a number of composers 

in past works. The motive serves 

as a basis for a calypso-inspired steel 

Visit the International 

Clarinet Association 

on the World Wide Web: 

www.clarinet.org 

Page 14 

band tune, which is infectious and happy, 

and every bit of what one would expect 

from a Caribbean steel band. The movement 

is a bit raucous and jazzy in its 

BACH variations, with a hint along the 

way of Kurt Weill. Surprisingly it closes 

with a solo tuba leading to the slow 

movement, which is based on the threenote 

motive ACH. This lyrical section 

features several solo instruments in addition 

to the clarinet. In addition to marimba 

and vibraphone the steel pans are 

effectively used. The last movement is 

described by the composer as opening 

with a CH motive, the second half of the 

BACH motive, from which develops a 

raucous tune in triple meter, which alternates 

throughout with an expansive, lyrical 

melody. The concerto culminates in a 

bombastic climax, featuring an epic battle 

between the two themes. The movement 

is at times tongue-in-cheek, perhaps 

a satirical polacca, and exhibits a keen 

scoring imagination. This exciting trip 

ends brilliantly. 

The performance by William King is 

first-rate in every way. Dr. King is an 

experienced player who has played with 

several major American orchestra, festival 

orchestras, chamber orchestras, opera 

and ballet orchestras, as well as making 

solo appearances. He is on the faculty of 

Oakland University in Rochester, 

Michigan. He possesses a full, vibrant 

tone, crisp articulation and smooth technique. 

He plays this concerto with complete 

mastery, which is demonstrated 

throughout, with special praise for the last 

movement. The ensembles in all three 

works under Julien Benichou are precise, 

well balanced and exciting in their at times 

somewhat unusual role. 

All of the music on this disc was 

recorded in 2002 at the Krannert Center at 

the University of Illinois. The recording is 

sonically excellent, beautifully balanced, 

and quite transparent, even when the musical 

textures get thick. Kudos to engineer 

Jon Schoenoff for capturing so strikingly 

this sometimes problematic music. 

This disc is highly recommended not 

only for the clarinet work, but also for 

Haken’s exuberant Americana fiddling 

style of the viola work and the beautiful 

and engaging Oboe Concerto, so wonderfully 

played by Nancy Ambrose King. 

Haken’s music is both original and derivative, 

well crafted, and a joy to experience. 

This is a winner — guaranteed to 

bring a smile to your face. 

THE CLARINET 

The recording is CENTAUR CRC 2826 

and is available at retail outlets and from the 

label Web site: . 

* * * * * 

Apologies are due the members of 

Trio Lignum and to David Osenberg of 

Classiquest for only now making known 

to our readers a really terrific recording 

on the Hungarian label BMC, received in 

2005. The release entitled Offertorium 

presents this outstanding ensemble consisting 

of Csaba Klenyán and Lajos 

Rozmán (clarinets and bass clarinets) and 

bassoonist György Lakatos. Fortunately 

the recording is still available and Trio 

Lignum has also released a later disc 

entitled Dream Drawing, which I hope 

will come my way soon. 

The programming concept is remarkable, 

and a straight-through listening of the 

15 tracks of this 66 minutes of music flies 

by. The contents are early music from the 

Middle Ages and Renaissance (plus a 

piece from a Bach pupil), contrasted with 

late 20th-century and 21st-century works. 

The pieces are intermingled in an order 

that effectively works, and includes trio 

pieces from early masters Machaut, 

Landini, Desprez, Ockeghem, Byrd, and 

John Bull. The modern works are: Chromatic 

Game (1999) and Five Repeated 

(1985) by László Sáry; Gegen (2003) and 

Der Richter (1999) by Ádám Kondor; 

Quand j’étais jeune, on me disait (1994) 

by Zoltán Jeney; Berçeuse canonique 

(1993) by László Vidovszky; and Verba 

Mea (2002) by András Soós. The Bach 

pupil’s piece mentioned above was transcribed 

in 2000 by Ádám Kondor and 

given the title A Musical Labyrinth. 

The performances of these early works 

on modern instruments would win over 

even die hard purists. There is a purity of 

tuning and serenity of sound offered by 

this ensemble which is rarely heard. These 

early pieces are without exception a joy to 

hear and will perhaps give some readers 

ideas about the viability of Medieval and 

Renaissance music for this instrumentation. 

Trio Lignum’s performances are 

appropriately reverent when called for and 

in keeping with the CD’s title. Also appropriate 

is the idea of beginning and ending 

the disc with Guillaume de Machaut’s 

rondeaux, “My end is my beginning and 

my beginning my end,” presented I 

believe as two different recording takes.

The prelude-like keyboard piece by one of 

Bach’s pupils is somewhat daring and 

stunningly beautiful as presented here in 

this modern transcription. 

The modern repertoire is engaging and 

demonstrates the ensemble’s control of 

tone color, intonation, rhythmic security 

and technical skills, which are of a very 

high level. The music also showcases the 

surprisingly wide range of colors available 

to only three instruments. Ádám 

Kondor’s Gegen is a dissonant and dramatic 

piece which amply displays the 

ensemble’s virtuosic skills. It is very 

angular, at times frantic, and at times utilizes 

microtonal writing. It is scored for 

bass clarinet in place of the second clarinet, 

and creates some striking sounds. 

This exciting piece is in memory of 

Xenakis whose fingerprint is present. 

Also by Kondor is Der Richter which 

uses two bass clarinets. The trio is joined 

here by vocalist Zoltán Mizsei in one of 

the most intriguing pieces on the disc. 

The text is based on a story from a novel 

by Adam Seide on an unjust death sentence 

issued in the last years of the Nazi 

regime. The two-bass clarinets and bassoon 

scoring makes for some dark and 

dramatic elements. The piece stylistically 

brings to mind Schönberg’s A Survivor 

from Warsaw. 

Two pieces by László Sáry, Chromatic 

Game and Five Repeated are simple pieces 

using kaleidoscopic effects created by 

rhythmic and melodic cells (perhaps á la 

Steve Reich). The Vidovsky Berçeuse Canonique 

is a fascinating three-part canon and 

is a transcription of a piano piece. Verba 

Mea of András Soós is influenced in concept 

by Renaissance choral music based on 

letter codes. The performers read a text 

silently and build the piece based on the 

inner rhythm and articulation of the text. In 

practice this becomes a piece more linked 

to the performers than the composer. 

Throughout the whole of this disc we 

hear a gorgeous, dark woody sound from 

these instrumentalists, blending perfectly in 

all aspects. This music cannot be played 

any better. Indeed there are not too many 

choices of recordings of music for two clarinets 

and bassoon to be had, but Trio Lignum’s 

Offertorium is the best one known 

to this writer. The sonic palette is gorgeous. 

Strongly recommended, this release is 

BMC CD 090, and is available from the 

BMC Web site: . The 

e-mail address is: . 

Good listening! 

PHOTO: CHIANEN YEN 

Bethe instrument 

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UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA — 

LINCOLN’S 11TH ANNUAL 

MIDWEST CLARIFEST 

A review by Kristen Denny 

The 11th annual Midwest ClariFest, 

hosted by Diane Barger (Associate 

Professor of Clarinet), took 

place on the University of Nebraska–Lincoln 

campus on Friday, March 30, 2007. 

Michael Lowenstern, renowned bass clarinetist 

and one of the country’s leading 

producers of creative electro-acoustic 

music, served as the guest artist and clinician. 

More than 60 participants were 

involved in the event including high 

school and college students along with 

teachers and guests. 

The day was ushered in with a performance 

by the UNL clarinet choir conducted 

by Dr. Barger which opened and closed 

with lively works by Gordon Jacob and 

Rimsky-Korsakov. Monochrome III for 

nine clarinets by Peter Schickele was certainly 

the highlight. With a clever combination 

of chromatic-rich clusters and soaring 

solo lines executed by DMA student 

Pance Zaev, it was a crowd favorite. 

Michael Lowenstern lead two master 

classes where performers ranged from 9th 

grade students to DMA students and teachers. 

Aside from emphasizing the importance 

of developing strong fundamentals, other 

topics included the use of physical movement 

to build internal rhythm, voicing 

exercises combined with moving the 

head up and down, keeping the fingers 

Page 16 

strong yet supple, exercises to strengthen 

lip muscles and prevent air leakage, and a 

demonstration of circular breathing. 

While working with 12th grader Celeste 

Case-Ruchala on the Osborne Rhapsody, 

Lowenstern mentioned that once the 

printed music is mastered and the lines 

have been carefully “colored in,” musicians 

can allow for a bit of freedom to 

explore the piece in new ways. This concept 

is especially crucial as we attempt to 

“sell” new music, as he explained to 

UNL sophomore, Jamie Meyer, when she 

performed the same piece on bass clarinet. 

Overall, Lowenstern held the attention 

of the audience with his natural 

quick wit and consistent interaction. 

Mr. Lowenstern concluded the master 

classes with a brief discussion of a challenge 

that performing artists now face: 

the dwindling “classical” audience. He 

explained that musicians need to be 

proactive by discovering our audience 

and then target them directly. Lowenstern 

also stressed the significance of saying 

“yes” to every opportunity and emphasized 

that a successful career often incorporates 

music with other interests and 

creative talents. 

Additional ClariFest activities in - 

cluded a clarinet choir reading session 

conducted by UNL graduate student 

Kristi Michael, and an afternoon potpourri 

recital provided entertainment as UNL 

students and alumni performed works by 

Lefebvre, Rosemary Lang, Osborne, Eric 

Mandat, Messiaen, Roberto Sierra, Scott 

McAllister, Crusell and Schumann. 

The end of the day was punctuated 

with an energetic concert as Michael 

THE CLARINET 

Lowenstern presented compositions from 

all four of his compact discs. The general 

mood of the concert was defined as he 

opened with 1985, a piece that folds 

humorous comments about Lowenstern 

from former schoolmates into fierce 

musical lines and electronic dance beats. 

Drift, Hum and Ten Children demonstrated 

one of Lowenstern’s signatures of 

looping and layering musical lines with 

vocal and body percussion all recorded 

and performed in a live setting. But 

Would She Remember You showed a 

tender side of the composer while Sha 

allowed him to express his roots with 

Klezmer-influenced gestures. Spasm concluded 

the performance with a final burst 

of intensity. Michael Lowenstern’s 

diverse palette of sound combined with 

excellent technical ability and execution 

provided an extremely successful and 

inspiring performance. 

Next year, Midwest ClariFest is 

scheduled for Friday, March 28, 2008, 

with guest artist Nathan Williams. For 

further information, please contact Diane 

Barger at . 

THE 15TH ANNUAL 

MONTANA/IDAHO CLARINET 

FESTIVAL: THE UNIVERSITY 

OF MONTANA 

Almost 100 clarinetists gathered for 

the 15th Annual Montana/Idaho 

Clarinet Festival held March 

9–10, 2007 at The University of Montana–Missoula. 

The event featured recitals 

and master classes with esteemed guest 

artists: Elsa Ludewig-Verdehr and Walter 

Verdehr, Michigan State University; Linda 

Bartley, The University of Wisconsin–Madison; 

Keith Lemmons, The University 

of New Mexico and Patricia Martin, 

Southern University and Baton Rouge 

Symphony Orchestra. 

The Verdehr Duo was warmly welcomed 

to the stage on Friday afternoon for 

the opening recital of the festival. This outstanding 

performance presented duo 

excerpts from five of the more than 200 

works they have commissioned for clar-

Montana/Idaho Clarinet Festival guest artists and master class participants: back row: 

Emily Quinn, Josh Mietz, Hillary Tutor, William Holman, Alan Stanek, Charles Lloyd, 

Jr.; Middle row: Jennifer Skogley, Linda Bartley, Elsa Ludewig Verdehr, Maxine Ramey, 

Greg Young, Keith Lemmons; Front row: Cassie Keogh, Patricia Martin, Madeline 

DeMahy, Tallyn Wesner 

inet, violin and piano, including Song by 

Bright Sheng; Monologue I & II for 

Mozart by Dinos Constantinides; Dialog 

by Alexander Arutiunian; Theme and 

Variations by Thomas Christian David; 

and WE by James Niblock. Between 

pieces, the Verdehrs candidly spoke of 

their experiences working with composers 

and other musicians, sparking an underlying 

discussion of the performer/composer 

relationship and community which became 

an elemental theme to this year’s festival. 

The Friday evening recital opened 

with an excellent performance by Keith 

Lemmons and Maxine Ramey (The University 

of Montana) of the Brahms Sonata, 

Op. 120, No. 2 arranged by Gustav 

Langenus for two clarinets. Next, Master 

of Music candidate at the University of 

New Mexico, Ashley Miller, delighted us 

with a performance of Première Rhapsodie 

by Debussy. The recital continued 

with a superb performance by Linda 

Bartley of the Pastorale by Bliss; Tango 

by Schoenfield (a work originally for 

violin and piano which Bartley arranged 

for clarinet/piano and soon to be in publication); 

as well as Konzertstuck, Op. 114, 

No. 2 by Mendelssohn with Maxine 

Ramey. The Tango made a nice transition 

between the other two pieces and, 

by Bartley’s own account, was to provide 

us with a sense of a smoky night club. 

Friday evening ended with a reading 

session with conductor/arranger John 

Schuberg and his fabulous arrangements 

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for high school clarinet choir. High 

school and middle school students played 

in a side-by-side fashion with Montana 

and Idaho university music education 

majors through Schuberg’s choir books. 

They enjoyed a highly eclectic assortment 

of tunes ranging from Mozart opera overtures, 

to The Nutcracker Suite, to The 

Addams Family (complete with auxiliary 

percussion and duck calls). Schuberg’s 

contagious excitement and enthusiasm 

lent itself to a fast paced, highly enjoyable 

evening of clarinet music. Schuberg has 

been an arranger for flutist Jimmy Walker, 

saxophonist Fred Hemke and tubist 

Harvey Phillips. 

Saturday morning’s Montana/Idaho 

Potpourri Recital was dedicated to clarinetist 

Michael Sullivan, of Northern Arizona 

University and featured exciting performances 

by regional clarinetists. First on 

the program was Keith Lemmons and 

Maxine Ramey accompanied by the UM 

Clarinet Choir performing Guido Six’s arrangement 

of the Krommer Double Concerto 

in E-flat. Greg Young of Montana 

State University expertly performed a premiere 

of his own work entitled Metric 

Modulations and William Holman of Brigham 

Young University–Idaho gave a 

touching performance of the Sonata for 

Clarinet and Piano by Graham Lyons. 

Other performers included the Montana 

Woodwind Trio, Greater Missoula Area 

Single Reed on a Wooden Horn Society 

Quintet, and the University of Montana 

Clarinet Quartet. Dr. Sullivan, currently 

battling cancer, was not in attendance. He 

surely felt the positive effects of this “distance 

healing recital” by those playing in 

his honor. 

Master classes were held throughout 

the day. Students from universities in 

Montana and Idaho participated and benefited 

greatly from comments by the distinguished 

guest artists. The final recital 

of the festival featured Patricia Martin, 

clarinet, and Charles Lloyd, Jr, piano. 

The brilliantly played program included: 

Preludes for Piano by George Gershwin; 

Rhapsody and Blues Serenade by Charles 

Lloyd, Jr; and Variations sur un Air du 

Pays d’Oc by Cahuzac. Immediately following 

the recital, participants joined the 

Festival Clarinet Choir in another reading 

session featuring the music of Schuberg, 

klezmer selections by Michael Curtis, as 

well as standard clarinet choir works. 

The choir was conducted by Kevin 

Griggs, Director of the University of 

Montana Grizzly Marching Band, and 

included almost everyone who attended 

the festival. It was a magnificent experience 

of unity for all. This massive choir 

included clarinetists in their 50th year of 

playing sitting next to clarinetists in their 

first year of playing — and everyone in 

between. This closing session was symbolic 

of the great sense of joy and community 

we in the states of Montana and 

Idaho, and at the University of Montana–Missoula, 

experience through our 

shared love of music and the clarinet. 

ABOUT THE WRITERS… 

Josh Mietz is currently pursuing his 

Master’s of Music in Clarinet Performance 

at The University of Montana. He holds 

degrees from The University of Colorado 

(BM) and the Denver School of Massage 

Therapy (CMT). Tallyn Wesner is also a 

MM candidate at The University of 

Montana and a student of Maxine Ramey. 

She studied with Keith Lemmons and 

completed her Bachelor of Music at The 

University of New Mexico in 2006. 

Page 18 

THE CLARINET

“Historically Speaking” is a feature of 

The Clarinet offered in response to numerous 

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 Vermillion. 

Please send your e-mail inquiries 

to Deborah Check Reeves at . 

With this installment of “Historically 

Speaking,” we revisit the 

Leblanc “Patent B-flat” mechanism, 

a feature highlighted in The Clarinet 

of June 2006 (Vol. 33, No. 3, pp. 22–23). 

The clarinet discussed here shows expected 

similarities to the Sir Nicholas Shackleton 

clarinet described in the earlier article. It 

also possesses some interesting differences. 

The complete B ♭ clarinet is 595 mm 

long with a bore that ranges from 15.1 

mm to 14.9 mm (Photo 1). It is made in 

four sections of grenadilla wood with 

nickel-silver keys, rings, and ferrules. 

Like Shackleton’s clarinet, this instrument 

employs Leblanc’s B ♭ mechanism 

that was patented in 1933, US patent 

#1,926,489 (Photo 2). According to the 

description provided in a 1946 Leblanc 

price list, the mechanism is described as 

follows: “This is the first and only 

by 

Deborah 

Check Reeves 

patented basic improvement to the 

Boehm System clarinet. Improves intonation 

throughout entire instrument. This 

new Leblanc mechanism provides one 

hole to produce the B flat and a new hole 

to get the overtone without any change in 

fingering. This exclusive arrangement 

makes it possible to produce a perfect B 

flat with all notes tuned and the clarinet 

is perfect in tune in every register.” 

This clarinet has 17 keys and seven 

rings. Unlike Shackleton’s clarinet of 18 

keys and seven rings, this clarinet does 

not posses an articulated g ♯ , nor a forked 

e ♭ /b ♭ . Yet the upper joint has a ring on 

every tonehole—including the third tonehole! 

Note, however, that there is no vent 

hole under the banana key located 

between the second and third rings. 

Although a forked e ♭ /b ♭ can be fingered, 

without the extra vent hole, the note is 

out of tune. This situation can best be 

explained by the 1946 description: “Extra 

third ring not an articulation, made so 

that every finger feels a ring.” The 17 

key, seven ring version was identified as 

the model 277. By 1949, this particular 

model was no longer offered. 

Another interesting feature of this 

clarinet is on the lower joint (Photo 3). 

Here the f/c touchpiece controls two 

pads. Usually the first tonehole below the 

right-hand little finger touchpieces is the 

only hole that is controlled by the f/c 

touchpiece. On this clarinet this tonehole 

plus the extra middle tonehole are operated 

by the f/c. This allows for better venting 

and intonation on this note. The extra 

vent hole, however, is unusual for a B ♭ 

clarinet. A 1948 Leblanc advertising 

flyer pictures the “Soprano Register 

Family” illustrating models in A ♭ , E ♭ , C, 

B ♭ , and A. Only the models in E ♭ and C 

have the extra f/c vent. 

This clarinet was kindly loaned for 

examination by Don Berger of Bartlesville, 

Oklahoma. It is owned by W. G. Roberts. 

Leblanc B ♭ Clarinet 

Leblanc Patent B ♭ 

Leblanc Lower Joint 


DO YOU DUET A LOOK AT 

THREE FOR TWO. 

We often play duets with our pupils 

— I certainly do. Among 

the ever increasing duet repertoire, 

we all know the three Crusell duets, 

those of Mozart and Poulenc and all those 

grandiose, almost symphonic works that 

appear towards the end of the similarly 

grandiose and symphonic Klosé tutor. But 

I’d like to draw readers’ attention to three 

interesting duets by British composers that 

may be less well known. The first is by 

Alan Frank — the other half of the 

Thurston and Frank Tutor. Frank was 

Head of Music at Oxford University Press 

for many years and was a clarinetist himself. 

I had the great pleasure of meeting 

Alan a few years before he died. He was a 

delightful, lively and highly articulate 

musician, editor and writer. We met at a 

colorful Chinese restaurant in London 

called Poons and enjoyed a very engrossing 

conversation about (among others) 

Walton (whom he had edited), Phyllis 

Tate (to whom he had been married) and 

Frederick Thurston (who was his teacher). 

Page 20 

The duet in question is called simply Suite 

for Two Clarinets. In a sense this was very 

much a landmark work. Apart from 

Poulenc, composers hadn’t taken up the 

clarinet duet as a viable genre. This Suite 

changed all that and the number of works 

for teaching, amateur and professional use 

thereafter is of course very significant. It 

was composed in 1934 and dedicated to 

Thurston and Ralph Clarke who sat next 

to each other in the BBC Symphony 

Orchestra. They recorded it in 1936. It is 

highly melodic, humorous and, in places, 

quite jazzy. An entertaining and very useful 

piece. 

In the 1960s Thea King and Stephen 

Trier both played in the Vesuvius Ensemble, 

a chamber group that was originally 

set up with the specific purpose of 

giving performances of Schoenberg’s 

Pierrot Lunaire. The ensemble was in 

residence at the famous Dartington Summer 

School in the summer of 1967. Also 

teaching on the course was the young 

composer Richard Rodney Bennett. Thea 

woke up one morning and discovered 

some sheets of manuscript paper on the 

floor. Someone had slid them in underneath 

her bedroom door. That someone 

was Richard Rodney Bennett who had 

composed a delightful four-movement 

work for her literally overnight. This 

original version of Crosstalk was in fact 

written for two basset horns but published 

later in a more practical version 

for two clarinets. Thea, who has recorded 

the work (in its first incarnation) with fellow 

basset horn player Georgina Dobrée, 

is quite adamant that the piece loses 

something in translation, but nevertheless 

we still have this extremely effective and 

highly skilfully written work readily 

available. If you don’t know it, don’t 

delay in purchasing a copy! 

THE CLARINET 

by Paul Harris 

The third duet is by Sir Malcolm 

Arnold. In the late ’70s Malcolm had a 

complete breakdown and it seemed that 

he might never compose again. After two 

and half years in a mental hospital things 

looked bleak. However he was nursed 

back to health by his devoted friend 

Anthony Day who put in a huge effort to 

encourage Malcolm to begin composing 

again. Anthony was well rewarded: all 

sorts of orchestral, chamber and instrumental 

works date from this final period 

of Malcolm’s compositional life. In 1986 

Malcolm wrote his last symphony (his 

ninth) and, two years later (in July 1988) 

he produced a very quirky and arcane little 

Divertimento for Two Clarinets. I 

asked Malcolm many times if he wrote it 

for anyone in particular — it would seem 

that he simply wrote it because he wanted 

to. There are many similarities 

between the six movements of the 

Divertimento and the introspective 

Mahlerian Symphony. Both combine wit 

and lyrical melody with moments of 

darker and almost other-worldly writing. 

It’s a fascinating little piece and well 

worth exploration. With a little explanation, 

audiences find it both intriguing and 

compelling. The chamber ensemble East 

Winds has just brought out a wonderful 

new all-Arnold wind music CD (on the 

Naxos label) that includes the 

Divertimento as well as the world premiere 

recording of the Wind Quintet, Op. 

2 and numerous other works receiving 

their first recording. 

Happy duetting! 

* * * * * 

Alan Frank, Suite for Two Clarinet: 

Oxford University Press 

Richard Rodney Bennett, Crosstalk: 

Universal Edition 

Malcolm Arnold, Divertimento for Two 

Clarinets: Queen’s Temple Publications

My wife and I had the pleasure 

and good fortune of being in the 

audience last January in New 

Orleans when the magnificent Paquito 

D’Rivera and his fine quintet appeared in 

concert with the Louisiana Philharmonic 

Orchestra under the direction of its exuberant 

new conductor, Carlos Miguel 

Prieto. Billed as “Fiesta Sinfonica,” the 

evening’s program presented the works of 

a number of Latin composers including 

Paquito himself as well as his tribute to 

Gershwin featuring his gifted wife, soprano 

Brenda Feliciano. 

It was a high-energy performance that 

had the large crowd involved in a way 

that I had never before witnessed at an 

LPO concert. I counted three encores, 

during one of which maestro Prieto 

bounced off the stage to dance a samba 

with members of the audience. It was 

indeed a memorable evening of musical 

joy, and Paquito’s playing (on both clarinet 

and alto sax) was superb. 

This was not the first time I saw Mr. 

D’Rivera in action, but, for me, the performance 

was something special. When 

combined with years of listening to his 

recordings (both jazz and classical), it 

inspired me to read his recent memoir, 

My Sax Life (372+xxv pp., Northwestern 

University Press, 2005). What follows are 

some reactions to the written words of 

this multi-talented musician. 

I should note, first off, that this is not 

the author’s first foray into the world of 

published writing. He has written numerous 

shorter pieces for a variety of publications, 

and a novel (Oh, La Habaña) 

was published in 2004. The volume 

under consideration here first appeared in 

Spanish in 1998, was then translated into 

English by Luis Tamargo and expanded 

somewhat for the Northwestern edition. 

There is no ghost writer lurking behind 

these pages. “I wish to declare,” the 

author stresses in a preface, “for better or 

worse, I’m the only guilty party in this 

literary exploit.” 

by Thomas W. Jacobsen 

The result is an idiosyncratic, if not 

unique, example of the memoir genre. It 

is written in a colloquial style (parental 

guidance recommended for some of the 

language), with numerous digressions 

and only the sketchiest sense of chronology 

(which presented some problems to 

this reader from time to time). But, above 

all, it is written with a deep feeling for 

humanity and a wonderfully zany sense 

Paquito D’Rivera (photo: R. Andrew Lepley) 

of humor. It is easy to understand how 

“El Paq-Man,” as he calls himself when 

among friends, achieved a reputation 

(sometimes not deserved, he tells us) as 

an inveterate prankster. 

Paquito advises us at the outset that 

“the basic theme of this book will be the 

people I’ve met over the years in nightclubs, 

theaters, whorehouses, museums, 

slum tenements, military bands, hotels, 

airplanes, trains, sugarcane fields, jazz 

venues, drunken feasts, airports, symphony 

orchestras, dance music ensembles, 

circuses, sugar mills, and embassies.” 

That seems essentially true. His story 

brings to life, in touching, frank and 

often humorous ways, a wide variety of 

human beings, including his beloved 

father and mother, wives, and son, as 

well as a host of fellow musicians from 

all over the world. And don’t forget the 

despised officialdom of Castro’s Cuba. If 

there is one theme that permeates this 

book, it is his unmitigated disdain for 

Fidel and the communists. 

The outlines of Paquito D’Rivera’s 

musical life must be well-known to most 

readers of The Clarinet: his traveled 

childhood as a saxophone prodigy, his 

conservatory training in the classics, his 

first exposure to jazz through Goodman 

recordings, his hand in founding such 

musical groups as Irakere and the 

Orquesta Cubana de Musica Moderna, 

the eight Grammy awards (about which 

he notes with characteristic candor, “I 

think that many of those certificates, 

medals and trophies should go to the true 

wizards of the award industry, the publicists 

who are capable of inflating the 

most insignificant performer into a 

worldwide star.”), his reputation as a 

composer, and, of course, his escape 

from Cuba in 1980 and ultimate residence 

in his beloved New York City. 

This is all there, and much more. But 

space limitations prevent me from 

recounting all the sub-plots in this story. I 

will conclude with just a couple that 

interested me. 

The author repeatedly stresses the significant 

role his saxophonist father, Tito, 

played in his musical education and 

career. It was Tito who started him on 

saxophone, taught him the fundamentals 

of music and guided him through his 

early musical career. His father even 

“learned to play the clarinet,” he writes, 

“for the sole purpose of teaching me how 

to command that complicated instrument.” 

But he is deeply loyal to both 

instruments. He describes the saxophone 

as “a thankful instrument,” and goes on 

to explain, “Leave it for some weeks, 

then pick it up again, and it will sound 

fine. But with the clarinet, if you put it 

down and pick it up, the noise it makes is 

atrocious: ARAGHHHHH. Maybe this is 

because the clarinet is a female instrument: 

you just never know what’s wrong 

with it.” 

For one who spent two unforgettably 

enjoyable weeks traveling in Cuba in 

2001 (exactly two years before a violent 

crackdown [by the Castro government] 

Page 22 

THE CLARINET

“on Cuban peaceful dissidents”), I was 

fascinated by the many insights offered 

by this book on the Cuban people, their 

music and their life-style under a dictatorial 

one-party regime. I made the trip 

expecting to find a situation not unlike 

Greece under the junta in the late 

’60s/early ’70s or perhaps an eastern 

European country — say, Bulgaria — in 

the ’70s (both of which I have some 

familiarity with), but, frankly, Havana 

reminded me more of Athens in the early 

’60s: economically underdeveloped and 

trying to promote tourism without quite 

knowing how to do so. The Cuban people, 

like the Greeks, were warm and welcoming. 

I did not encounter a threatening 

military or police presence. But, obviously, 

my view of the country — from 

Havana in the northwest to Santiago de 

Cuba in the southeast — was superficial 

and that of a first-time tourist. Paquito, as 

well as other insiders whom he frequently 

quotes, warn us not to be fooled by 

appearances. He gave a manuscript of 

this book to famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma, 

who, after reading it, said, “Your book 

has completely changed my views about 

communism in Cuba, Paquito.” I guess it 

has had a similar effect on me. 

For anyone interested in Cuba, “Latin” 

music and of course Paquito D’Rivera 

himself, the book is a great read. There are 

many moments when the author reveals 

himself as a talented writer. For example, 

the passage that opens the ninth chapter 

(“Madrid — New York”) describing his 

arrival in Madrid and his defection in 

1980 has all the suspense of a mystery 

novel. Reactions to this work have him 

already considering a sequel. As he puts 

it, “I’ll be thinking seriously about coming 

out of the closet and starting my bisax 

life pretty soon.” Whatever, I am 

happy to recommend the present book 

without hesitation. 

Coda: In April of this year, Paquito 

received yet another prestigious award, a 

Guggenheim Fellowship to further his 

work as a composer. 

Contacts for The Clarinet 

Send all articles, recital programs, orders for back issues, announcements and 

any other non-commercial items intended for publication in The Clarinet to: 

James Gillespie, Editor/Publisher 

College of Music, University of North Texas 

P.O. Box 311367 

Denton, Texas 76203-1367 

E-mail: or 

Send all printed materials (music, books, etc.) intended 

for review in The Clarinet to: 

Joseph Messenger, Editor of Reviews 

Department of Music, Iowa State University 

Ames, Iowa 50011 

E-mail: 

Send all recordings intended for review in The Clarinet to: 

William Nichols, Audio Review Editor 

111 Steeplechase Circle 

West Monroe, Louisiana 71291 

E-mail: 

Send all inquiries about advertising, notices of change of address, 

inquiries about I.C.A. membership, missing issues, etc., to: 

So Rhee, Executive Director 

P.O. Box 1310 

Lyons, Colorado 80540 

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A SNEAK PEAK AT THE 

STUDIO OF JOHN WEIGAND, 

WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY 

by Peggy Dees 

“University Snapshots” began in the 

March 2007 issue and is a new series 

highlighting clarinet teaching at the university 

level. These articles present a personal 

interview with a college professor, 

including their background, teaching style 

and philosophy, and a descriptive narrative 

of a lesson. Providing a bank of pedagogical 

approaches, this series can serve 

as a tool for both students and teachers. If 

there is a professor you would like to see 

featured, contact the author through her 

Web site: . 

Interview 

University 

Snapshots 

PD: Discuss your early musical or nonmusical 

experiences and how they 

have shaped your career. 

JW: Well, I started in band in the sixth 

grade. My mother wanted me to play 

piano starting in about fourth grade, I 

took a few lessons and hated it, then 

she threatened me with the accordion 

[laughs] and that would have been 

even worse. And finally I said [to my 

mother], “Well, they are starting band. 

Let me start in band and then forget 

the piano.” The teacher, Kent Krive, 

came in and played all the instruments. 

I didn’t know it at the time but he had 

a master’s degree in clarinet from 

Michigan State and he was a student of 

Keith Stein’s. He played all the instruments, 

he was a good woodwind doubler 

too, and he was obviously better 

on clarinet. I thought, that must be the 

easiest one, so I’ll try that one 

[laughs]! Clarinet was a fun thing to 

do, and I was into sports and into a 

bunch of things. As I got into high 

school the sports and music started to 

pull both ways. 

He was a really good band director, 

Kent Krive. My junior year we played 

at the Mid-West conference and we 

were one of the big evening concerts. 

They took us to a Chicago Symphony 

concert. I remember sitting up in the 

balcony and they played Enigma 

Variations and Beethoven’s Fifth. I 

knew of orchestras but I didn’t know 

people would do that full-time for a living. 

I thought that was so awesome. I 

went back and talked to Keith Stein 

about it. I asked, “Is that what people 

do for a living” So, that’s what I wanted 

to do from that time on, I wanted to 

play. That Chicago Symphony concert 

was a major pivot point in my life. 

I then decided to go to Oberlin. 

Larry McDonald was a great teacher, he 

was the perfect teacher for me. I think 

he is one of the great teachers. Marcellus 

said he liked Larry McDonald’s 

students better than any grad students 

he would get from anywhere because 

they had the fewest problems. 

Another great thing about Oberlin 

was free Cleveland Orchestra tickets 

for students. Szell was still alive, this 

was fall of 1969. I heard Marcellus for 

the first time, and John Mack and all 

the rest of the orchestra. And I had no 

idea that wind instruments could 

sound like that. That was a total eye 

opener to hear, in Severance Hall, 

with Szell, live. After that night I was 

hooked. I went every time I possibly 

could go. Sometimes, like when he 

did Shepherd on the Rock, I went to 

all three concerts. That experience, 

hearing Marcellus and Mack, Mack 

had just as much influence on me, 

hearing that kind of oboe playing. 

Those were probably the two biggest 

things to me, hearing those two concerts 

[Chicago Symphony and Cleveland 

Orchestra]. 

PD: This really leads into the next question. 

Who influenced you and how is this 

reflected in your teaching and playing 

JW: There are so many, I don’t even 

know where to start. I can’t imagine 

that I could have had any better teaching 

if I went back and lived my life 

again now. Starting with Kent Krive, 

who started me in sixth grade, and then 

Keith Stein, and then Larry McDonald 

and then Robert Marcellus and then 

Fred Ormand. Every one was influential 

in [his] own way, I’d lump them all 

together into great clarinet teachers. I 

got a really good understanding of how 

the clarinet works. And having Ormand 

at the end was perfect, because I 

learned more about clarinet teaching 

from him. From a musicianship standpoint, 

I got to work with John Mack all 

the time, and Myron Bloom at 

Blossom, Bernie Goldschmidt and Ken 

Moore at Oberlin. He was the conductor, 

and a great musician. I was around 

these people and learned how to be a 

musician from these people. That was 

probably even more important than just 

having good clarinet teachers. 

PD: How do you try to share these experiences 

with your students 

JW: In the same way as I described it to 

you. It’s two separate things. Playing 

the instrument, the mechanical skills, 

the embouchure, breathing, making 

reeds, then the musicianship aspect. 

For every student I divide a semester 

roughly in half. We do half a semester 

on skills, breathing, tonguing, and then 

the second part of the semester we 

gradually shift over and do some kind 

of repertoire. Well, a first semester 

freshman typically does more skills and 

less repertoire. A grad student will do 

more repertoire. Musicianship stuff is 

reflected in this part of the curriculum 

when they are doing their repertoire, 

whether it’s Finzi, Weber, Mozart, 

Debussy. According to the student, I 

try to not be a clarinet teacher at some 

point and just be a coach. 

PD: Do you encourage them to listen 

JW: This is something I wanted to say: I 

am a very strong believer in this. For 

instance, if someone is working on a 

Brahms sonata, I ask them to not listen 

to any recordings of that particular 

piece. I have them listen to Brahms’ 

Third Symphony, Brahms’ Violin 

Concerto. If somebody is doing 

Debussy I have a really great old record 

Page 24 

THE CLARINET

with Pierre Boulez and Cleveland doing 

L’Images then the Danses sacreé et 

profane with harp and the students just 

need to listen and listen and listen to 

that, then they know what Debussy 

sounds like. Then they are ready to do 

the Première Rhapsody, not copying 

somebody else’s recording. They are 

able to separate the clarinet skills from 

the music making. 

PD: How would you describe the atmosphere 

of your studio and what do you 

do to create it 

JW: Atmosphere of the studio changes 

just about every semester. One or two 

people can influence that a lot. I allow 

them to be themselves, and encourage 

them to be happy, and to work hard, but 

it’s up to them ultimately. The other 

thing that we do in studio class is when 

they are playing, everybody is supportive 

of each other. If they are making 

comments, we make sure the comments 

are constructive, so they learn how to 

do that, learn how to be constructive. 

PD: What are the most important things 

for your students to learn and how do 

you facilitate that learning 

JW: There’s really only one most important 

thing for them to learn, and that 

is: to teach them how to teach themselves 

through effective practice. 

Rhythm is the most important skill 

obviously. If you are out of rhythm 

nothing else matters. You can have a 

beautiful sound, beautiful musicianship, 

but if you are out of rhythm 

nobody wants you. And then there’s 

the other things on down the list, yes 

you have to have a sound, yes you 

have to have technique and expression, 

all that. The way I teach is to 

teach them how to do it themselves. 

It’s very much like if I am conducting 

and there’s a balance problem, only as 

a last resort will I tell someone they 

are too loud. I will tell them what the 

problem is: “I don’t hear all six of you 

equally, listen to the people around 

you and fix it.” It might take a little 

longer, but it is a more permanent 

solution than to say, “First trumpet 

you are too loud.” He’ll play softer, 

but it still probably won’t be right, and 

then he won’t be listening, the next 

time he will just play soft. If you tell 

him what the problem is, he will learn 

to listen and fix it himself. Teach people 

to do it themselves. That’s sort of 

an all-encompassing thing. 

PD: Has your teaching changed over the 

years, if so, how 

JW: There’s the instructional part, this is 

how you do an embouchure, this is how 

you breathe. That really hasn’t changed 

so much. The area we all change, if you 

pay attention, is where you are the psychologist, 

and you learn about people. 

John Weigand (photo: David Bess) 

You learn how to deal with them. 

Where I continue to grow is figuring 

out people quicker, learning how to 

deal with their emotional issues more 

effectively, that sort of thing. In a way I 

feel like you have to teach 10 years or 

so before you begin to figure that out. 

That’s the more difficult side, but also 

rewarding. When you take somebody 

who has no confidence, but who plays 

pretty well, and they improve steadily, 


not just the playing, that’s part of it, but 

how they carry themselves, you can 

then hear it in their playing. That’s really 

the most rewarding, when I help a 

student change, so they can change 

their life for the better. Or students who 

are really nervous, I can’t help them not 

be nervous, but I can help them figure it 

out and deal with it. They have to do it, 

we can show them how. 

PD: How do you motivate your students 

JW: You can’t motivate them; they have 

to motivate themselves. You can 

threaten them, that will work for a 

week or two [laughs]. They have to 

recognize that they are improving. It 

doesn’t matter how bad they suck or 

how great they are. If they think that 

they are getting better, and if other 

people tell them they are getting better, 

then they are going to want to 

keep practicing, that will inspire them. 

If somebody has no confidence you 

have to find something they can do 

better, even if it’s just playing louder. 

Do something just to start the process, 

put it together, one piece at a time. I 

don’t think negativism works for anybody. 

That’s it. 

PD: Is there anything you care to add 

JW: I have alluded several times to the 

excellent education I received, not 

only on the clarinet, but especially 

musically. It is of the utmost importance 

to me to be able to perform as 

much as I can, within the constraints 

of a full-time university position. I am 

very fortunate to be able to play regularly 

as a substitute in the Baltimore 

Symphony. As a result, I know what it 

takes to play in an excellent professional 

orchestra, and I know I am 

capable of making a good contribution. 

Add to that a lot of performing 

around the state and at WVU, I keep 

quite busy. This makes me a much 

better teacher by staying current on 

the instrument, and gives me a great 

deal of credibility with my students. 

The Lesson 

Page 26 

Beginning with the second lesson of 

their freshman year, all of Professor 

Weigand’s students keep a lesson notebook. 

Instructions they receive from 

Professor Weigand, plus all comments 

from the student, are kept in this notebook. 

The notebook serves as both a 

record for the student and the teacher. In 

addition to weekly studio class, Professor 

Weigand also has a weekly reed class. 

Students learn to make blanks from tube 

cane, then reeds from these blanks using 

a ReeDuAl. After they have mastered the 

basic skills they are required to play on 

their own reeds. 

The lesson began with a discussion 

between Professor Weigand and the student 

about what she was working on. 

Professor Weigand then said, “OK, show 

me what you have been doing to practice 

the relaxing.” The student began by playing 

exercise number one of the 

Opperman Advanced Velocity Studies 

which focused on long legato articulation. 

She played the entire exercise, stopping 

only for breaths. When she finished 

playing Professor Weigand asked her 

questions about whether or not her 

tongue was relaxed, and what it should 

have been doing, and how long it had 

been relaxed. He then confirmed the student’s 

observations of her own playing 

by saying, “That’s what I noticed too.” 

He asked her how she had practiced it, 

and let her know, “I don’t want you to 

play it unless you are one hundred percent 

relaxed.” He suggested that she stop 

playing when she felt tension creeping in 

and reset her embouchure. He had her 

play a small section at the end of the 

piece with a relaxed tongue and when she 

finished said, “Do you hear how much 

better that sounded Don’t be hesitant 

about stopping, even in here, if you feel 

tension creeping in.” 

Professor Weigand then asked if her 

fingers felt relaxed too, and pointed out 

that relaxing one part of her body transfers 

over into other areas. “Even though we are 

working on tonguing and fingers both, and 

they are somewhat unrelated, the aspect of 

what we are working on, relaxing, is similar.” 

He then asked what they could do to 

make the etude more difficult, the student 

suggested speeding it up. Professor 

Weigand then sang the opening passage of 

the exercise at a new tempo for her to play. 

The student began playing at the new 

tempo. He asked her about how relaxed it 

was and said he thought it was much better 

and also, “I liked how you left out notes to 

breathe that time instead of stopping the 

music to breathe.” 

THE CLARINET 

He then turned on the metronome and 

had her play it again at a faster tempo. 

When she was finished playing he asked 

her what she thought. Professor Weigand 

asked questions to get her engaged and 

thinking about her playing before he 

made suggestions for change. “What do 

you think the next step is Should we go 

back and practice it slowly, or should we 

play it again at this speed and try to relax 

it” When the student responded incorrectly 

he gave her an analogy to think 

about: “Think about weightlifting. You 

don’t pick up the heavy weight and keep 

trying to lift it and hurt yourself, right 

Start with medium weights, do repetitions 

every day, then add more. I insist 

on one hundred percent relaxation. Some 

things are more important than other 

things. In order to have one hundred percent 

relaxation all the time we have to do 

this [music] in sections. Don’t worry 

about playing it all the way through. 

Right now that would be destructive. 

Start out slower then add the speed gradually. 

The fastest you are allowed to go is 

as fast as you can play it with one hundred 

percent relaxation. The shorter the 

section you play, the faster you can go.” 

The student played again at the new 

tempo, her fingers becoming tense again. 

Professor Weigand had her play it slurred 

so she could focus on finger relaxation. 

“That was way better. Did your fingers 

grab the clarinet over the break [The 

student said yes.] Yes, they did! Can you 

do that slurred without grabbing on No 

death grip. If a note doesn’t come out, or 

you squeak, that’s fine, just don’t 

squeeze. [The student played again.] That 

was way better, but not one hundred percent. 

Let‘s do it again until the end is just 

as relaxed as the beginning.” 

Professor Weigand continued to have 

her play, and then asked her questions 

about her playing. After her fingers were 

more relaxed he had her play it with 

articulation, but only the first measure, 

and sped up the metronome as she was 

able to play it correctly. When the tempo 

got too fast for her to tongue clearly, he 

had her tongue the pattern on one note. 

Then she added the finger movement. 

“When you are practicing, keep it slow, 

keep it medium, and play it in small sections.” 

The student moved on to exercise 

number four, and they worked on this 

etude in the same manner. “I’m suspi-

cious of one of your fingers.” The student 

agreed and he said, “How little pressure 

can you use Show me what too little 

pressure sounds like. Soft fingers. [The 

student played again.] That’s getting better. 

Now, when I say soft that doesn’t 

mean slow and lazy. They need to be 

light and snappy. Think about something 

that is moving fast, but is lightweight, 

like a ping-pong ball. That’s not really 

the best analogy, but it needs to be a light 

mechanical action, not squeezing, and 

not hard, no tension.” 

He then showed her proper finger 

technique, utilizing motion from the first 

knuckle (where the fingers join the hand) 

keeping the fingers curved. They then 

practiced hand relaxation techniques 

away from the instrument. Professor 

Weigand had the student drop her hand at 

her side and let it completely relax. The 

student then played back and forth, over 

the break, slowly, with relaxed fingers. 

Professor Weigand then introduced 

her to her piece for this semester’s jury, 

the Françaix Theme and Variations. He 

told her, “Your ability to play that fast is 

going to be determined by the quality of 

the slower and medium speed relaxed 

practicing that you do. This is a really 

fun piece to play.” After introducing the 

Françaix he said, “I want you to go to the 

music library and check out the Barber of 

Seville [Rossini]. That’s going to give 

you your style.” At the end of the lesson 

he reminded her about correct practice 

habits and practicing with a purpose. 

ABOUT THE WRITER… 

Peggy Dees teaches in the Seattle area. 


2008 HIGH SCHOOL SOLO COMPETITION 

Eligibility: Competition participants must be 18 years old or younger as of June 30, 2008. 

Application: It is recommended that if you are mailing outside of the United States to send your application via express mail to insure that your entry 

arrives in time for judging. Send materials postmarked no later than Friday, March 28, 2008 to: 

2008 I.C.A. High School Solo Competition 

Kathy Pope, Coordinator 

University of Utah – School of Music 

1375 E. Presidents Circle – 204 DGH, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0030 

Phone: (801) 587-9417, Fax: (801) 581-5683, e-mail: 

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 by credit card. This 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 with accompaniment when appropriate. 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. 

Carl Maria Von Weber, Concerto No. 1, 3rd movement (must be recorded with piano accompaniment) 

Gordon Jacob, Five Pieces for Solo Clarinet 

III. A photocopy of the contestant’s driver’s 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. Email is the preferred means of communication. 

Please check your email regularly as this is how you will be contacted. 

Please go to to complete an online application form. 

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 Friday May 9, 2008. Final round 

will be held at the ClarinetFest ® 2008, to be held in Kansas City, Missouri, USA, July 2–6, 2008. 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 ® 2008. 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 investigating 

applicable tax laws and reporting prize winnings to requisite government agencies. 


FROM THE BEGINNING: 

STARTING A CLARINET CHOIR 

Two and a half years ago, on a 

whim and a dare, I founded a clarinet 

choir. An initial handful of 

players became the Los Angeles Clarinet 

Choir, which performed at the I.C.A 

ClarinetFest ® in Vancouver. Although the 

individual members are quite accomplished, 

(most have college degrees in 

clarinet performance) it is a Saturday 

afternoon, community group — amateur 

in the best sense of the word. 

First in a series of articles covering the 

history and future of the clarinet choir, in 

this issue I’ll draw on my experiences as 

conductor of this group to discuss some 

of the problems and pleasures of starting 

a clarinet ensemble. In future columns 

I’ll share news of groups throughout the 

world, review CD releases, and recommend 

established and cutting-edge repertoire. 

Readers are invited to send me discoveries 

and comments. 

by Margaret Thornhill 

Unique Sonority 

Mention a clarinet choir to a non-clarinetist 

and the response will be something 

between a blank stare and a giggle 

— until they’ve heard the group, that is. 

It’s really all about the sound. 

Like a string octet or chamber orchestra, 

the clarinet family has members in 

each register. Unlike shawm bands and 

flute choirs, the sound is anchored by a 

true bass. The distinctive tone colors of 

the harmony instruments help create a 

sonority with texture and nuance, not at 

all fatiguing to listen to, and capable of 

fine detail and emotional power. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Margaret Thornhill 

Where to Begin 

1. Start by finding ensemble music of 

easy to moderate difficulty that interests 

you. While it’s an essential job of the 

music director/coach to pick pieces that 

are a good fit with your membership, you 

can’t predict in advance the abilities of 

players you haven’t met. 

2. Plan to audition your prospective 

members carefully including sight reading 

from the most and least challenging 

works you hope to perform. If a player 

doesn’t “get it” right away — let him try 

again. You’ll find out how quick she is to 

improve; how responsive he is to suggestions, 

both important qualities. 

3. Whatever your target membership, 

your goal is a group of people that doesn’t 

have too wide a gap between strongest 

and the weakest. As with any instrumental 

chamber group, if you have very 

advanced players in the group, it’s critical 

that less-skilled auditionees (your potential 

3rd clarinets) can play in rhythm and 

Page 28 

THE CLARINET

in tune and have the technique to succeed 

in keeping up. Don’t feel that you need to 

accept all comers if they are not a fit: 

there’s nothing more humiliating than 

being a musical “bad hire.” 

Scheduling Rehearsals 

Many volunteer and school groups 

rehearse only once a week. The great 

problem with this schedule is retention of 

what you accomplished the week before. 

You’ll need lots of rehearsals to achieve 

your goals — probably resulting in quite 

a few at which not everyone is present. 

One advantage of plentiful rehearsals is 

that players with a slower learning pattern 

have opportunity to master the material. 

Repertoire 

HOT TIPS: 

new works of interest for 

established clarinet choirs 

An established clarinet choir will enjoy a new work (2005) by a young California 

composer, Spencer Dorn, titled simply Collection for Clarinet Choir. Dorn, a bassoonist 

and doubler, understands how to write for clarinets. Collection is in four contrasting 

movements: a steel-drum like calypso; a chorale; a darkly theatrical march reminiscent 

of movie music; and a wonderful swing-dance finale. The harmonies are tonal and winsome, 

and the writing takes advantage of the sonorities of the full choir. Rhythmically 

demanding, it’s a good work for college players. Instrumentation: E ♭ sopranino; five to 

nine sopranos distributed among three parts; alto; two basses; contrabass. Available 

from the composer: score and parts, $40 . 

A conservatory-level or “semi-professional” group with access to a first-rate percussionist 

will enjoy the challenge and spectacle offered by Edward Cansino’s The Great 

Clarinet Circus (written for the Los Angeles Clarinet Choir). This lively, nine-movement 

work is scored for 14 clarinets, with a big solo for basset horn, multiple soprano 

clarinet soloists, an extended duet for clarinet and xylophone, and an interpolated “circus 

act of the conductor’s choice” which can be a solo by a member of the group or an 

extraneous event such as a sword-swallower. The first movement, “Parade,” requires 

the players to march into the hall while playing an expanding ostinato. First performed 

(2006) in a staged version with a dancing master of ceremonies and a clown mime, the 

work is also suitable for concert performance. Its 20th-century musical style pays hommage 

to Charles Ives, quoting his song Circus Band, and includes a musical tribute to 

the famous Sad Clown, Emmett Kelley. Instrumentation: two E ♭ sopranino (one doubling 

on bass); eight sopranos (option of 12 sopranos); solo basset horn; bass one and 

two; contrabass; one percussionist playing 14 instruments (can be divided). Available 

from the composer: score and parts, $100, . 

The easiest works for a new group to 

learn to play well and in tune will have a 

chorale-like, chordal texture. These exploit 

the organ-like blend and vocal phrasing of 

the medium, ideal since your first job as 

conductor or coach is to build a sound and 

a sense of ensemble for the group. 

My group started out using clarinet 

quartet arrangements with two on a part 

and doubling the 4th clarinet part at the 

octave with bass. We added auxiliary 

instruments as we went along. If this is 

your situation, you might look for classical 

quartet arrangements by well-known clarinetist-arrangers 

such as Gee, Hite and 

Heim. Gordon Jacob’s delightful original 

quartet with optional bass, Scherzetto, 

Pavane and Gopak (Emerson) sounds 

great with nine clarinets. James Rae’s popular 

quartet arrangement of selections from 

Kurt Weill’s Threepenny Opera (Universal 

Edition) also works well with this kind of 

doubling. With nine sopranos and no bass, 

you can try Peter Schickele’s elegant, cooljazz 

Monochrome (Elkan Vogel.) 

As your group expands to include alto 

and contrabass, you can access standard 

repertoire. The beloved arrangement of 

Debussy’s Petite Suite by Russell 

Howland (Fema Music — four movements 

sold as separate titles) distributes 

melodic material among all parts while 

demanding a commitment to tone and 

blend. It’s scored for a minimum of nine 

players:, divisi cl 1, 2, 3, plus alto, bass 

and contra. 

Harmony Clarinets 

This is where the difficulties multiply. 

It’s worth it to let your players know that 

you are looking for experienced performers 

of sopranino, alto and contra. 

In school settings, less developed 

players are often recruited to play these 

parts, which can have disastrous results 

for intonation. What you really want are 

very able players who like these auxiliary 

instruments and are willing to practice 

them, get suitable mouthpieces, etc. In a 

non-school setting, you will need to find 

people who already play and own these 

instruments or provide them yourself. 

Although central to the clarinet choir 

repertoire, alto clarinet has long been considered 

to be the runt of the clarinet litter in 

terms of its basic design. Our group frequently 

uses basset horn instead, transposing 

the part to take advantage of its more 

predictable scale and unique ability to help 

merge the sounds of the other clarinets. Our 

alto/basset player, Jeff Lewis, compares the 

sound of the basset in a clarinet choir to a 

German organ pipe called a Koppelflöte: 

“Their tone alone is sylvan, like pan pipes 

— but when you mix them with higher and 

lower pipes, they have the ability to glue a 

stop combination together without muddiness…I 

think a basset horn has this same 

role in a clarinet choir. Alto clarinet can get 

edgy and stick out too much.” 

Most arrangements come with both 

contrabass and contra-alto parts, which 

are usually the same part in transposition. 

Our 14-member group balances best with 

only one or the other. 

In a school context, your bass may be 

determined by what instrument you own, 

what player can manage it. If there’s a 

choice, the tone and intonation of the contralto 

promotes a better, more refined blend. 

BUT — be careful to use the instrument 

actually called for by the composer or 

arranger. Contra-alto has a shorter range 

than contrabass, and many of the contra-alto 

parts available as “alternates” in arrangements 

compensate for this by writing the 

lowest notes of the bass part up an octave, 

in contrary motion to or even crossing the 

bass clarinet, an unsatisfactory compromise. 


Adding the E ♭ Clarinet 

The E ♭ clarinet is an outspoken member 

of the clarinet family. It lends color 

and wonderful character to the sound of 

the group, but it is difficult to play in 

tune with itself, let alone with other 

lower clarinets. The use of the E ♭ clarinet 

in clarinet choir arrangements should 

parallel its orchestral use as a doubling 

and character solo instrument rather than 

as a lead solo voice. Transcriptions that 

cast it — rather than clarinet 1 — as the 

first violin part are risky business, no 

matter how skilled the player. 

My advice is not to feel an obligation 

to add E ♭ clarinet immediately, especially 

if you don’t have a skilled and dedicated 

player lined up. There are plenty of 

arrangements without E ♭ . Check the catalogues 

of Southern Music and Kendor 

Music publishers for suggestions. A fun 

original work without E ♭ is the threemovement 

Klezmer Suite by Alex Ciesla 

(Advance Music) which includes parts 

for five sopranos, bass clarinet, contrabass 

(string bass part in C, but we transposed 

this for B ♭ contrabass clarinet) and 

optional tambourine. 

Page 30 

Other well-known original works for 

full clarinet choir with an E ♭ part of musical 

challenge but reasonable difficulty 

are Chorale and Danza by Vaclav 

Nelhybel (one of the finest short original 

pieces for clarinet choir — Southern 

Music) and the melodious, well-crafted 

Introduction and Rondo by Gordon Jacob 

(Boosey and Hawkes). 

The presence of more than one accomplished 

E ♭ player in my group has enabled 

us to play standard orchestral transcriptions 

such as the Mozart’s Overture to The 

Marriage of Figaro arranged by Lucien 

Caillet, which includes a second optional 

E ♭ alternative to an A ♭ sopranino descant 

(Leblanc Publications). 

Intonation and Tuning 

You guessed it: the single greatest 

performance problem of clarinet choirs is 

playing in tune. Taking the advice of 

Peter Hadcock (in his orchestral excerpt 

study manual, The Working Clarinetist, 

published by Roncorp) we now tune 15 

minutes into the rehearsal: the clarinets 

will not be fully warmed up until then. 

This is particularly true, we find, of the 

metal “paper clip” contrabass. 

THE CLARINET 

After spending five years very early 

in my teaching life conducting a college 

wind ensemble, I’m persuaded that the 

best tuning is from the bottom up: start 

with the tuba. Contrabass may be the 

most problematic, inflexible instrument 

we have, but if the basses are not in tune 

with each other, all is lost! For many 

musicians, the perception of intonation is 

linked to tone, and contra is hard to hear. 

We tune only the first bass player to the 

contrabass using concert B ♭ , which seems 

to be more stable on contrabass than concert 

A. The first bass player tunes the back 

row, then the first clarinetist, who tunes 

the front row individually. Individual tuning 

works best if the player giving the note 

plays and then stops, and the player tuning 

tries the pitch by himself and then repeats 

the process if necessary. 

In concert, we find it necessary to tune 

frequently: three or four times during an 

hour of music. The front row and back row 

seem to go out of tune at unequal rates. 

Playing through a chorale at the beginning 

of rehearsal is also a good opportunity 

to refine tone and pitch and balance 

chords. For an entire year we used Daniel 

Dorff’s arrangement of Mozart’s Ave 

Verum (a quartet with bass; Kendor Music) 

as both a chorale warm up and as a concert 

selection, adding contra below the bass 

part and basset to clarinet 3. 

Expanding the Group 

As your membership expands, it will 

help if you articulate your vision of its 

maximum size. A clarinet orchestra of 60 

is a very different animal than a clarinet 

choir of 12. 

For me, having more than three soprano 

clarinets on a part passes a tipping 

point. I personally prefer the more chamber-like 

sound of a smaller group, and 

my group decided on 14 as its optimal 

number. Wonderful clarinet choirs can be 

found in all sizes throughout the world. 

Next time, we’ll consider rehearsal 

strategies. 


Margaret Thornhill, DMA, is a performer 

and private teacher in Los Angeles 

who conducts the Los Angeles Clarinet 

Choir. A former faculty member of Stanford 

Unversity, the University of California, and 

Occidental College, her articles have 

appeared in the British journal Clarinet and 

Saxophone and Australian Clarinet and 

Saxophone. Send her your comments at: 

.


y Maureen Hurd 

Benny Goodman, the immortal 

“King of Swing,” who galvanized 

the swing era with his hit big 

bands in the 1930s, is remembered primarily 

as a virtuoso jazz musician. For 

50 years, however, alongside his rise to 

fame and fortune as a jazz clarinetist and 

bandleader, he participated in the world 

of classical music, becoming the first 

jazz musician to have success as a crossover 

artist in both genres. The year 1938 

is a case in point. In the same year that 

Goodman’s big band brought jazz for the 

first time to Carnegie Hall, he recorded 

his first classical record, successfully 

commissioned his first classical composition, 

and gave his first classical recital. 

He would go on to make appearances 

with most of the major symphony orchestras 

in the United States and record a significant 

portion of the standard clarinet 

literature, in addition to performing with 

big bands and small groups. Frequently 

his appearances would be divided 

between classical music and jazz. He 

would often perform a work of chamber 

music or a concerto on the first half of a 

program and then come back after the 

intermission to play jazz. As Yale School 

of Music Dean Frank Tirro pointed out in 

1984 when he awarded Goodman Yale’s 

Samuel Simons Sanford Medal, 

Goodman “created classics of jazz music 

while bringing the jazz audience to the 

classics.” 1 He commissioned pieces from 

some of the most important composers of 

the 20th century, adding more standards 

to the repertoire. His commissions may 

be his greatest contribution as a classical 

musician and something for which clarinetists 

for generations will be grateful. 

Page 32 

The scope of Goodman’s influence as 

a classical performer and commissioner 

of new works was and is considerable. 

There are at least 12 Goodman commissions 

by at least 11 composers; this article 

will discuss six of the composers and 

seven of the works. 

Benjamin David Goodman was born 

on May 30, 1909, in Chicago, the ninth 

of 12 children born to Russian Jewish 

immigrant parents. The family sometimes 

struggled to make ends meet and 

moved from place to place. Benny Goodman 

remembered: 

[W]e moved around quite a bit. 

But I can remember when we lived in 

a basement without heat during the 

winter, and a couple of times when 

there wasn’t anything to eat. I don’t 

mean much to eat. I mean anything. 2 

Trying to devise a way to increase the 

family’s income, David Goodman brought 

three of his sons to the Kehelah Jacob 

Synagogue, where they were each given a 

musical instrument, took lessons and 

played in the synagogue band until it folded 

a year later. Goodman, at age 10, was 

the smallest of the boys and was given a 

clarinet. His next musical experience was 

as a performer in the Hull House boys’ 

band, a group formed to fight the rise of 

youth crime in Chicago slums after World 

War I. Goodman once speculated: 

What I might have become if I 

didn’t play an instrument — I never 

stopped to think about that. Judging 

from the neighborhood where I 

lived, if it hadn’t been for the clarinet, 

I might just as easily have been 

a gangster. 3 

THE CLARINET 

At this time Goodman and his brothers 

started to hear jazz on phonograph 

records. The boys listened to, among others, 

Ted Lewis, a vaudeville clarinetist, 

whose solos Goodman learned to play. 

Goodman’s first professional performance 

at the age of 12 was an imitation of Lewis, 

for which he was paid five dollars. 

While a member of the Hull House 

band, Goodman began his serious classical 

training with Franz Schoepp, then one of 

the best-known clarinet teachers in 

Chicago. Schoepp was a strict German disciplinarian 

who took Goodman through 

standard etudes. In this way, Schoepp 

helped Goodman establish a strong technique, 

which would later enable the King 

of Swing to succeed as both a classical 

player and a jazz musician. Goodman 

would study with Schoepp for only two 

years. He considered this “the extent of my 

formal musical training” 4 but said that his 

teacher “probably did more for me musically 

than anyone I ever knew.” 5 Goodman 

later pointed to Schoepp as the one who set 

the stage for his dual career in classical 

music and jazz. The Goodman Papers in 

the Irving S. Gilmore Music Library at 

Yale University hold Schoepp’s own volume 

of the Baermann studies, given to 

Goodman by one of Schoepp’s grandsons. 

Goodman enclosed a handwritten note 

dated August 1966 inside the front cover 

of this book in which he wrote, “Looking 

back over the years I honestly believe that 

had it not been for these lessons, I would 

have never been attracted to the classical 

literature, many years later.” 6 

Goodman was a natural talent and 

started to make extraordinary money for

someone his age playing jazz. He was 

only 13 when he received his union card, 

and he left school at 14 to devote time to 

his musical career. By the time he was 

16, he was asked to join Ben Pollack’s 

band in California; he played with 

Pollack for four years and made his first 

recordings with that band, eventually 

moving back to Chicago and then to New 

York with the Pollack ensemble. 

Goodman left the Pollack band for a 

freelance career only a few weeks before 

the stock market crashed on October 29, 

1929. Because his reputation was already 

firmly established, he was one musician 

regularly called for work during the 

Great Depression. As radio was free, it 

made for easily accessible entertainment 

for the struggling masses, and the radio 

industry grew during the early years of 

the depression. 

In 1934, Goodman put together his 

first big band to perform at Billy Rose’s 

Music Hall in New York. His band was 

later chosen for a national NBC Saturday 

night radio show called Let’s Dance, 7 and 

Goodman told David Brinkley in an 

interview, “This was really, as far as I 

was concerned, really the break I was 

looking for.” 8 

Fame for the Goodman band came with 

a 1935 tour from the east coast to the west. 

The tour was a mix of moderate success 

and frustrating failure until the band 

reached California. Thousands came to 

hear Goodman’s band play at the Palomar 

Ballroom in Los Angeles, and the stint 

made national news. This engagement has 

been called the beginning of the Swing Era 

in the United States. 

In this same year, 1935, at the urging of 

his friend, record producer and eventual 

brother-in-law, John Hammond, Goodman 

made his first attempt with classical music 

since his lessons with Schoepp. Hammond 

played viola in an amateur string quartet; 

Goodman was asked to join the quartet in 

the Mozart Quintet, K. 581. In his autobiography, 

The Kingdom of Swing, 

Goodman described this experience: 

I don’t think…I had ever heard, 

or even knew about [the Mozart]…Naturally, 

I had a tough time 

at first adapting myself to this sort of 

thing, getting the right reed to play 

with a nice soft tone quality, but the 

music did appeal to me. There were 

such marvelous melodies in it, and 

the way it all worked out, with one 

instrument changing parts with the 

others, and the wonderful way in 

which the composer gives you a terrific 

climax when some simple idea 

works out into a different thing altogether 

— that was an experience I 

never had in music before. 9 

In May 1935, Hammond’s mother, a 

member of the Vanderbilt family, presented 

a musicale at her home in New 

York, and Goodman performed the 

Mozart Quintet with Hammond’s amateur 

group. 

About a year after this private concert, 

Goodman was scheduled to record the 

Mozart Quintet with the Pro Arte String 

Quartet in Chicago. He and his band were 

doing a one-nighter tour of the Midwest. 

After riding overnight on a bus and arriving 

in Chicago at 6 a.m., Goodman was in 

the studio at 10 a.m. to record. He and the 

quartet had not rehearsed together, and, as 

he told it, he was using the same reed that 

he had used the night before in the “One 

O’Clock Jump.” After playing a few measures 

with the quartet, Goodman knew that 

he “was totally unprepared” and left the 

session. He asserted, “The fact that life 

was so hectic is the only excuse I can 

give…I went home, got some sleep, did 

some serious thinking and continued on 

my tour.” 10 

Goodman cited this failed attempt to 

record the Mozart Quintet as the moment 

when his double life as jazz and classical 

musician began. He noted that he “could 

not come close to [the Pro Arte Quartet’s] 

standards in performing classical 

music,” 11 and was challenged by this. It 

was in the same year, 1936, that 

Goodman, together with violinist Joseph 

Szigeti, made his first attempt at a classical 

commission. The two musicians 

approached Sir William Walton for a 

piece for clarinet and violin, but a commission 

from Jascha Heifetz for a violin 

concerto took precedence and the clarinet/violin 

piece was never written. 12 

Benny Goodman’s interest in having new 

classical works written for him spanned 

nearly half a century, beginning and ending 

with requests made of Walton. In the 

early 1980’s Goodman tried again, and 

letters between him and the composer and 

the composer’s wife Lady Susana document 

attempts at a final commission. 

Goodman wrote to Walton on November 

12, 1980, saying: 

I heard from Lady Prudence 

Penn, and she gave me the wonderful 

news that you would write a 

piece for me. I am completely 

delighted and would like to know 

what conditions you may desire. 13 

In a November 21 reply, Walton said: 

I am most delighted to hear from you 

about my writing somthing for 

you…May I dedicate it to Lady Penn 

who I love dearly — that’s about my 

only condition. 14 

Walton gave a progress report to 

Goodman in a letter dated March 1981: 

I have been playing your recordings 

a great deal. Much enamored 

with Weber concertos, which I am 

ashamed to say I didn’t know. But 

the Mozart recordings are superlative 

& are something I hope you 

are very proud about. I only hope I 

shall be able to compose something 

really worthy of your superb playing 

& musicianship. 15 

The first mention of Walton’s precarious 

health comes in a letter dated about 

two weeks later, in which Lady Walton 

expresses the hope that William would be 

June 2007 Page 33

in good health for the 80th birthday celebration 

concert at the Morgan Library 

Goodman was planning for him in New 

York. 16 She wrote again to Goodman in 

July of the following year, explaining 

that Goodman would not be able to stay 

with them on his trip to Europe, as: 

William is not well enough to enjoy 

having guests…The operation 

on his right eye to free it of a cataract 

has been very successful…but 

William cannot see anything and the 

left eye is almost useless — at this 

moment he is very despondent… 17 

Another letter of December 1982 mentioned 

Walton’s illness: 

We couldn’t be more pleased to 

see the end of 82 approaching — it 

has given us exhilarating concerts 

for the 80th birthday but then three 

collapses that almost did us in so 

now we hope that with the aid of 5 

drops of Digitalis a day William’s 

ticker will tick away happily… 18 

Goodman must have written to inquire 

about work on his piece because Lady 

Walton wrote on January 12, 1983: 

Thank you for your letter and 

hopes for a new piece. William 

hasn’t even got back into his music 

room so I feel the chances are slim. 

Will let you know if spring bursts 

forth with new fruits. 19 

Walton died on March 8, 1983, so a 

new clarinet work was not to be. 

Clarinetists can only wonder what the 

composer whom Goodman approached 

not once but twice would have added to 

the repertoire. 

Returning to the 1930’s, consider the 

watershed year of 1938. This was the 

year of the groundbreaking Carnegie Hall 

concert in which Goodman’s band for the 

first time brought jazz to that venerable 

stage, and it was the year of Benny 

Goodman’s important classical “firsts.” 

The Carnegie concert was on January 16, 

1938. At first, Goodman thought the idea 

of playing in a concert setting was a bad 

one, since his group was famous as a 

dance band. Nevertheless, the concert 

sold out and was a smash success. 

Enough tickets were sold that Goodman 

noted, “ I suppose they could have sold it 

out for five days running or something 

like that.” 20 W.W. Nash said: 

Page 34 

One has to remember that Goodman’s 

band was simply a dance 

band. Wherever it played, people 

danced to it. Jazz concerts hadn’t 

begun yet — or, rather, they began 

that night — and the sitting-and-listening 

places, like the clubs on Fiftysecond 

Street, were just getting started. 

Hearing the Goodman band in 

Carnegie Hall wasn’t just startling. It 

somehow gave jazz an aesthetic 

stature it hadn’t had before. 21 

Two days later on January 18, Goodman 

performed the first movement of the 

Mozart Quintet with the Coolidge String 

Quartet on a CBS radio Camel Caravan 

broadcast. He recorded the entire Mozart 

Quintet with the Budapest String Quartet 

in April 1938. After his earlier failed 

attempt to do this with the Pro Arte 

Quartet, Goodman had prepared much 

more extensively. “I had learned my lesson,” 

he wrote. “I studied hard for many 

weeks beforehand, I asked other musicians 

to listen and criticize me, and I 

couldn’t even count the hours I spent 

looking for THE perfect reed.” 22 

Goodman’s first public recital in his new 

role as classical clarinetist came on 

November 4, 1938 in New York’s Town 

Hall. 23 Probably the most significant result 

of Goodman’s classical work in 1938 was 

the completion that year of Bartók’s 

Contrasts, the first Goodman commission. 

Joseph Szigeti was a fan of Goodman’s 

and a frequent member of the audience 

when Goodman performed at the 

Madhattan Room of the Pennsylvania 

Hotel in New York. 24 Acting on a “brainstorm,” 

Szigeti suggested that he appeal to 

Béla Bartók on behalf of Goodman for a 

“clarinet-violin duet with piano accompaniment,” 

25 which Goodman would underwrite 

financially. This resulted in 

Contrasts for clarinet, violin and piano, 

dedicated to Goodman and Szigeti. Bartók 

had reached the age of 57 without including 

winds in his chamber works; without 

“a commission, he would very likely never 

have concerned himself” with a wind 

instrument in this capacity. 26 Goodman and 

Szigeti commissioned the work, in part, to 

“encourage and sustain” Bartók, who was 

struggling with finances.” 27 

Goodman requested a two-movement 

piece in the style of the violin Rhapsodies, 

expecting the work to fit on the two sides 

of a 78-rpm record. By September 1938, 

THE CLARINET 

Bartók had fulfilled the request of two 

rhapsodies (titled Verbunkos or “Recruiting 

Dance” and Sebes or “Fast Dance”) and 

had added something extra — another 

movement which would become the central 

Pihenö or “Relaxation.” When Bartók sent 

the score to Goodman and Szigeti, he apologized 

for the additional music, saying: 

Generally the salesman delivers 

less than he is supposed to. There are 

exceptions, however, as for example 

if you order a suit for a two-year-old 

baby and an adult’s suit is sent 

instead — when the generosity is not 

particularly welcome! 28 

Goodman, Szigeti and pianist Endre 

Petri premiered Bartók’s work on January 

9, 1939 in Carnegie Hall in a performance 

that included only the outer two movements. 

The piece was presented under the 

title Rhapsody for clarinet and violin: Two 

Dances: a) Verbunkos, b) Sebes. 29 

At the time of this premiere, Benny 

Goodman was playing several shows a 

day at the Paramount Theatre in New 

York. Goodman considered his Carnegie 

Hall performance “another show in 

between” his acts at the Paramount. Jerry 

Jerome, then a saxophonist in Goodman’s 

band said: 

We’d pass Benny’s dressing 

room and hear him rehearsing that 

impossibly difficult Bartók piece, 

and I’d say, “How the hell can he 

do it” It scared me. How do you 

run back and forth that way from 

one thing to another 30 

Goodman himself remarked in a 1959 

interview: 

The one that always seems 

amazing to me was that we did the 

first performance of Bartók’s 

Contrasts…in between performances 

at the Paramount Theatre! I 

don’t think I’d take that as lightly 

these days. 31 

The first performance of Contrasts in 

its complete three-movement form came 

at Carnegie Hall on April 21, 1940, with 

Goodman, Szigeti and Bartók performing. 

The three recorded the work for 

Columbia in Los Angeles a few weeks 

later on May 13. It was during this spring 

that the work acquired the title Contrasts. 

Bartók had been dissatisfied with the 

name, Rhapsody, and had “sat for hours

in [Szigeti’s] apartment on Park Avenue 

mulling over a suitable title.” 32 Halsey 

Stevens wrote that the title, Contrasts, 

reflects the dissimilar timbres of the three 

instruments. 33 Paul Griffiths noted as well 

the contrast between the style of the inner 

movement versus that of the outer two: 

…the finished work partakes of 

both the popular style of the violin 

rhapsodies and the more esoteric 

manner of the quartets. 34 

In Bartók’s Contrasts, there are links 

between the sometimes disparate worlds 

of classical music and jazz. Bartók told 

Szigeti that the first movement of the 

piece was inspired by the “blues” section 

of Ravel’s Violin Sonata. Nicholas 

Slonimsky called it “the Hungarian counterpart 

of the American blues.” 35 

Goodman studied classical clarinet 

with the Viennese émigré Eric Simon in 

1940 and 1941. 36 In 1941, Simon acted as 

an intermediary for Goodman, setting up 

commissions for clarinet concertos by 

Paul Hindemith and Darius Milhaud. 

Simon wrote first on New Year’s Day, 

1941, asking Hindemith to write a concerto 

for Benny Goodman who had just 

performed the Mozart Clarinet Concerto 

with the New York Philharmonic and 

was interested in new works. Hindemith 

agreed in a letter of January 28, 1941, 

and advised Goodman to study his 

Clarinet Sonata and Quartet for Clarinet, 

Violin, Cello and Piano. In a letter from 

September of that year Hindemith said 

that he was ready to start the new clarinet 

work and would be finished after the 

New Year. 37 

During the summer of 1941, however, 

Germany had invaded Russia; this was 

upsetting enough to Goodman that he 

decided not to continue negotiations with 

Hindemith for the new concerto. Eric 

Simon wrote, “The true story is that after 

Germany invaded Russia…Benny did not 

want to have anything to do with anything 

German, in spite of Hindemith’s 

complete integrity.” 38 The project would 

later be rejuvenated in 1947, when the 

political climate had cooled. 

Meanwhile, Simon corresponded with 

Darius Milhaud in hopes of acquiring a 

clarinet concerto from him. A letter of 

October 21, 1941 asked for a concerto for 

clarinet and string orchestra for 

Goodman to use on a “big” tour beginning 

in January 1942 in which he would 

be playing with various symphony 

orchestras. 41 Simon also asked Milhaud in 

this letter to transcribe his Scaramouche 

for clarinet and orchestra. Milhaud 

responded three days later by saying that 

he “would be very interested in composing 

a concerto for B.G., whom I admire 

greatly.” 42 Milhaud wanted to write for 

full orchestra, instead of only strings as 

Goodman had requested. Goodman 

offered to pay Milhaud $750 for the 

piece, which was less than the $1,000 the 

composer had requested. In a letter of 

November 2, Milhaud wrote: 

…I was surprised that B.G. 

would not accept my price since he 

knows that my prices are reasonable. 

I am aware of the great advantage it 

is to work for him as well as the 

admirable performances that would 

be given and the great publicity that 

my work would receive…I am a little 

disappointed that he wants to 

decrease the amount I am asking for. 

However, given the great pleasure I 

will have to write this concerto for 

such a great artist, I am willing if he 

doesn’t change his mind to accept 

the deal for $750. 39 

Even though Goodman had requested 

the concerto for his January 1942 concert 

tour, by late February the work had still 

not been performed. Milhaud wrote a letter 

asking when Goodman would perform 

his piece, and Simon responded, 

saying that the clarinetist had not had 

time to play it, but would like another 

year of exclusive performance rights. 

Milhaud wrote in June: 

I was delighted to write this 

piece for Benny Goodman. But 

remember with what haste I had to 

do this work!…I would like to 

know Benny Goodman’s intentions 

and why, after rushing me so 

much, he has not played my concerto 

yet. 40 

Goodman never performed the 

Milhaud Concerto. When Mitchell Lurie 

asked the reason, Goodman replied, “Oh, 

too many notes.” Lurie said, “They were 

not hard for Benny…It’s a non-stop piece 

of music without a place to take a breath, 

and Benny just didn’t like it.” 41 

Clarinetist Richard Joiner premiered 

Milhaud’s Concerto with the U.S. 

Marine Band Orchestra conducted by 

Capt. William F. Santelmann on January 

30, 1946. in the Marine Barracks in 

Washington, D.C. The piano reduction 

appeared on November 22, 1941, before 

the orchestral score, which was completed 

on December 5, 1941. 42 

Milhaud finished his transcription of 

Scaramouche for clarinet and orchestra in 

1941, and Goodman premiered the work in 

November of that year with the Rochester 

Symphony. Though Eric Simon had suggested 

that Milhaud transpose the orchestra 

parts from the saxophone version to allow 

a better register for the clarinet, Milhaud 

disagreed and derived the clarinet part 

from the solo saxophone part through 

transposition and revision. 43 

Circumstances during World War II 

would not only postpone the completion 

of Hindemith’s Concerto but would also 

result in an unfinished concerto that 

Benjamin Britten had intended for Benny 

Goodman. Only one movement marked 

“Allegro molto” was produced. Britten 

had moved to the United States as a conscientious 

objector in 1939 with Peter 

Pears, and he started writing the clarinet 

concerto when he was living in New 

York. 44 Britten and Goodman finished 

negotiations regarding the work in 

December 1941, but nothing was put in 

writing. In the spring of 1942 when 

Britten and Pears went through New 

York Customs on their return to England, 

Britten’s manuscripts (including the clarinet 

concerto movement) were taken by 

officials who were afraid the works contained 

“encoded secrets.” 45 

Britten’s works were returned to him in 

May of that year, but by then he had started 

work on his opera Peter Grimes. The 

next month Goodman himself decided to 

“postpone any ‘final decision’” on the clarinet 

concerto until the next winter when his 

own “schedule, already complicated by 

America entering the war, might seem less 

haphazard.” Britten gave further consideration 

to the clarinet concerto when he was 

hospitalized with the measles in March 

1943, but the work was never completed. 46 

Colin Matthews orchestrated the single 

movement in 1989, and it was premiered 

March 7, 1990. Michael Collins was the 

clarinet soloist in London’s Barbican Hall 

with the Britten-Pears Orchestra led by 

Tamás Vásáry. 

A student of Hindemith’s during the 

summer of 1942, Alan Shulman would 

also write for Benny Goodman. Shulman, 

June 2007 Page 35

a cellist and composer trained at the 

Juilliard School, performed with the 

Kreiner String Quartet on the CBS radio 

network between 1938 and 1942. From 

1937 until 1942 and again from 1948 to 

1954, he was a cellist in the NBC 

Symphony. Shulman was a founding 

member of the Stuyvesant Quartet, a group 

which performed primarily contemporary 

music from 1938 to 1954. As an arranger, 

Shulman wrote for Columbia record 

releases and for Wilfred Pelletier, director 

of the Metropolitan Auditions of the Air. 47 

Alan Shulman wrote a work for clarinet 

and string quartet when Goodman in 

the summer of 1946 asked the Stuyvesant 

String Quartet to perform a movement of 

the Mozart Clarinet Quintet with him on 

his summer radio program. Shulman at 

the time was vacationing in Maine and 

“did not want to make the long trip to 

New York to play five minutes of Mozart 

on the air.” Instead he suggested that he 

write a new piece for the broadcast, and 

Rendezvous for Benny resulted, premiering 

on July 29, 1946. Goodman never 

again played the work, and Shulman 

changed the title to Rendezvous for 

Clarinet and Strings when it was published 

in 1947. 48 

This brief work infuses a classical ensemble 

(clarinet quintet) with jazz elements. 

In a 1985 interview, Shulman described 

his influences: 

I loved jazz…When I was a kid 

with our first radio I used to tune in 

every Wednesday night to “The 

Cotton Club” and hear Duke, 

Fletcher Henderson, Don Redman, 

Lucky Millinder. I heard all the 

great black bands, and I think I 

learned a lot from them. 49 

When asked whether he agreed with 

musicians who called jazz “America’s 

classical music,” Shulman replied: 

I’d be inclined to go along with 

that. I know that some of my colleagues 

(who shall be nameless) 

have attempted jazz, and have 

passed it for jazz — I might be 

guilty of the same thing. They all 

have the schooling, they have all the 

orchestral technique, all the knowhow, 

and I say about them that they 

have one foot in the groove. 50 

Shulman’s Rendezvous seems to be an 

example of his attempt to bridge the gap 

between popular and art music. He said: 

Page 36 

THE CLARINET 

I also feel that there is too much 

“intellectual” music being written today. 

That doesn’t mean that one 

should necessarily “write down” to an 

audience; it means that the lay person 

(who represents the majority of music 

lovers) wants an aural satisfaction 

which will arouse his emotions; he 

must have something to grasp and 

retain — namely a melody. 51 

Another Goodman commission that 

has been somewhat overlooked is Alex 

North’s Revue for Clarinet and Orchestra. 

Though North’s work and its premiere on 

November 18, 1946 with Goodman, the 

New York City Symphony, and conductor 

Leonard Bernstein made good reviews, 

the work fell into relative obscurity. 

Alex North’s career is an interesting 

one. Best known for his film scores, he 

was an innovator in that genre, writing for 

A Streetcar Named Desire, Cleopatra, 

Spartacus, The Dead, and Who’s Afraid of 

Virginia Woolf He was originally chosen 

to write the score for Stanley Kubrick’s 

2001: A Space Odyssey. Kubrick, though, 

used classical recordings for a temporary 

track while editing the film, and he decided 

to keep these for the soundtrack. North 

turned his score into his Third Symphony. 

North fulfilled his commission for 

Goodman by writing not a “jazz piece” for 

the clarinetist, but a work “as close as possible 

to the style of playing that B.G. is 

noted for.” The fact that Goodman did not 

record Revue or play it extensively may 

explain its lack of popularity. Additionally, 

Alex North’s role as a film composer may 

have stigmatized his concert works as inferior. 

52 Aaron Copland, in 1956, included 

North among the composers he respected 

most in Hollywood. In 1945, North had 

written to Copland for advice and the elder 

composer said: 

Sounds to me as if you have a 

case of “stage fright.” I’d be glad to 

see the Clar. work and offer friendly 

advice, however. Maybe all you 

need is to face the Muse squarely, 

look her in the eye and conquer. 

According to Vivian Perlis, Copland felt 

that “a composer such as North…had little 

reason to be apologetic.” 53 

Goodman’s premiere of Revue garnered 

“the best notices he had received in 

several years.” One week later, the King 

of Swing announced that he would disband 

his big band in order to focus on 

classical music. On December 19, he 

revived his commission for a clarinet 

concerto from Paul Hindemith, and three 

weeks later, he asked Aaron Copland for 

a work of the same type. 54 

Hindemith wrote most of his clarinet 

concerto during a six-week Swiss vacation 

during the summer of 1947. He and 

his wife Gertrude had gone back to 

Europe for the first time since emigrating 

to the United States in 1940. Most of the 

time on this five-month trip was spent 

traveling the continent and England so 

that Hindemith could make a series of 

conducting appearances; the time in 

Switzerland in July and August was set 

aside as a holiday. On September 20, 

1947, four days after returning home to 

New Haven, Hindemith finished his clarinet 

concerto for Benny Goodman. 55 

Hindemith was scheduled to conduct 

the New Haven Symphony on January 12, 

1948, and had hoped Goodman would premiere 

the concerto then. This was not to 

be; in fact, “to Hindemith’s annoyance,” 56 

Goodman waited three years to perform 

the Concerto, playing it just before his 

exclusive performance rights expired. According 

to Keith Wilson, clarinetist and 

faculty colleague of Hindemith’s at Yale, 

the composer told Wilson that he would 

have premiered the Concerto had Goodman 

not met the deadline. Wilson and Hindemith 

had played the piece for a private 

gathering at the composer’s home before 

Goodman’s public presentation of the 

work. 57 The premiere performance came 

on a “Student Concert” December 11, 

1950, in Philadelphia with the Philadelphia 

Orchestra led by Eugene Ormandy. This 

was Goodman’s first appearance with that 

orchestra. 58 Hindemith and his wife were 

particularly dismayed by the circumstances 

of the premiere. Neither one of them 

attended; Hindemith was ill, but his wife 

heard the last rehearsal. Mrs. Hindemith 

wrote in a letter to Willy Strecker: 

Unfortunately and incomprehensibly 

it was done at a “Student 

Concert” and not well advertised. I 

do not know who made this clever 

arrangement for a world premiere. 

Eugene Ormandy seemed very 

enthusiastic and asked for more 

world premieres and first performances, 

but he has not scheduled the 

piece for any of his regular concerts

in Philadelphia or New York. We 

are shaking our heads in disbelief. 

Naturally, I am very enthusiastic 

about the concerto. 59 

When Ormandy wrote two years later 

for another Hindemith work to premiere, 

Mrs. Hindemith replied: 

My husband was rather disappointed 

with the treatment you gave 

the clarinet concerto, which, in his 

opinion, is worth more than just a 

“First American” performance at an 

afternoon youth concert. 60 

Ormandy’s secretary wrote back: 

Ormandy would like you to 

know that Benny Goodman was 

engaged for a very important evening 

concert for students, where 

other important works are always 

being played, and that it was Mr. 

Goodman who offered the premiere 

for this concert, realizing the importance 

of the event. 61 

Mrs. Hindemith wrote a description of 

Goodman’s performance at the dress 

rehearsal: 

Benny Goodman played marvelously 

and with flawless technique, 

but his tone is almost too 

smooth. The musicians applauded 

vigorously and it is said he was very 

successful at the concert that 

evening. Unfortunately, he seemed 

to be rather academic, and I was 

astonished to detect a certain dryness 

in his playing. It might be that he did 

not feel 100% at ease with such a 

difficult work, but undoubtedly will 

after repeat performances. 62 

Her assessment is in keeping with what 

many critics said about Goodman’s classical 

playing, that it was accurate but 

often lacking in vitality. 

Rumors have circulated that Goodman 

did not like the Hindemith Concerto and 

that for this reason he played it infrequently 

and never recorded it. Evidence 

points to the contrary. Wilson said that 

Goodman thought it was a good piece 

and one that he liked to play. He remembered 

that Goodman wanted to play the 

piece much more often than he did and 

was frustrated that he could not convince 

orchestras and conductors to play it with 

him. Before one of Goodman’s appearances 

with the New Haven Symphony 

Orchestra, both Wilson and Goodman 

went before the Symphony board to 

argue that Goodman should perform the 

Hindemith Concerto with the orchestra. 

The appeal fell on deaf ears, and Wilson 

recalled that Goodman eventually performed 

one of the Malcolm Arnold concertos 

on a pops concert. 63 In a 1982 letter 

from Benny Goodman to Arne 

Worsoe of the International Concert 

Organization in Copenhagen, Goodman 

discusses various pieces for performance. 

He suggests the Hindemith Concerto as a 

good work to perform with large orchestra, 

calling it “a fantastic piece provided 

the conductor is in agreement.” 64 Frank 

Tirro asked Goodman why he had never 

recorded the Concerto, asking him if it 

was because he disliked the piece. 

Goodman replied that no one had ever 

asked him to do such a project. 65 

The Hindemith Concerto has never 

been an often performed work in the 

United States. Keith Wilson remembered 

that when he played the piece in 1956, his 

rental of the parts was only the fifth in 

“seven or eight years.” Wilson gave several 

reasons for this infrequency of performance. 

First, he said clarinet players tend 

not to find the work “flashy” enough; it 

does not sound difficult or virtuosic, even 

though it does present challenges. The 

orchestra parts are also difficult, according 

to Wilson, so take considerable preparation. 

Wilson argued that many performers 

had not understood how to play Hindemith 

properly; he said that too often artists 

had played Hindemith in a cold, mathematical 

way instead of lyrically as the 

Clarinet Concerto requires. Finally, Wilson 

noted that audience response to Hindemith’s 

music had been not been enthusiastic 

in general. 66 

Goodman’s classical commissioning 

and performing continued for nearly 40 

more years after Hindemith completed his 

Clarinet Concerto. Still to come would be 

works written for Goodman by Aaron 

Copland, Morton Gould, Malcolm Arnold 

and others. He would continue to perform 

with the most important musicians in the 

most significant venues. His performances 

of earlier standard works from the clarinet 

literature continued from the late 1930’s 

through and beyond the period of this article. 

Appearances from the 1940’s include 

a May 1, 1940, Goodman performance of 

the Mozart Clarinet Concerto with Leo- 

June 2007 Page 37

pold Stokowski conducting in the Hollywood 

Bowl. Goodman’s Sextet and big 

band joined him for the second half of the 

concert, which was called “a phenomenal 

success” by the press. Goodman appeared 

in Carnegie Hall on December 12 and 13, 

1940, with the New York Philharmonic in 

performances of Debussy’s Première 

Rhapsodie and Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto. 

John Barbirolli conducted these performances 

and the recording made of the 

Debussy on December 16. A performance 

of Prokofiev’s Overture on Hebrew 

Themes brought Goodman back to Carnegie 

Hall in April of the following year. 

He performed the clarinet part of Rhapsody 

in Blue with piano soloist Earl Wild, 

the NBC Symphony Orchestra, and Arturo 

Toscanini, conductor, on a November 1, 

1942, “NBC Symphony Hour” broadcast. 

Goodman became a member of Juilliard’s 

faculty in November of 1943. Two years 

later he recorded the Brahms Sonata, Op. 

120, No. 2 with Nadia Reisenberg. 67 

Goodman’s classical life coexisted with 

his jazz career for most of the rest of his 

life. At the time of his death in June 1986, 

Goodman was preparing for appearances 

at New York’s Mostly Mozart Festival. He 

once wrote, “Once I had become in the 

slightest degree familiar with the other 

world of music, it was quite impossible for 

me to dismiss it.” 68 

END NOTES 

1 

Frank Tirro, presentation of Yale University 

Sanford Medal, New Haven, 2 Nov. 1984. 

2 

Ross Firestone, Swing, Swing, Swing: The Life and 

Times of Benny Goodman (New York: Norton, 

1993), p. 19. 

3 

Ibid., p. 23 

4 

Benny Goodman, ms., August 1966, Benny 

Goodman Papers, Irving S. Gilmore Music 

Library, Yale University, New Haven. 

5 

Firestone, Swing, p. 25. 

6 

Goodman, ms., August 1966, Goodman Papers. 

7 

According to Goodman’s 1983 interview with 

David Brinkley (Benny Goodman, Kennedy 

Center Honors Oral History Project Interview, 

ts. (copy), By David Brinkley, 20 July 1983, 

Goodman Papers), his band’s opening theme, 

“Let’s Dance,” originated as the theme for this 

radio show; it is based on Carl Maria von 

Weber’s Invitation to the Dance. 

8 

Benny Goodman, Brinkley interview, p. 19. 

9 

Benny Goodman and Irving Kolodin, The 

Kingdom of Swing (New York: Stackpole Sons, 

1939) pp. 166–167. 

10 

Benny Goodman, “Musical Double Life,” ts., n.d. 

Goodman Papers. 

11 

Benny Goodman, “By Benny Goodman,” ts., n.d. 

Goodman Papers. 

Page 38 

12 

Michael Kennedy, Portrait of Walton. (New 

York: Oxford UP, 1989) p. 92. 

13 

Benny Goodman, letter to Sir William Walton, 12 

November 1980, Goodman Papers. 

14 

William Walton, letter to Benny Goodman, 21 


15 

William Walton, letter to Benny Goodman, 3 

March 1981, Goodman Papers 

16 

Susana Walton, letter to Benny Goodman, 16 

March 1981, Goodman Papers. 

17 

Susana Walton, letter to Benny Goodman, 14 July 

1982, Goodman Papers. 

18 

Susana Walton, letter to Benny Goodman, 

December 1982, Goodman Papers. 

19 

Susana Walton, letter to Benny Goodman, 12 

January 1983, Goodman Papers. 

20 

Brinkley interview, p. 66. 

21 

Whitney Balliett, “Our Local Correspondents: S. 

R. O.” The New Yorker, (December 26, 1977), 

39–40. 

22 

Benny Goodman, Musical Double Life. 

23 

D. Russell Connor, Benny Goodman: Listen to the 

Legacy, (Metuchen, N.J.): Scarecrow, 1988) 

p. 95. 

24 


25 

Cathy L. McCormick, “The Origin of Bartók’s 

Contrasts,” The Clarinet (Fall, 1985), 32. 

26 

Halsey Stevens, The Life and Music of Béla 

Bartók. (New York: Oxford UP, 1953), p. 218. 

27 

Connor, Legacy, p. 111. 

28 

Firestone, Swing, pp. 248–249. 

29 

McCormick, “Origin,” 32. 

30 


31 

Benny Goodman, interview, “Reminiscences of 

Benny Goodman,” Columbia Oral History 

Project, Columbia U, New York, Jan. 1959 

32 


33 

Stevens, Bartók, p. 219. 

34 

Paul Griffiths, The Master Musicians: Bartók 

(London: J.M. Dent, 1984) p. 162. 

35 


36 

Henry Duckham et al, “In Memory of Benny 

Goodman,” The Clarinet (Fall, 1986), 18. 

37 

John Albert Snavely, Benny Goodman’s 

Commissioning of New Works and Their 

Significance for Twentieth-Century Clarinetists, 

diss., U of Arizona, 1991 (Ann Arbor: UMI, 

1991) p. 56. 

38 

Luther Noss, Paul Hindemith in the United States 

(Urbana: U of Illinois Press, 1989) p. 126. 

39 

Snavely, diss., pp. 42-43. 

40 

Ibid., p. 46. 

41 

Ibid., p. 47. 

42 

Nancy Mayland Mackenzie, “Selected Clarinet 

Solo and Chamber Music of Darius Milhaud,” 

diss. U of Wisconsin–Madison, 1984 (Ann 

Arbor: UMI, 1984) p. 56. 

43 

Snavely, diss., pp. 44–45. 

44 

Pamela Weston, “A Britten Performance, Or 

What Might Have Been,” The Clarinet 

(May/June 1990), 34. 

45 

Christopher Palmer, jacket notes, Arnold: Clarinet 

Concertos and Scherzetto; Britten: Concerto 

Movement; Maconchy: Concertinos. Hyperion, 

CDA66634, 1993 

46 

Ibid. 

47 

E. Ruth Anderson, Contemporary American 

Composers: A Biographical Dictionary, 

(Boston: G. K. Hall, 1976) p. 399. 

48 

Jay Shulman, jacket notes. The Music of Alan 

Shulman. Bridge 9119, 2002. 

THE CLARINET 

49 

Alan Shulman, interview, Woodstock Times, 

Woodstock, NY, 31 October 1985, 39. 

50 

Ibid. 

51 

David Ewen, American Composers Today (New 

York: H. W. Wilson, 1949) p. 25. 

52 

Dana Perna, “Alex North’s Revue for Clarinet 

and Orchestra, ClariNetwork, (Winter 1988), 6. 

53 

Aaron Copland and Vivian Perlis, Copland Since 

1943 (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1990) p. 7. 

54 


55 

Noss, Hindemith, p. 126. 

56 

Ibid. 

57 

Keith Wilson, personal interview, 24 March 1997. 

58 

George David Townsend, “A Stylistic and Performance 

Analysis of the Clarinet Music of Paul 

Hindemith,” diss. U of Illinois, 1967 (Ann Arbor: 

UMI, 1968) p. 147. 

59 

Noss, Hindemith, p. 127. 

60 

Ibid. 

61 

Ibid. 

62 

Ibid. 

63 

Wilson, personal interview. 

64 

Benny Goodman, letter to Anne Worsoe, 29 


65 

Frank Tirro, personal interview, 21 March 1997. 

66 

Wilson, personal interview. 

67 

Connor, Legacy, pp. 111, 114–115, 120, 140, 148, 

165. 

68 

Benny Goodman. “Musical Double Life.” 


Maureen Hurd teaches clarinet at the 

Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers 

University, in New Brunswick, New Jersey. 

She has appeared as soloist, chamber 

musician and orchestral clarinetist in concerts 

throughout Europe, Asia and North 

America. Highlights include performances 

at the 2007 and 2005 International Clarinet 

Association ClarinetFests ® in Vancouver, 

Canada and Japan as well as appearances 

in South Korea, France and England. 

Performances of contemporary chamber 

music include appearances at New York’s 

Merkin Hall and with the Chamber Music 

Society of Lincoln Center in Alice Tully 

Hall as well as a Mitteldeutsche Rundfunk 

radio broadcast of American music in 

Germany and performances of works composed 

by her husband Evan Hause. She 

earned all of her graduate degrees including 

DMA from the Yale School of Music 

where she worked with materials in the 

Benny Goodman Papers of the Irving S. 

Gilmore Music Library. She studied with 

David Shifrin, Charles Neidich, Ayako 

Oshima and Joseph Messenger. Hurd frequently 

performs recitals, master classes, 

lectures and clinics at clarinet festivals, 

universities and conferences throughout 

the United States and abroad. She is a 

Conn-Selmer Artist, playing Selmer Paris 

Signature Clarinets.

PART II 

[In May, 2005, I spent a week of 

research at The Sousa Archives and 

Center for American Music at the 

University of Illinois investigating 

Sousa’s clarinetists. I also visited and 

interviewed Sousa-scholar Paul Bierley, 

who generously shared many of his 

unpublished resources from years of 

research, including a timeline of the concerts 

and soloists, a very comprehensive 

biographical roster of the bandsmen, and 

many rare photographs of Sousa’s clarinetists. 

For more information, including 

a complete bibliography and discography, 

please refer to my D.M. Treatise 

(Florida State University).] 

The first part of this article focused 

on the clarinet soloists of the John 

Philip Sousa Band. Many of the 

clarinetists in Sousa’s band, while not 

soloists, did play important roles in the 

ensemble. Clarinetist Samuel “Sam” 

Harris, who was with the band from 1912 

to 1920, became Sousa’s personal secretary. 

1 He describes his responsibilities, “I 

was the band’s mailman, and it was my 

duty to buy all newspapers after the concerts 

and look for write-ups and criticisms. 

This brought me very close to Mr. 

Sousa, as many times I would be called 

to let him know what reports were 

made.” 2 He described one of the challenges 

he faced when playing marches as 

a clarinetist in Sousa’s ensemble: 

We always played the trio down 

an octave, and the chromatic tutti 

as written. . . . When I first played 

in the band, the practice of playing 

down an octave ‘got me’ for a few 

days. This is because kids usually 

like to play up an octave; but take 

this tip, you clarinetists, and practice 

playing down an octave now 

and then! 3 

At least three of Sousa’s clarinetists 

worked for the ensemble as copyists or 

arrangers, including Otto “Mike” Jacob, 

Giuseppe “Bocca” Boccavecchia, and 

Peter Buys (1881–1964). 4 Jacob, from 

Bridgeport, Connecticut, played with the 

band from 1921 to 1927 and often copied 

parts for Sousa. 5 Boccavecchia was an 

alto clarinetist in the band from 1893 to 

1900; he not only copied parts, but he 

also wrote his own arrangements. 6 Buys, 

The Clarinetists 

of the John Philip 

Sousa Band: 1892–1931 

who was born in Amsterdam, Holland, 

came to the United States in 1902 and 

joined the group as an E ♭ clarinetist and 

arranger. Buys recalled, “When it was 

my duty to copy the manuscript, I would 

at times be so baffled that I would have 

to go to him [Sousa] for clarification. 

Then the chances were that he would 

look at it, smile a little, and hand it back 

to me with the direction to ‘fix it up 

somehow.’” 7 Evidently, he was such a 

phenomenal E ♭ clarinetist that after he 

left the band in 1918, Sousa discontinued 

using the instrument saying, “The instrument 

[E ♭ clarinet] cannot be played in 

tune, except by a great master, and there 

are no more Peter Buys.” 8 

Several of Sousa’s clarinetists held positions 

in the foremost orchestras of the time. 

Belgian clarinetist Gustave (Gustav) 

Langenus (1883–1957), who played with 

by Jesse Krebs 

the John Philip Sousa Band in 1902 and 

1903, also held positions in the Queen’s 

Hall Orchestra in London, the New York 

Symphony Orchestra (1910–1920), and the 

New York Philharmonic (1920–1923). He 

studied at the Brussels Conservatory and 

came to the United States in 1910. 9 In 1916, 

Langenus performed at the White House as 

a clarinet soloist for President and Mrs. 

Woodrow Wilson and two years later, the 

Musical Messenger published a sketch of 

his life and accomplishments. 10 Langenus 

also published many important method 

books, composed numerous clarinet solos, 

and left a legacy of students, including 

Henry Gulick, Rosario Mazzeo and Himie 

Voxman, from private teaching and professorships 

at The Juilliard School of Music 

and the Oberlin Conservatory. 11 

Three other of Sousa’s clarinetists also 

performed with the New York Phil- 

Jan Williams with Leonard B. Smith 

(Courtesy of the Detroit Concert Band) 

June 2007 Page 39

harmonic Orchestra. Albert C. Chiaffarelli 

(1884–1945) played with Sousa’s band for 

several tours in 1904. In 1910, he became 

the principal clarinetist of the New York 

Philharmonic Orchestra, a post he held for 

the next nine years. He was known to have 

played on Albert-system clarinets. 12 Michael 

John (Jack) Hickey (1878–1954), 13 who 

regularly performed with the Sousa Band 

beginning in 1900, later played second clarinet 

in the New York Philharmonic 

Orchestra from 1910 to 1920. 14 He also performed 

with the Victor Herbert Orchestra, 

the Goldman and Pryor Bands, and taught 

many students, including John McGrosso, 

Aldo Simonelli and Frank Stackow. 15 

Jan A. Williams (1884–1981) became 

one of the youngest members of Sousa’s 

band when he joined in 1901 as a 17- yearold. 

Williams later played bass clarinet and 

basset horn in the Metropolitan Opera 

Orchestra from 1913 to 1924 under 

Toscanini, and he was the principal clarinetist 

with the New York Philharmonic 

Orchestra for a season in 1927. 16 He was 

also solo clarinetist with the Goldman 

Band, principal clarinetist with the Russian 

Symphony Orchestra in New York under 

Modeste Altschuler, and spent 20 years as 

clarinetist at the radio station WOR. 17 He 

taught at The Juilliard School of Music 

(1928–1931) and became the musical 

director of the Ernest Williams School of 

Music in 1947. 18 

Louis “Lou” Morris not only played 

clarinet with the Sousa Band from 1907 to 

1920 (except the 1911 world tour), but also 

performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, 

Victor Herbert’s Band, and Conway’s 

Band. 19 When asked about his experiences 

playing under Leopold Stokowski, Morris 

replied, “I hated his guts, but we made 

music!” 20 Morris often recounted when 

members of the Philadelphia Orchestra told 

some of the Sousa Band musicians that 

they had no business playing orchestral literature 

like Richard Strauss’ Till 

Eulenspiegel, which had been programmed 

for that evening’s Sousa concert. Offended, 

the Sousa men made a wager with the 

orchestra members that if the band played it 

better than the orchestra had ever played it, 

the orchestra would buy them steak dinners, 

and if not, the band would buy steak 

dinners for the orchestra. Evidently, that 

night the Sousa members feasted on free 

steak dinners. 21 

There is also evidence that Daniel 

Bonade (1896–1976) performed with the 

Sousa Band in Philadelphia around 1916. 

Bonade, considered to be one of the most 

influential figures in the development of 

the American clarinet sound from his 

teaching of numerous clarinetists and 

performances with the Philadelphia and 

Cleveland Orchestras, mentioned in his 

1916 diary that he played with the Sousa 

Band. 22 In an interview from 1964, Sousa 

clarinetist Louis Morris recalled: 

I’ll never forget as long as I live, 

when I played in Philadelphia at the 

Willow Grove, the fellow that was 

sitting on the second chair, solo clarinet, 

took sick and he sent a substitute. 

And who did he send Bonade 

— one of the greatest clarinet players. 

He was the first clarinet player 

in the Philadelphia Orchestra for 

years, you see, and an artist. So 

when he came to the band, naturally 

he was supposed to sit next to me. 

So I took the book out first and I 

showed him everything and there 

was a few things that were very difficult 

you see — who should know 

that he’s such an artist 23 

Page 40 

THE CLARINET

George Rubel, who played clarinet 

with the Sousa Band in 1915, was significant 

for taking part in several early 

recordings sessions for the Edison label. 

In 1905, he recorded Two Little 

Bullfinches Polka for two clarinets and 

band, 24 and in 1909 and 1913, Rubel 

made two recordings of The Butterfly for 

clarinet, flute and band. 25 

Clarinetist Thomas (Tommy) Hughes, 

who performed with the Sousa Band on 

the 1915 tour and the 1931 radio broadcasts, 

might have performed with the 

group as early as 1897. 26 He took part in 

many recording sessions for Columbia 

between the 1911 and 1916, including 

two recordings of The Butterfly. It is likely 

that he was the clarinetist in the 

Columbia Woodwind Quartet and 

Columbia Instrumental Trio that recorded 

in 1914 and 1915 (Columbia A1603 and 

Columbia A1884). 27 

Finally, Paul Howland (1904–1967), 

who played with the Sousa Band for the 

1925–26 tour and studied with Langenus, 

became famous for his radio performances 

in New York City. During this 

time, Howland played under Morton 

Gould at the radio station WOR and performed 

freelance concerts with Leopold 

Stokowski, Igor Stravinsky, Pablo Casals 

and Bruno Walter. He occasionally performed 

with the New York Philharmonic 

and during a rehearsal of Mozart’s 

Requiem, Walter called him to the podium 

and deemed his basset horn playing 

the best that he had heard. 28 

Instrumentation and 

Auxiliary Clarinets 

Patrick Gilmore was one of the first 

bandleaders in America to use a large 

woodwind section that balanced the 

forces of the brass instruments. This 

practice was continued by Sousa. Sousascholar 

Jonathan Korzun states, 

“Building on what Gilmore began, Sousa 

modeled his band after the symphony 

orchestra with more emphasis on the 

woodwinds, particularly the clarinets, 

than most other contemporary bands.” 29 

After organizing his own band in 1892, 

Sousa used two E ♭ clarinets, twelve B ♭ 

clarinets, one alto clarinet and one bass 

clarinet. However, he began to increase 

the number of musicians in his band, and 

by 1928, he employed a B ♭ clarinet section 

of 23 players. 30 This increase in the 

Page 42 

THE CLARINET

YCL 

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YAMAHA. 

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of perfect recognition’ 

best describes my reaction 

upon first playing the 

new ‘G’ series clarinets. 

Bravo Yamaha!” 

-Bil Jackson, Principal Clarinet, 

Colorado Symphony 

©2007 Yamaha Corporation of America. All Rights Reserved. 

QUALITY . SUPPORT . PROFESSIONALISM . VALUE

George Rubel and Thomas Hughes with members of the Sousa Band clarinet section 

(Courtesy of Paul Bierley) 

number of clarinetists corresponds to an 

augmentation in the overall size of 

Sousa’s band from 46 total musicians in 

1892 to 69 in 1928. 31 Brion comments, 

“The ratio of woodwind to brass in 

Sousa’s Band was two to one. . . .This 

woodwind-dominated sound worked well 

in Sousa’s music.” 32 

It is interesting to note that the number 

of clarinetists in Sousa’s band sharply 

declined during the years of the Great 

Depression. His clarinet section went 

from 23 B ♭ clarinets in 1928 to 19 in 

1929. By 1931, Sousa had further 

reduced the section to a mere 14. 

It is interesting to examine Sousa’s 

use of auxiliary clarinets like the E ♭ clarinet. 

Unlike Gilmore, Sousa never used 

the high-pitched A ♭ sopranino clarinet; 

however at various times he did use as 

many as two E ♭ clarinets. Many accomplished 

E ♭ clarinetists played with the 

Sousa Band, including Joseph Lacalle 

and Fred Urbain who came to Sousa 

from the Gilmore Band. Other significant 

E ♭ clarinetists included Frank Joseph 

Kapralek, Max Flaster, Peter Buys and 

Oscar Matthes. Max Flaster also played 

E ♭ clarinet in the Pryor and Conway 

Bands and was featured in several adver- 

Clarinet Instrumentations of the Sousa Band 33 

Instrument Sept. 1898 Sept. 1902 June 1915 Nov. 1924 1928 1931 

E-flat Clar. 2 1 2 0 0 0 

B-flat Clar. 14 15 18 24 23 14 

Alto Clar. 1 1 1 1 1 1 

Bass Clar. 1 1 1 2 1 1 

Page 46 

THE CLARINET

tisements for the “Gras Clarinet” in 

issues of The Musical Messenger. 34 

Joseph Kapralek was mentioned by 

Edmund A. Wall in his poem “Around 

the World with Sousa”: 

Kapralek, E-flat clarinet, 

“Til Eulenspiegel,” is his pet, 

For men may come and men may go, 

Still he’ll be known as “Sweet Pipe Joe.” 35 

In many of Sousa’s transcriptions and 

arrangements, the E ♭ clarinets would play 

the original clarinet parts while the B ♭ 

clarinets would cover the violin and viola 

parts. 36 Korzun explains, “Sousa most 

often used E ♭ clarinets to address the 

problem of a lack of timbral difference 

between transcribed violin parts being 

played by B ♭ clarinets and transcribed 

orchestral clarinet parts.” 37 

Nevertheless by 1921, Sousa had 

stopped using the E ♭ clarinet and instead 

employed extra flutists. Brion suggests: 

We know that the band began in 

the 1890s by using two E ♭ clarinets, 

as is still done in some places in 

Europe. Their function was to play 

the “E” string violin parts in 

orchestral transcriptions, and they 

were often written divisi. Sousa 

gradually pulled back to one E ♭ 

clarinet. Around the end of World 

War I, his favorite E ♭ clarinet player 

passed away. He never liked another 

after that, and began hiring the 

top two flute students from 

Juilliard each year to transpose the 

E ♭ clarinet book. 38 

It is possible that Sousa’s “favorite E ♭ 

clarinet player” was Dr. Peter Buys who 

left the band in 1918. Sousa once 

remarked, “I never had an E ♭ clarinet that 

didn’t foul up in certain keys, so I decided 

that from now on I would limit the use of 

an E ♭ clarinet to just four measures, once 

every leap year!” 39 In 1929 a newspaper 

reported, “The E-flat clarinets, he [Sousa] 

declares, are pesky things, which may be 

counted on for little more than bad 

tones.” 40 In any case, 

Sousa stopped using E ♭ 

clarinet after 1920, and 

by 1923, he had increased 

the flute section 

from four to six. 

Furthermore, alto and 

bass clarinetists played a 

significant role in 

Sousa’s music, more so 

than many European 

bands. Francis Mayer 

asserts, “One difference 

was in the relative 

importance of alto and 

bass clarinets and of the 

saxophone section, all of 

increasing importance in 

Sousa’s scores but irregularly 

used by the British.” 

41 Sousa’s alto clarinetists 

included Giuseppe 

(Joseph) Boccavecchia, 

William Foerster, 

Herman Petzsche, Rene 

Magnant and John Silbach. 

Along with playing 

the original viola part 

in Sousa’s transcriptions, 

the alto clarinets were 

sometimes used as a 

counter-melodic instrument 

in unison with the 

baritone, as with Sousa’s 

Camera Studies Suite 

(1920). The bass clarinetists 

of Sousa’s band 

included William Rueffel, 

Carl Schroeder, Herman Johnson, 

Joseph Cheney, George Jenkins and 

Andrew Reissner. Sousa never used the 

contrabass clarinet — most scholars believe 

he deemed it unnecessary. 42 

The importance of the bass clarinetists 

in Sousa’s band can be demonstrated by 

comparing their weekly salaries to the 

other clarinetists. While no clarinetist 

ever received more than the principal 

player, the bass clarinetists were always 

George M. Jenkins 

paid the next highest salary. Note that the 

pay for all musicians decreased in 1931, 

most likely because of the financial hardships 

caused by the Great Depression. 

Stories About 

Sousa’s Clarinetists 

(Courtesy of Paul Bierley) 

Many amusing stories have been told 

about Sousa’s clarinetists over the years by 

his bandsmen. Edmund C. Wall and the 

Sousa Clarinetists’ Weekly Salaries 43 

WEEKLY SALARIES 1896 1921 1923–1924 1925–1926 1928 1931 

Principal Clarinet $55 $85 $80 $90 $114 $108 

1 st Clarinet $40 $65 $65 $65 $79 $73 

2 nd & 3 rd Clarinet $35 $60 $60 $60 $74 $68 

Alto Clarinet $35 $60 $60 $65 $79 $73 

Bass Clarinet $40 $75 $70 $70 $94 $88 

June 2007 Page 47

saxophone soloist Owen Kincaid regularly 

played practical jokes on other Sousa Band 

members. Kincaid remembered: 

First of all Eddie and myself 

were out drinking one glass of beer 

and we spied some dried fish, so we 

bought some and before the concert 

we rubbed them all over Deluca’s, 

Jim Slantz’s, and Whoopie Monroe’s 

mouthpieces. Well, to make a 

long story short, Whoopie was plain 

mad and disgusted, Slantz never 

cleaned his mouthpiece, so he never 

noticed the difference, and Deluca 

got so mad he damn near chewed 

the mouthpiece off his tin pipe. 

This was such clean fun we thought 

it educational to test certain reactions 

on different members. 44 

After a concert in 1893 at the St. Louis 

Exposition, one of Sousa’s clarinet players, 

William (Billy) Langan, was apparently 

assaulted for his wristwatch. An 

article in the St. Louis Dispatch stated, 

“William Langan, clarinet player of 

Sousa’s band, was attacked by a highwayman 

on Saturday night when returning 

from the Exposition. The thug attempted 

to knock him down and wrest his watch 

from him. Mr. Langan resisted and the 

fellow took to his heels well punished 

without obtaining any property.” 45 

Once a young clarinetist came up to 

Sousa at a concert and asked for a position 

in the group. Bandsman Curtis 

Larkin recalled this story from 1922: 

During the annual fall tour of 

the band, a 16-year-old clarinetist 

of Scranton, Pennsylvania frankly 

approached the noted bandmaster 

[Sousa] and requested that he be 

allowed to join the band immediately. 

Sousa was so impressed with 

the lad’s sincerity that he turned 

him over to Jay Sims, a trombonist 

who was also the examiner for 

applicants. Though somewhat 

skeptical, Sims gave the youngster 

a thorough trial; then he reported to 

his leader that the boy was an A-1 

performer. Sousa engaged the 

youthful artist on the spot. 46 

Clarinetist Robert Willaman recalled 

the difficulty of finding quality reeds during 

a Sousa Band tour in 1923. He 

remembered, “The boys were rising to 

new heights (or descending to new 

Page 48 

depths) of oratory to describe the worthless 

reeds they had been buying. Wartime 

destruction of much of the best cane in 

France had compelled reed makers to use 

anything that looked like a fish pole.” To 

save on cost, Willaman placed an order 

for 1,000 reeds and 10 other clarinetists 

from the band contributed money for the 

reeds. When the package finally arrived 

in the mail, they impatiently crowded 

around. Imagine their disappointment 

when the reeds turned out to be “green as 

grass.” Willaman stated, “It was the considered 

view of the whole crowd that the 

reeds would not even make good toothpicks. 

We were playing one-night stands 

and living out of suitcases, and I was 

stuck with the bulk of the 1,000 reeds.” 

He ended up selling half of the reeds and 

saving the other 500 reeds, which he later 

used once they had aged. 47 

The clarinetists of Sousa’s band were 

phenomenal musicians and many of 

them, like August Stengler, Joseph 

Norrito, and Edmund C. Wall, became 

famous from solo appearances that showcased 

their skill. They were featured in 

advertisements for clarinets in music 

journals and were among the first clarinetists 

to take part in recordings for the 

Berliner, Victor, and Edison companies. 

Many also performed with other prestigious 

ensembles, including the New 

York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia 

Orchestra, and the Metropolitan Opera 

Orchestra. Jazz clarinetist Drew Page 

was offered an audition for a tour with 

Sousa’s band in the early 1920s. He 

recalled in his autobiography, “I didn’t 

think I was good enough. Since Sousa’s 

band was the big time, I thought he must 

have the best clarinet players in the 

world. . . . I couldn’t believe I would 

compare favorably with the big-timers in 

Sousa’s band.” 48 

Yet today, many musicians are unaware 

of these clarinetists and their accomplishments. 

In 1972, Vance Jennings 

speculated that: 

Perhaps it is the nature of the 

band with its massed clarinet sound 

plus the schedule of traveling, all of 

which prevented the influence of the 

band from establishing a stronger 

influence upon a national clarinet 

sound. . . . Not one of the [Sousa 

Band] players listed by W.C. White 

is a name which exerted any strong 

THE CLARINET 

influence upon clarinetists of a later 

generation. This writer feels certain 

that these gentlemen were fine players, 

but it is interesting to note that 

none of them made sufficient 

impression during their lifetimes to 

be known today. 49 

As Jennings stated, the large number 

of clarinetists who performed with the 

Sousa Band may have been a reason for 

their lack of influence on today’s clarinetists. 

Other factors might include the 

diversity of backgrounds from which 

they came and the fact that they were not 

featured as soloists as often as some of 

the other instrumentalists in the band. 

Sousa once wrote, “Why does the 

world need bands Why does the world 

need flowers, sunlight, religion, the 

laughter of children, moonrise in the 

mountains, great masterpieces of art 

Why indeed Because the world has a 

soul, a spirit, which is hungry for beauty 

and inspiration.” 50 Truly, Sousa’s clarinetists 

added to that beauty, for their 

music was enjoyed by all who had the 

great fortune to hear it. 


Jesse Krebs joined the faculty at 

Truman State University in Kirksville, 

MO, as an assistant professor of clarinet 

in August 2005. Along with instructing 

the clarinet studio and directing the 

Truman Clarinet Choir, he teaches 

Perspectives in Music and Eighteenth- 

Century Counterpoint. He completed a 

Doctor of Music in clarinet performance 

from the Florida State University where 

he was a graduate teaching assistant. He 

received a Master of Music from the 

University of North Texas and Bachelor 

of Music from the University of North 

Carolina at Greensboro. In August 2006, 

he presented a lecture on the clarinet 

soloists of the John Philip Sousa Band at 

the International Clarinet Association 

Conference (ClarinetFest ® ) in Atlanta, 

GA. Contact: 

(660) 785-4442. 

END NOTES 

1 

George Reynolds, “John Philip Sousa,” 

Instrumentalist 17 (March 1963): 12. 

2 

Sam Harris, “Sousa as I Knew Him,” 

Instrumentalist 5 (March/April 1951): 17. 

3 

Ibid., 34. 

4 

Phyllis Danner, “John Philip Sousa: The Illinois 

Collection,” Notes 55 (September 1998): 22.

5 

Paul Bierley, “All-Time Roster of Sousa’s Band” 

(unpublished, 2003), 21. 

6 

Ibid., 5. 

7 

Peter Buys, “Recalls Old Days With ‘March King,’” 

Instrumentalist 6 (January/February 1952): 18. 

8 

From the personnel file for Buys at The Sousa Archives 

and Center for American Music at the 

University of Illinois. 

9 

Vance Jennings, “The Development of American 

Symphonic Clarinet Playing,” Woodwind World 

11 (February 1972): 7. 

10 

The Musical Messenger 14 (July 1918): 3. 

11 

J. T. H. Mize, ed., The International Who is Who 

in Music, 5th ed. (Chicago, 1951), 266. 

12 

Pamela Weston, Yesterday’s Clarinettists: a 

sequel (Yorkshire: Emerson Edition, 2002), 54. 

13 

See Hickey’s obituary in The Clarinet: A Symphony 

Quarterly 1 (Winter 1953–1954): 22. 

14 

Weston, Yesterday’s Clarinettists, 229. 

15 

Ibid., 82. 

16 

Ibid., 181. 

17 

Program notes from the “John Philip Sousa Commemorative 

Concert” by the Detroit Concert 

Band: Tuesday, November 6, 1979, Ford Auditorium, 

27. 

18 

Mize, ed., The International Who is Who, 429. 

19 

Bierley, “All-Time Roster,” 32. 

20 

Interview with Paul Bierley by the author in Westerville, 

OH on August 17, 2005 (9:30–11:30 am). 

21 

Paul Bierley, “Hero of the Band – John Philip 

Sousa,” Instrumentalist 40 (April 1986): 20. 

22 

Jerry Pierce, “The Bonade Legacy,” Part IV, The 

Clarinet 6 (Summer 1979): 7. 

23 

Louis Morris, interviewed by Paul Bierley, 26 

September 1964, reel to reel audio recording, 

Bierley collection at the Sousa Archives, 


24 

Allen Koenigsberg, Edison Cylinder Records, 

1889–1912 (New York: by the author, 1969), 7. 

25 

From the personal clarinet recording collection of 

Dr. Stan Stanford. 

26 

Bierley, “All-Time Roster,” 21. 

27 

E-mail correspondence with Dr. Stan Stanford (3 

February 2006). 

28 

Daniel Geeting, “Paul Howland: A Clarinetist’s 

Life,” The Clarinet 13 (Winter 1986): 40–41. 

29 

Jonathan Nicholas Korzun, “The Orchestral 

Transcriptions for Band of John Philip Sousa: A 

Description and Analysis” (Ph.D. diss., 

University of Illinois, 1994), 151. 

30 

Thomas Trimborn, “In the Footsteps of Sousa,” 

Instrumentalist 35 (November 1980): 12. 

31 

Ibid. 

32 

Edward Chansky, “Keith Brion: Sousa Personified,” 

Instrumentalist 40 (January 1986): 17. 

33 

This table was compiled from Sousa Band Rosters at 

the Sousa Archives at the University of Illinois. 

34 

The Musical Messenger (November 1922): 22, 

(December 1922): 22. 

35 

From the personnel file for Kapralek at The Sousa 

Archives and Center for American Music at the 


36 

Korzun, “The Orchestral Transcriptions,” 172. 

37 

bid., 338. 

38 

Brion, E-mail correspondence with the author (21 

February 2005). 

39 

Kenneth Berger, March King and His Band (New 

York: Exposition Press, 1957), 49. 

40 

The Sousa Band Press Books, from the Sousa 

Archives: Paul Bierley Papers (#75:2, p.130A). 

41 

Francis Mayer, “John Philip Sousa: His Instrumentation 

and Scoring,” Music Educators Journal 46 

(January 1960): 59. 

42 

Korzun, “The Orchestral Transcriptions,” 152. 

43 

From the payroll lists at the Sousa Archives at the 


44 

Owen Kincaid, to Eugene Slick, 21 August 1951, 

The Sousa Band Fraternal Society Newsletter 

(September 1951): 6. 

45 

From the personnel file for Langan at The Sousa 

Archives and Center for American Music at the 


46 

Curtis Larkin, “Gilmore and Sousa: As I Remember 

Them,” Instrumentalist 3 (1949): 39. 

47 

Robert Willaman, “Seasoning Reeds,” The Clarinet: 

A Symphony Quarterly 1 (Spring 1952): 18. 

48 

Drew Page, Drew’s Blues: A Sideman’s Life with 

the Big Bands (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State 

University Press, 1980), 10. 

49 

Jennings, “The Development,” 7. 

50 

John Philip Sousa, “Why the World Needs Bands,” 

(first published in 1930) Instrumentalist 45 

(April 1991): 32. 

CALL FOR PAPERS AND PRESENTATIONS 

INTERNATIONAL CLARINET ASSOCIATION CLARINETFEST ® 2008 

THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI–KANSAS CITY, KANSAS CITY 

University of Missouri–Kansas City JULY 2–6, 2008 

The International Clarinet Association will hold its ClarinetFest ® 2008, a symposium 

and festival devoted to the clarinet, at the University of Missouri–Kansas City, 

co-sponsored by the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance. The artistic director is 

Jane Carl. The program for the conference will include a series of scholarly papers 

and presentations. The Association solicits proposals for prestations (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 2007 are ineligible for 2008. Each person is limited 

to one proposal. 

Prizes will be offered by the I.C.A. as follows: First place paper, U.S. Winner $500 

and guaranteed publication in The Clarinet journal (subject to editing); and second 

place paper, U.S. Winner $300. 

To submit a proposal, send the following: 

1. SIX copies of an abstract (1200–1500 words) fully describing the content of the 

proposed paper or lecture-recital. Include a complete list of sources. The name 

or identification of the author must not appear on the proposal. 

2. ONE copy of an author identification sheet containing the author’s name, 

address, phone numbers, and email 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 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. 

The above materials must be received by January 15, 2008. Please send to Dr. 

John Cipolla, ICA 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 at . 

June 2007 Page 49

THE CLARINET SECTION 

of the 

Orchestre de la Garde 

Républicaine 

by Sylvie Hue 

As a founder of the Musique de la 

Garde républicaine in 1848, Jean- 

Georges Paulus (1816–1898) conceived 

it as a true wind orchestra. At this 

time, he selected 54 musicians, including 

10 clarinetists. Nowadays, the Orchestre de 

la Garde républicaine (the Musique de la 

Garde républicaine became the Orchestre 

de la Garde républicaine in 1993) has 113 

musicians, 24 of whom are clarinetists. 

At first, it’s necessary to explain to 

our American colleagues the specific 

French pattern for wind orchestras, which 

is as close as possible to a classic symphonic 

ensemble. Instead of a string section, 

there are clarinets I & II (III), saxophones, 

saxhorns (or euphoniums) and 

two double-bass. The whole solo section 

for woodwinds (including solo clarinets, 

bass clarinet, possibly E ♭ clarinet) and 

brass (trumpets, cornets, French horns, 

trombones, tuba) is seated behind the 

tutti performers. Percussion is at the back 

of the ensemble. Wind orchestras and 

symphonic orchestras charts are so similar 

that it is generally admitted that it 

gave rise to the “French touch” for transcriptions 

as well as for original pieces. 

But that is a topic for another article! 

The clarinet section is made up of 10 

clarinets I plus eight clarinets II (possibly 

III). Besides this tutti group, there are two 

first solo clarinets, one second solo-clarinet 

who can also play the bass clarinet, 

two E ♭ clarinets, one bass clarinet. This is 

the solo section. You will note that we do 

not play the alto and contrabass clarinets, 

nor the basset horn, except, of course, if 

the piece we perform requires such instruments! 

Tutti players never use the A clarinet 

so as to play difficult passages more 

Page 50 

easily. On the other hand, there is 

no consideration of changing original 

keys in transcriptions. We can 

say that tutti clarinetists make it a 

point of honor to play violin parts 

for the Porgy & Bess suite (the 

fearsome first bars…) in F ♯ Major 

or Roman Carnival Overture in B 

Major or Gazza Ladra Overture 

(allegro) in F ♯ minor! And they 

manage to play those pieces perfectly 

well! With a good team spirit, 

they sometimes suggest to the 

conductor that there might be a 

change in such and such a bow or 

articulation, or to manage clever 

breaths, or to reduce the number of 

performers for some specific passages, 

so that the section can 

sound like a magnificent organ, 

with a wide range of dynamics. 

Regarding instruments, mouthpieces 

and reeds, each member 

plays the brand and model he or she 

prefers, just as each one is free to 

use either his/ her own instrument, 

or the allocated one (instruments 

are provided by the Republican Guard). 

Most of the clarinetists play Buffet Crampon 

(mainly Prestige and Vintage models) 

and Vandoren accessories. As far as I am 

concerned, I play Selmer; in a word, everyone 

has full freedom to choose! 

Conditions of admission are similar to 

civilian orchestras, except that candidates 

must be French citizens. Specific music 

diplomas are not required, but auditions 

are of a very high level. Musicians who 

succeed are generally first-prize winners 

of the Conservatoire National Supérieur 

de Musique of Paris or Lyon, the leading 

THE CLARINET 

Sylvie Hue 

music academies in France. Our last 

audition for entering the tutti section took 

place on November 24, 2006. For the 

first round, candidates who applied had 

to play Concertstück, by Raymond 

Gallois-Montbrun. Those who got a pass 

for the second round played the Rapsodie 

by Claude Debussy. Besides this, there 

was also a test for sightreading abilities. 

The jury consisted of the principal conductor 

and his assistant, six or seven clarinetists 

from the tutti and solo sections, 

and the principal saxophonist. As usual, 

candidates played behind a folding

IN THE HEART OF CHICAGO... 

DEPAUL SCHOOL OF M USIC 

Woodwind study at DePaul emphasizes ensemble and chamber music experiences, 

orchestral repertoire classes, and studio lessons with some of the finest instructors in the world. 

Students live in and around Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood and take full advantage 

of our associations with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera of Chicago, 

Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Grant Park Symphony, 

Chicago Opera Theater, and many others. 

DePaul Clarinet Faculty includes: 

Larry Combs Julie DeRoche Wagner Campos 

Graduates of the DePaul Clarinet Studio are now performing with: 

Philadelphia Orchestra 


National Symphony Orchestra - Washington D.C. 

Indianapolis Symphony 

Syracuse Symphony 

San Antonio Symphony Orchestra 

U.S Marine Band, The President’s Own 

The Louisville Orchestra 

Osaka Philharmonic, Japan 

L'Orchestre Symphonique de Quebec 

Audition for admission and scholarships! 

Application deadline is January 15, 2008. 

Auditions must be completed by March 1, 2008. 

Music Admissions: 1.800.4depaul ext. 57444 

musicadmissions@depaul.edu http://music.depaul.edu 

June 2007 Page 51

Conditions of admission are similar 

to civilian orchestras, except that 

candidates must be French citizens. 

Specific music diplomas are not 

required, but auditions are of a very 

high level. Musicians who succeed are 

generally first-prize winners of the 

Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique 

of Paris or Lyon, the leading music 

academies in France. 

screen, so that conditions for recruiting 

are absolutely clean! 

Usually, you join the tutti section as 

clarinet II, but this is not a strict rule. Depending 

on inner organization, you can 

also begin as clarinet I. On the other hand, 

musicians who play clarinet II parts never 

play clarinet I parts (and vice versa). 

There is also a leader for each section. In a 

word, the casting is very precise! The rank 

has nothing to do with function, and promotion 

is mainly a matter of length of service. 

The schedule may sometimes be a 

little bit busy, since most of the clarinetists, 

besides rehearsals and concerts, 

are also active as teachers in municipal or 

national music schools. 1 

The solo section is quite separate. As 

far as I am concerned, I entered the 

orchestra as clarinet II, and I became 

appointed as first principal clarinet after a 

competition organized within the tutti 

section. It was 19 years ago. Two years 

ago, my young colleague had to follow 

the same process, except that civilian 

candidates could apply for the competition. 

Our section plays with the wind 

orchestra, as well as with the symphonic 

orchestra.* On special occasions, we perform 

for chamber music concerts or as 

soloists for concertos. 

Many famous clarinetists performed in 

the Garde républicaine. American students 

who practise the C. Rose and H. Klosé 

studies in the French edition know the 

names of Pierre Lefèbvre (principal during 

the ’30s, Ulysse Delécluse (principal just 

after WWII, and then professor at the 

Conservatoire de Paris from 1948 until 

1978). Music lovers who came to hear our 

orchestra during its American tour in 1953 

(71 concerts!) probably remember Henri 

Druart who later became principal at the 

Orchestre de Paris. Of course you know 

Guy Deplus, principal in 1968–1969, and 

later principal at the National Opéra 

Theatre Orchestra and professor at the 

Conservatoire de Paris. This tradition is 

still alive amongst young perfomers who 

had been members of the tutti section 

before becoming principal in civilian 

orchestras: Philippe Cuper and Bruno 

Martinez (both of them principal at the 

National Opéra Theatre Orchestra), 

Nicolas Baldeyrou (now principal at the 

National French Orchestra and recently 

appointed as professor at the Conservatoire 

de Lyon), or Alain Billard (bass clarinet 

at the Ensemble Intercontemporain). 

In 1872, the then Musique de la Garde 

républicaine made a visit to the United 

States. As it was the first time that our 

orchestra had the privilege to perform 

abroad, it is no exaggeration to say that 

this tour marked a milestone in our history. 

From that time on, the French tradition 

for woodwind instruments actually 

aroused much interest across the Atlantic 

as well as in Europe. It is generally 

admitted that our wind orchestra for more 

than 150 years had been one of its best 

symbols. In conclusion, the critic of the 

Rockford Morning Star sums it up best: 

“...(The conductor) Capt. Brun’s clarinets 

are a symphonic bandman’s dream. They 

have a beautifully liquid, rich quality; 

they’re as versatile as the violin section 

of any top-ranking symphonic orchestra.” 

(October 6, 1953) 

TUTTI CLARINET SECTION 

Clarinet I: 

Sylvain Magnolini (head of section) 

Pascal Beauvineau 

François Dartinet 

Cindy Descamp 

Fabien Lefèvre 

Denis Mayeux 

Philippe Montury 

André Moreau 

Claire Vergnory 

Sandrine Vasseur 

Clarinet II: 

Franck Amet 

Gilles Clermont 

Bruno Dubois 

Thierry Marchais 

Christelle Pochet 

Pierre Ragu 

Christian Roca 

Rémi Delangle 

Solo clarinet section: 

Sylvie Hue (principal) 

Vincent Penot (principal) 

Olivier Patey (principal and bass clarinet) 

E ♭ clarinet section: 

Thierry Vaysse (principal) 

Alain Chantareau 

Bass clarinet section: 

Rémy Lerner 

How to contact us 

 

END NOTES 

1. 

Music education in France is mainly developed 

under city, region or state rule. There are only a 

few private structures. 

* Since 1948, the Garde républicaine has had a 

string orchestra made up of 40 performers. 

[The assistance and cooperation of 

Sylvie Hue and her colleagues are gratefully 

acknowledged. Ed.] 

Page 52 

THE CLARINET

June 2007 Page 53

DAME THEA KING 

(1925–2007) 

by David Campbell 

Dame Thea King, one of Britain’s 

finest musicians, died on Tuesday 

26th June aged 81. She was highly 

regarded worldwide as a clarinetist and 

was also much respected as a teacher. 

Thea King was born on Boxing Day 

1925 in Hitchin, some 30 miles north of 

London. Her father, Henry King, MBE, 

was managing director of a family-run 

paint and varnishing business, GW King 

Ltd. but her musical talent and early 

instruction on the piano came from her 

mother, Dorothea. It was not until her 

final year at Bedford High School that 

Thea was given a clarinet so that she 

could play in the new wind section in the 

school orchestra. 

Within a year Thea took part in a 

competition and was commended by the 

adjudicator, Herbert Howells. She won a 

scholarship to study the 

piano at the Royal College 

of Music with Arthur 

Alexander and took clarinet 

lessons as her second study. 

Five years after graduating 

from the RCM Thea married 

her clarinet teacher, Frederick 

“Jack” Thurston, still regarded 

as one of the finest 

players of the 20th century. 

It was a devastating blow 

when Thurston died only 11 

months after their marriage 

from lung cancer. Thea 

never remarried, remaining 

a widow for 54 years. 

Thea King 

Thea King developed her own style as 

a clarinetist and was quick to learn both 

new repertoire and different disciplines. 

After a spell in an opera orchestra she 

found that she had the right temperament 

for orchestral playing and became a regular 

member of the London Mozart Players 

from 1955 and principal clarinet in the 

English Chamber Orchestra from 1964 to 

1999. Thea declined offers of positions in 

major symphony orchestras as she preferred 

to play in chamber groups such as 

the Melos Ensemble and the Portia Wind 

Ensemble and increasingly she became 

known as a concerto soloist. 

Unlike Thurston, Thea King enjoyed 

recording and after her first for Hyperion 

Records in Great Britain of the Finzi and 

Stanford concertos, she was persuaded by 

Ted Perry, the founder of the label, to 

explore the lesser-known repertoire for 

the instrument. Thea was one of the pioneers 

in the use of the basset clarinet for 

performances of the Mozart Concerto 

and Quintet. Thea championed works by 

Krommer, Stamitz, Romberg, Crusell, 

Fuchs and Heinze as well as 

forgotten works from the 

20th entury such as the 

quintets by Somervell and 

Holbrooke. She also performed 

music by her seniors 

and contemporaries, including 

Alan Rawsthorne, 

Malcolm Arnold, Arthur 

Bliss, Arnold Cooke, 

Elizabeth Macochy, Gordon 

Jacob, Humphrey Searle and 

Benjamin Frankel. 

As a teacher, Thea was a 

professor at the Royal 

College of Music from 1961 

to 1987 when she took up a 

Suzie Mäder, photographer 

post at the Guildhall school of Music and 

Drama. Her former students include 

Michael Collins, (international soloist) 

Colin Bradbury (former principal clarinet, 

BBC Symphony) Richard Hosford (principal 

clarinet, BBC Symphony and Chamber 

Orchestra of Europe) Anthony Pike (principal 

clarinet, English Chamber 

Orchestra). 

Thea also maintained her love of the 

piano and in her latter years it again 

became her predominant musical interest. 

I will always remember at my first lesson 

with her in 1969 she transposed the B ♭ 

version of the piano part of the Mozart 

Concerto into A at sight because I had 

taken the wrong copy, and when I learnt 

the Fantasy-Sonata by John Ireland, 

Thea’s piano playing rivalled that of the 

finest pianists with whom I have performed 

it. 

Having already been honored by Her 

Majesty, The Queen with an OBE in 

1985, Thea was made a Dame of the 

British Empire in 2001 (the only woodwind 

player to be so honored). 

In these times of media hype and artists 

concerned so much with their “image,” it 

was so refreshing to find in Thea King 

someone who was constantly striving to 

project the music she was performing in 

the best possible way. She regarded herself 

as a conduit carrying the composer’s 

creative energy from the page to the 

instrument and the ears of the listener. 

I feel privileged to have known Thea 

as a friend, colleague and teacher and I 

know that she will be dearly remembered 

and sadly missed by so many in the clarinet 

world. 


British clarinetist David Campbell is 

the U.K. Chair of the I.C.A. and is wellknown 

as a soloist, chamber musician 

and teacher. His teachers were Thea 

King, John McCaw and Jack Brymer. 

* * * * * 

ALVIN BATISTE 

Clarinetist, composer and educator 

Alvin Batiste died of an apparent 

heart attack at his home in New 

Orleans on Sunday, May 6. He was 74. 

Mr. Batiste, who had performed at a 

festival in Baton Rouge on the previous 

Page 54 

THE CLARINET

day, died just 13 hours before he was to 

appear—and be honored—at the New 

Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. While 

consideration was given by the organizers 

to canceling the event, the special 

guest performers, among whom were 

Branford Marsalis, Harry Connick Jr., 

Marlon Jordan and Stephanie Jordan, 

decided to carry on with the tribute. 

Co-founder of the jazz studies program 

at Southern University in Baton 

Rouge, Batiste was responsible for the 

education of countless young musicians 

who eventually became stars in the world 

of jazz. He is survived by his wife Edith, 

a poet, and his son Maynard, a pianist 

and attorney. 

* * * * * 

MICHAEL SULLIVAN 

A Tribute by 

Denise A. Gainey 

Michael Sullivan, professor of 

clarinet at the Northern Arizona 

University School of Music in 

Flagstaff, AZ, passed away on June 26, 

2007, due to complications from bone cancer. 

Michael was convalescing from tumor 

surgery with his family in Orlando, FL, 

when his condition accelerated beyond 

treatment. His strong and supportive family 

was with him at death. He also served as 

NAU’s Coordinator for the Wind and 

Percusssion area, and in 2005, Michael was 

selected as Teacher of the Year for the 

NAU School of Music. He received his 

degrees from Florida State University 

(B.M.E., D.M.) and the University of 

Michigan (M.M.). Upon receiving a grant 

from the German Academic Exchange 

Service, he studied at the Staatliche 

Hochschule für Musik in Munich, 

Germany, and as first prize winner of the 

Pro-Mozart Society of Atlanta Concerto 

Competition, he was awarded a grant to 

study at the Hochschule für Musik und 

Darstellende Kunst (Mozarteum) in 

Salzburg, Austria where he earned certificates 

in clarinet and saxophone. Dr. 

Sullivan served on the faculties of the 

University of Michigan at the Interlochen 

Center for the Arts and Pittsburgh State 

University. He appeared as soloist with 

symphony orchestras throughout the 

United States and presented numerous 

recitals in the U.S. and 

Europe, most notably 

performing at the 

Salzburg Festival in 

1993. Michael Sullivan 

served as principal clarinetist 

with the Ernest 

Bloch Music Festival 

in Newport, Oregon 

Michael Sullivan and the Flagstaff 

Symphony Summer 

Ensemble and served as principal clarinetist 

with the Phoenix Mainly Mozart Festival, 

the Flagstaff Festival of the Arts Orchestra 

and Arizona Opera's Wagner Festival 

Orchestra. He performed as guest artist 

with the Music Academy of the West, the 

U.S. Army Field Band, and the Sedona 

Chamber Music Festival. He frequently 

appeared as a recitalist, adjudicator, and 

clinician with universities and high schools 

across the country. His principal teachers 

included Frank Kowalsky, Fred Ormand, 

Gerd Starke, and Alois Brandhofer. 

Michael was also proficient on piano, flute, 

violin, and tin whistle, and performed on 

these instruments regularly with his folk 

music ensemble, the Frayed Knots, where 

he enjoyed maintaining his Irish heritage. 

June 2007 Page 55

Don’t Let It End 

PART II: BOBBY GORDON 

by Eleisa Marsala Trampler 

Bobby Gordon’s biggest thrill came 

in 1968 when he was hired to 

replace jazz clarinetist Buster Bailey 

in the Louis Armstrong band. Bailey 

had passed away and Bobby was ready to 

go with airline tickets, uniforms, and a solo 

he had practiced, “Memphis Blues,” when 

the call came in that Armstrong had suffered 

a heart attack and the tour was canceled. 

What a disappointment! 

Gordon was born in Hartford, Connecticut, 

June 29, 1941. His father, Jack, 

was a jazz fan who sold records for RCA, 

and for three years owned a Hartford 

nightclub, The Paddock, into which he 

booked many of the big jazz names of the 

1940s. Jack met Joe Marsala at the 

Hickory House in New York City and later 

invited Joe up to The Paddock for an 

appearance. Young Bobby was introduced 

to jazz and Joe at about five years old 

when the Marsala band played the State 

Theater in Hartford. 

Joe discovered Bobby’s interest in the 

clarinet in the mid 1950s and was delighted 

by the youngster’s eagerness to 

learn the fine points of the instrument. 

Though both Jack and Joe influenced 

Bobby to become a musician, it was Joe 

who shaped Bobby’s approach to the clarinet 

with his instruction. Joe enjoyed this 

teaching experience as no other. He found 

Bobby a gifted student and was happy to 

make the course of young Gordon’s 

progress easier than was his own. By the 

time Bobby was 16 he could have been 

accepted to any music college with the 

training he had received from Marsala. 

“Joe taught me scales and chord progressions, 

he would write out chord 

changes and music for me. He also taught 

me how to practice to achieve a beautiful 

tone by starting on low E and playing 

long notes. He showed me how to do four 

bars softly, then continue into a crescendo 

for four more bars on the same note. I was 

to progress up the scale in this way. I 

Page 56 

Bobby Gordon portrait (Alleghenny Jazz Society, ca. 2002) 

learned how to let a little air escape from 

the side of my mouth as I played so the 

tone would be full and mellow.” 

Bobby continued, “I never heard Joe 

play a sour note, he never squeaked or 

squawked, nor did he sound tinny or thin 

on top. He didn’t whine, he just had a 

beautiful tone.” 

Gordon still practices in the way that 

Joe taught him and his tone is so close to 

Marsala’s that it’s often hard to tell them 

THE CLARINET 

apart. Both Joe and Bobby have been 

described as the greatest chalumeau clarinet 

players of their time. In 1981 the 

International Association of Jazz Record 

Collectors (iajrc) produced an album 

titled Joe Marsala, “Lower Register” 

and John L. Fell’s liner notes include a 

reference to the title tune which, “...indulges 

Marsala’s handsome chalumeau 

tone...” Years later, in a July, 2001 article 

for the Jazz Journal International,

“Swing Low Sweet Clarinet,” Bob 

Harrington mentions that “it was well 

known that Joe Marsala had the most 

beautiful chalumeau register of all clarinetists.” 

Harrington goes on to say, 

“Benny Goodman once told me that if he 

had Marsala’s lower register he would 

feel more like the King of Jazz.” And 

Dick Donahue, the Master of Ceremonies 

at a 1999 jazzfest at the Broadmoor Hotel 

in Colorado Springs, introduced Bobby 

Gordon as being, in his opinion, the 

finest chalumeau blue clarinetist today. 

Gordon played in both the band and the 

orchestra in high school in Manhasset, 

NY. He went to the Berklee School of 

Music for a year and later did another year 

at the University of California at San 

Diego. Other influences were Pee Wee 

Russell, Louis Armstrong and Benny 

Goodman. “Joe was my main teacher 

though,” says Bobby, “I learned more 

from him than anybody else.” 

In addition to lessons, Joe provided 

Bobby with a priceless link to the jazz 

world. At 15 Bobby accompanied Joe to 

Marsala’s various jobs and he met many 

prominent musicians. In 1957 when Joe 

and his wife, harpist Adele Girard, were 

recording an album for Stere-o-Craft, 

Chicago Jazz, produced by Jack Gordon, 

16-year-old Bobby was invited. Joe had 

previously picked out a Leblanc clarinet 

for Bobby which Gordon brought with 

him to the studio, and Joe borrowed it to 

record “I Cried For You.” Many years 

later when Bobby had an opportunity to 

play with Dick Cary, the pianist from that 

session, Cary told everyone that Bobby 

played just like Joe. “I always got a kick out 

of that,” said Gordon. 

“In 1958 or so,” Bobby recalled, “Rex 

Stewart, Nat Hentoff and Maxine Sullivan 

were judges at the Great South Bay Jazz 

Festival on Long Island. They were looking 

for the best jazz musician on the Island 

and I won the contest. I was awarded a 

$3,000 scholarship to the Lenox Massachusetts 

Jazz School at Tanglewood.” 

Bobby’s development under Joe’s wing 

was paying off. 

The Gordon family left Manhasset in 

1959 and settled in Chicago, and in 1962, the 

Marsalas also relocated there. Jack Gordon 

Joe and Bobby, The only photo of Marsala and Gordon playing 

together at the London House in Chicago in 1962. 

One of Bobby Gordon’s early LPs shows 

the young clarinetist ca. 1962. 

now headed the Seeburg Company, manufacturers 

of jukeboxes, and Joe was hired 

as a vice-president of the music division. 

Joe could now put his extensive knowledge 

of the music business to work while 

helping to further Bobby’s career. 

Gordon’s first big job was with Wild 

Bill Davison in Chicago where he replaced 

Buster Bailey for a few days. Subsequently 

Bobby accompanied Davison in 1961 to 

Jazz Central, a club in St. Louis. The first 

record Gordon recalls making was with 

Little Brother Montgomery. They played 

together at the Birdhouse in Chicago and 

recorded an LP titled Chicago, the Living 

Legends. 

Bobby next recorded an album for 

Decca under his own name. Produced by 

Marsala, arranged and conducted for full 

orchestra by Joseph Darmanin, Warm and 

Sentimental included Joe’s wife Adele on 

harp. The album is a nice compliment to 

Gordon’s early, sweetly lyrical style. 

In the mid 1960s Gordon worked with 

Marsala at Seeburg. Says Bobby, “Joe 

had two companies, Beatrice Music 

(Adele’s first name) and Fremont Music, 

which was with BMI. He also did a lot of 

publishing for Louis Prima. I played 

piano for the songs that came in and Joe 

would decide on them with my help. 

Every so often some famous musician 

would come to town and visit Joe at his 

office. I was like a fly on the wall meeting 

Pete Fountain, Erroll Garner, Pee 

Wee Russell, Louis Prima, Jack 

Teagarden to name a few. One day trumpeter 

Bobby Hackett came in to tell Joe 

that Tony Bennett was making a record 

and needed a clarinetist. I was about 24 

at the time and Joe and Hackett asked me 

June 2007 Page 57

if I wanted to make the record date with 

Bennett. I felt that I was still not playing 

the way I wanted to, so I said I would sit 

that one out. The next day Joe took me 

along to the session. Joe had a new 

Leblanc clarinet that the company had sent 

him for free. Joe endorsed Leblanc and 

later on he got me to endorse the company 

as well. When we arrived at the studio 

Bennett was in the sound room, but he 

came out and I was introduced. Tony had a 

bass player and drummer on hand and 

Bobby Hackett was going to play a baritone 

ukulele; the tune was ‘Sweet 

Lorraine.’ The session took about an hour. 

I think it’s a classic!” Bobby continued 

with more memories, “I got a spot on the 

Steve Allen Show in 1964 and Joe went 

with me to the coast. We’d had a record 

breakout (heavy airplay) in Hollywood 

and LA on a tune called ‘Malta’ and Joe 

wanted me to do it on the show as it was 

owned by Beatrice Music. Unfortunately 

the producer wouldn’t allow us to do the 

tune so I played “Sweet Georgia Brown” 

instead. Allen and I were supposed to 

play together but it never happened. I 

was very nervous on the Steve Allen 

Show, so Joe gave me a shot of vodka 

before I went on!” 

“Joe also gave me a clarinet that I 

would have cherished to this day had I 

kept it. This instrument was a 1932 Selmer 

belonging to Benny Goodman and Joe 

wanted me to have it. Like 

a dumb 25-year-old I gave 

it back to him as I didn’t 

think it was as good as the 

Leblanc that he had picked 

out for me years earlier.” 

In the late 1960s Bobby 

played with Eddie Condon, 

going to parties and driving 

the guitarist to the Pee Wee 

Russell Memorial Stomp in 

New Jersey. Bobby worked 

with trumpeter Max Kaminsky 

at Jimmy Ryan’s in 

New York City and Kaminsky 

told Gordon that 

Condon liked his clarinet 

playing. Gordon made an 

album with Condon in 

1969 at a jazz festival. The 

cover of the album pictured 

Bobby playing his horn 

with Eddie directing him 

just like Condon used to do 

with Marsala. 

“Years later in 1978,” 

said Gordon, “I played at a 

club in New York called 

Eddie Condon’s. A guy by 

the name of Red Balaban had 

gotten permission from Eddie’s 

wife to use the name for the 

club. I had a lot of fun then. I 

worked with Wild Bill Davison 

Gordon records with Joe Marsala’s wife, Adele Girard, in 1992. The Arbors release, 

The Bobby Gordon Quartet Featuring Adele Girard Marsala Don’t Let it End, was 

Adele’s final performance. Mat Domber, founder of Arbors, took the photo in the 

Newport Beach, CA recording studio. 

Bobby Gordon 1973 — This photo of a 32-year-old 

Gordon was taken while he was playing with Jim 

Cullum’s Happy Jazz Band in San Antonio, Texas. 

again, and later on when someone wrote a 

book about Davison they remarked that 

everybody in the band was so dauer and I 

was the only constant!” 

Starting in 1973 Gordon could be 

found in San Antonio, Texas, where he 

played with Jim Cullum Jr.’s Happy Jazz 

band. Liner notes by Cullum Jr. on the 

Listen Some More LP recorded by this 

band states, “Bobby’s music is pure... 

occasionally he’ll remind you of the great 

Black players of the 20s, like Jimmy 

Noone and Johnny Dodds.” Both Noone 

and Dodds heavily influenced Joe 

Marsala as well, that’s quite a legacy. 

For seven years Gordon held sway over 

his own quartet at Milligan’s in La Jolla, 

California. Now he’s busy touring and 

recording and still does odd jobbing 

around the San Diego area. 

Bobby Gordon’s great affection and 

admiration for Joe Marsala continues. He 

likes to practice by playing along with Joe 

on old recordings that Marsala made in the 

1930s with Tempo King, Putney Dan- 

Page 58 

THE CLARINET

The Orphan Newsboys: Bob Haggart, 

bass; Marty Grosz, guitar; Peter Ecklund, 

cornet; and Bobby at the “Jazz and Blues 

Festival” in Conneaut Lake, PA. 

ca. 1994–95. 

Bobby playing at the Allegheny Jazz Society 

“Jazz at Chautauqua,” New York, where 

Gordon has been appearing for the 

last 20 years. 

Three clarinets: Bobby Gordon, 

Ken Peplowski and Bob Reitmeyer 

at the “Jazz and Blues Festival,” 

Conneaut Lake, PA. 1998. 

1996 portrait of Bobby Gordon 

by Alan Nahigian appears on the cover 

of Bobby Gordon Plays Bing. 

Bobby Gordon, clarinet; Dan Barrett, trumpet; and Bob Havens, 

trombone at “Jazz at Chautauqua,” NY. ca. 2000. 

Bobby Gordon Plays Bing recording session for Arbors in 1996. 

(l to r): Peter Ecklund, Gordon, Scott Robinson, Keith Ingham. 

(Photo by Al Lipsky) 

June 2007 Page 59

dridge and Wingy Manone. He uses no 

special mouthpiece, ligature or reed, but he 

does have several different clarinets. In 

addition to the original Leblanc that 

Marsala picked out for him, Bobby has 

two Buffets, one which was given him by 

the company, and a Selmer. He uses the 

different instruments depending on the 

sound he wants to achieve. Gordon is a 

stickler for tone so he heeds some advice 

that Joe gave him long ago. “Try to play 

like Bobby Hackett (his phrasing, his feel 

for chord changes) but with my tone,” Joe 

said. Bobby says it’s brought him a lot of 

joy in the music business. 

When asked how he differs from Joe 

Marsala, Bobby Gordon replies, “I’ve 

had the chance to record more than Joe 

did at his peak and had an easier life as 

well. I’ve been all over the world and had 

many more opportunities than Joe. I 

practice all the time and I keep on playing 

whereas Joe more or less stopped and 

went into the music publishing business. 

Joe never had the chance to play for any 

jazz parties, if he had he would have 

rediscovered his popularity. He was a 

great guy and many people loved him. 

Musically I think my own style has 

emerged gradually from playing for so 

many years with so many fine musicians. 

SITE SEARCH FOR 

CLARINETFEST ® 2010 & 2011 

The Board of Directors is soliciting the assistance of the 

general membership in identifying potential sites for future 

ClarinetFests® to be held in 2010 and 2011. Being sought are 

locations in North America with the following attributes: 

• Performance Space — Superior acoustical space with multi-media 

capabilities conducive for the presentation of concerts, recitals, lectures, 

and master classes. Having two or more performance venues in the same 

location is considered optimal. Minimum capacity of the large hall 

should be 900–1000 seats. 

• Exhibition Space — Approximately 15,000 sq. ft. exhibition/ballroom 

space located in or near the same facility as where program presentations 

will take place. 

• Housing — Convenient housing (hotel/dorm) with a variety of price 

options able to accommodate budgets ranging from students to corporate 

executives. 

• Travel — Access to major transportation centers (i.e. airports, train 

stations, etc.) 

• Excursions — Interesting tourist activities in, or within the vicinity of, 

the city/area of venue. 

• Other — Incorporation of area musical resources (i.e. professional symphony 

orchestras, jazz ensembles, chamber musicians, military ensembles, 

etc.) adds greatly to the local experience for those attending 

ClarinetFests ® . 

• Program Director — Whereas it is not required that site nominations 

include an artistic coordinator and/or event facilitator, nominations are 

encouraged for individuals to serve in these capacities. 

Send site nominations/recommendations 

by November 15, 2007 to: 

Lee Livengood, President — 

I continue to look forward to the opportunity 

to play and record as much as I can. 

I hope I bring the same joy to others that 

this music brings to me.” 

Bobby Gordon has recently recorded 

a CD of Joe Marsala tunes, several never 

heard before, on the Arbors label titled, 

Bobby Gordon Plays Joe Marsala: 

Lower Register. When I suggested he do 

an album of Marsala tunes Bobby 

jumped on it right away, “Yeah,” said 

Gordon, “I’d like to do that for Joe, I’d 

like to make him proud.” 

A SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY 

(AVAILABLE ON THE WORLD 

WIDE WEB) 

Joe Marsala “Lower Register,” iajrc 

LP 38 (International Assoc. of Jazz 

Record Collectors), 1981. Original 

recording NYC-1941, Decca 3764. 

Chicago Jazz Joe Marsala, Stere-O- 

Craft LP RTN-102, NYC, 1957. 

Chicago—The Living Legends, 

Riverside LP OBC-508 (RLP-9403), 

Chicago, 1961. 

Warm and Sentimental Bobby Gordon, 

Decca LP DL 4394, Chicago, ca. 

1963. 

Tony Bennett If I Ruled The World 

Songs For The Jet Set, “Sweet 

Lorraine,” Columbia Records LP CL 

2343/CS 9143, “Sweet Lorraine” 

recorded CBS-Chicago, 1965. 

Listen Some More to Jim Cullem’s 

Happy Jazz, Audiophile LP AP120, 

San Antonio, TX 1973. 

The Bobby Gordon Quartet Featuring 

Adele Girard Marsala Don’t Let It 

End..., Arbors Records Inc. ARCD 

19112. Newport Beach, CA 1992. 

Pee Wee’s Song The music of Pee Wee 

Russell, Arbors Records Inc. ARCD 

19130, Newport Beach, CA. 1993. 

Bobby Gordon Plays Bing, Arbors 

Records Inc. ARCD 19172, NYC, 1996. 

Bobby Gordon and Dave McKenna: 

Clarinet Blue, Arbors Records Inc. 

ARCD 19223, NYC, 1999. 

Bobby Gordon and Bob Wilber: 

Yearnings, Arbors Records Inc. 

ARCD 19277, Costa Mesa, CA. 2003. 

Bobby Gordon Plays Joe Marsala: 

Lower Register, recorded April 2007, 

available from Arbors Records Inc.; to 

be released July 15, 2007 

Page 60 

THE CLARINET

Readers of the previous issue of 

The Clarinet know that this is the 

20th 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 attempted to put those materials into 

prose form, and a little fuller explanation 

of the circumstances surrounding that 

endeavor is given in Part One in the 

Volume 29, No. 4 (September 2002) 

issue of the magazine. 

Keith Stein was intensely interested in 

finding the very best ways that he possibly 

could for approaching children pedagogically 

on the clarinet. One proof of 

this is that on top of his extremely heavy 

teaching load at Michigan State, he took 

several much younger children into his 

studio quite regularly so that he could try 

this or that idea he’d had, later reporting 

his findings to his clarinet-playing music 

education majors. Along the way, of 

course, those younger students in their 

lessons would give him further ideas to 

pursue not only at the moment but also 

during future sessions. Here are his materials 

relating to the teaching of children 

on clarinet. 

* * * * * 

Children are always in a hurry. 

Therefore the job of tutoring them on clarinet 

requires great patience and watchfulness. 

The philosophy of a clarinet teacher 

for children can be summed up in two old 

sayings: “Make haste slowly,” and “Hurry 

up, but take your time about it.” Properly 

approached, the teaching of children can 

be extremely rewarding, of course. Their 

progress can occur at such a rapid rate, and 

their big smiles upon having accomplished 

something are sometimes enough in themselves 

to make the teaching job gratifying 

to a very high degree. 

During the first two years of learning, 

private study or group lessons are greatly 

preferable to an ensemble situation. In a 

beginning band, for instance, both 

teacher and students are plunged into a 

note-grabbing situation where the main 

idea is to put ensemble playing into 

alignment; mastery of fundamentals on 

an individual basis is nearly forgotten 

about. Learning to play together, balance, 

intonation and blend are all emphasized 

THE CLARINET TEACHING OF 

KEITH STEIN 

Part 20: Teaching the Clarinet to Children 

before the youngsters have been given a 

healthy routine for tone production, 

embouchure formation, correct fingering 

habit patterns, or the coordination of 

tongue and fingers. This situation can be 

likened to the trauma suffered by a beginning 

swimmer who is tossed into the 

water beyond his depth with the hope that 

he will learn to swim by having to make it 

to shore in the interest of survival. 

The approach which we propose here 

makes use of isolating and rehearsing 

each component until it is nearly habitual. 

Finally the musical passage is played 

as a total musical situation wherein the 

player can oversee and keep track of 

components as he executes them all 

together. In this manner he gains confidence 

from the aggressive manner with 

which he tackles his own playing job; he 

gains faith in his own ability to accomplish 

his playing assignment. He gains 

faith, also, in his own basic playing 

equipment that he has built up to that 

point in his career as a player. Few or no 

mistakes on the first playing of a new 

piece of music radiates to him a confidence 

that nothing else can. On the other 

hand, the “hunt and peck” system of 

note-by-note learning and playing establishes 

a habit of a sort of musical stuttering 

patterns that may be life-long in duration. 

The mistakes the player makes during 

ensemble situations, and through 

ensemble techniques, plant habits in his 

subconscious mind that will have to be 

overcome at a later date, at great cost in 

time and effort. In fact, actual fears will 

be built in, causing the student to dread 

meeting the same sort of situations in the 

future. This effect on the student is obviously 

the opposite from the one the 

teacher would like him to have achieved. 

Because of all this, the school band 

program which sets up the beginning situation 

as a class rather than as a band is 

by David Pino 

far ahead of the game as it is played in 

some other schools. 

The Importance of the 

Beginner’s Practice Routine 

A beginner needs a definite practice 

procedure which has been sufficiently a 

routine with him, during his lessons with 

his teacher, that he is able to continue the 

prescribed plan when he is at home. 

Experience proves that music, first analyzed 

and exercised in certain of its 

aspects apart from the clarinet, can then be 

played with ease, accuracy and confidence 

the first time over on the instrument. 

Two such aspects vital to wind playing 

that can be so treated are the principles 

of breathing and rhythm, both of 

whose particular techniques were dealt 

with in earlier articles. A few guidelines 

pertinent to breathing and rhythm, however, 

will be offered following the introduction 

of the practice routine outline to 

illustrate how the practice operates. Each 

teacher is urged to insert and drill with 

his own particular ideas regarding these, 

as well as other, basics. Most important 

is that the preliminary steps are not bypassed 

in the haste to arrive at the playing 

situation. Don’t rush it! 

The Four-Point Practice 

Routine for Young Students 

After selecting an excerpt or exercise 

from the student’s weekly assignment, 

the teacher rehearses the passage through 

the four steps, instructing the pupil to listen 

as he proceeds through each before 

asking the student to join in on the second 

time through. The first three steps 

are given over to vocal response; playing 

of the music is reserved for the fourth 

and final step. 

June 2007 Page 61

The following is an example of a possible extraction from a lesson assignment: 

STEP ONE: 

A. “Rhythmitize” the passage with the audible counting of the rhythmic symbols. 

B. Sub-divide the beat, as has been done in the above example. 

C. Tap the toe inside the shoe if possible; otherwise raise the front portion of the foot. 

D. Stress rhythmic importance by singing audibly each time-value with full duration 

and with undiminished tonal energy. Repeat each step until satisfied with the accuracy. 

E. Do not concern the student with pitch accuracy; if lower, sing downward; if higher, 

sing upward. 

STEP TWO: 

A. Sing the letter-names of the pitches, as given above, again accompanied by the tapping 

of the foot. Stress items D and E of Step One, substituting pitch names for rhythmic symbols. 

STEP THREE: 

A. Sing the pitches. 

B. Finger the passage silently on the clarinet. 

C. Tap the foot in rhythm. 

D. Refresh the student with items D and E from Step One again. 

STEP FOUR: 

A. Play the passage on the clarinet. 

B. Tap the foot in rhythm. 

Remarks on Breathing 

Most of us have found breath to be a 

vague, elusive, ethereal substance, difficult 

to talk about concerning its use with 

a wind instrument, a problem compounded 

when it is combined with other playing 

factors such as tongue and fingers. I 

find it a great help to exercise the essentials 

of breathing first apart or away from 

the clarinet. For example, how breath is 

used in producing an attack, in sustaining 

breath-line under proper support, and in 

correctly releasing in tonal endings, are 

all aspects of breathing which can be 

simulated away from the instrument. The 

first three steps (above) involving sung 

pitches and rhythmic symbols are excellent 

vehicles to exercise proper breath 

use in this manner. Youngsters who are 

conventionally told “just to blow” their 

beginning or first tones are being kept 

from true breathing techniques to their 

detriment; they are all the more likely to 

develop bad breathing habits which are 

quickly ingrained. These will require 

much loss of time later, through the 

necessity for remedial work, when the 

subject is tackled in earnest. 

Remarks on Rhythm 

Well executed rhythmic patterns, 

accurate in time-values and flowing 

dynamically to points of rest, are the 

backbone of a good musical line. Rhythm 

in music compares to the sturdy bone 

structure of a race-horse, something that 

is absolutely essential before the flesh 

and muscle can round out the animal 

gracefully into beautiful lines. 

Initiate the young player in the use of a 

system of counting time symbols patterned 

from any number of basic music theory 

manuals. Sing a passage through first, 

before asking the student to join in repetition. 

Establish a policy of dividing whole, 

half and quarter values generally into 

eighth-note subdivisions. Sub-dividing 

these longer values helps the student to 

experience more easily the act of correctly 

counting, and also to keep better track of 

where he is at every given moment. 

Consistent use of the sub-divided beat will 

be an aid throughout his musical life in 

analyzing and simplifying rhythmic problems. 

Eighth- and 16th-note values, of 

course, are usually sufficiently divided 

already without further sub-division, but 

such additional sub-division can still be a 

help in the case of music involving the use 

of 32nds and 64ths. 

It is most important in singing the passages, 

with rhythmic symbols or pitches, 

that each syllable be sustained for its full 

value and with full vocal energy applied 

to its completion. Holding out these values 

insures accurate delineation of the 

rhythm by outlining each note-value 

clearly and it prevents the common fault 

of disintegrated, indefinite tonal endings. 

Such matters as staccato and tonal taperings 

can be undertaken at a later date, 

after the young clarinetist has had the 

opportunity to experience good, vitalized 

rhythm in his playing. 

It is my experience that a student 

earnestly following this practice routine 

arrives at the initial play-through with confidence, 

playing aggressively forward, and 

making few mistakes. A test for proof of 

its soundness is had occasionally by breaking 

the routine purposely, allowing the student 

to play a different passage without 

having taken any of the preliminary steps. 

The student can compare the result with 

the type of result he usually achieves while 

using the full procedure. A strong foundation 

is assured those fortunate enough, as 

beginners, to have had teachers who insisted 

that good breathing and rhythmic skills 

and principles are made part of their daily 

practice routine. 

Teaching Children the 

Various Aspects of Playing 

Clarinet 

The mind has the remarkable ability to 

oversee a multitude of activities that are 

all transpiring at once, but only to the 

degree that each item becomes clearer 

and easier from previous, separate, isolated 

exercise. The utopian learning situation 

involves a critical expert who intro- 

Page 62 

THE CLARINET

duces each playing idea, one at a time, 

following through with watchful practice 

supervision, making sure that problems 

do not develop. Correct procedure could 

be followed to the point that it has 

become automatic. 

Finding the Correct 

Clarinet Holding Angle 

Determine the balance of the clarinet 

with the right thumb on the thumb rest, 

together with the right-hand fingers. 

Then determine the most favorable angle 

of the clarinet in relation to the 

embouchure; this involves the natural 

profile, jaw overbite or underbite, teeth, 

and whether the lips are thick or thin. 

Turn both lips slightly inward, then 

strengthen the red portion which contacts 

the reed and the top of the mouthpiece in 

a rubbing manner against the lips’ 

respective surfaces. That is, roll the upper 

lip outward against the top of the mouthpiece 

and the lower lip outward against 

the reed. Keeping the clarinet more or 

less at the original angle, pivot the clarinet 

at the thumb rest so that the mouthpiece 

rocks over the lower lip like the 

center of a teeter-totter board, the top of 

the mouthpiece bearing more on the 

upper lip and teeth. 

A way of checking on the holding 

angle of the clarinet is to hold it out 

straight or horizontally from the 

embouchure and blowing. Still blowing, 

bring the bell of the clarinet down and 

inward toward the body until it is almost 

vertical; the student can hear for himself 

what the best angle really is. 

Teaching the Breath Release 

It is first necessary to convince the 

young player that release (stopping) of 

tone must be made only by breath manipulation 

at the source, or by the breath in 

company with the tongue, or (only occasionally) 

by tongue-trap alone. Thereafter, 

it is necessary to guard against the employment 

of other influences besides these 

attempting to stop or articulate the sound 

off, particularly pinching off the tone with 

an upward jaw movement (squeeze) being 

the most common. A second faulty means 

of release to guard against is closing off 

the throat to stop the tone. 

A good simile for a child is to have 

him visualize doubling up a water hose to 

stop the water from flowing, rather than 

to turn the water off correctly at the 

faucet. This compares, of course, with 

the incorrect embouchure pinching or 

throat closing. The air must be turned off 

at breath source, not at some mid-point. 

Random, Isolated Thoughts 

on Teaching Children 

1.) When helping the young student 

achieve a good hand position, it is often 

observed that the child is pressing his fingers 

onto the tone holes and keys so firmly 

that the last joints of his fingers have collapsed 

and bent backward. His finger-ends 

tend to turn white, also, for loss of blood. 

Tell him that we don’t want any “broken 

noses” on the tone holes. Instead, the fingers 

can be thought of as little people who 

are so relaxed that they are going to sleep 

on their beds. 

2.) To correct problems in embouchure 

formation, it often helps to tell the child 

that his reed is riding on a “flat tire”; this 

should give him the idea that he should 

firm up his chin skin, and that the lower 

lip must do more than simply to be 

pinched between the teeth and the reed. 

3.) When striving with the student so 

that he may play more beautiful phrases, 

remember to speak with him about the 

phrase’s “stay-points” and “drives.” 

4.) Definitive tonguing means more 

“point” or “crispness” in the attack. 

Make the tongue stand up more vertically 

to aid in the directness of the attack, as 

opposed to a sort of sideways brushing of 

the tongue. This is good, of course, only 

as long as the tongue stays relaxed. 

5.) The late Anthony Gigliotti of the 

Philadelphia Orchestra attributed much to 

his father who was also a clarinetist. His 

father was often in the house while he 

was practicing, so he was able to correct 

any developing faults on the spot. Most 

American children learning to play within 

the music education programs are 

expected to run before they can walk, 

meaning that they are given perhaps 10 

lessons (usually in a group) and then they 

are thrown into a band. In that band they 

do develop finger technique very quickly 

to a surprising extent, but their technique 

even then is one which they have thrown 

together in any manner they can manage 

it. In this way they arrive at a fairly 

advanced stage of development in technique, 

but they are laden with playing 

faults to the point where they play with a 

very tense embouchure, hands, and 

tongue. They also very often over-blow 

to a disheartening degree. 

6.) In getting children to listen to their 

own tone qualities, have them play short 

tones, attempting to pack all the best 

qualities they can think of into the sound, 

thinking of vitality, resonance, core, and 

so forth. Tones can be lengthened later 

on, aiming for a truly beautiful, sustained 

clarinet sound over the distance of a 

phrase. Legato means only that tonal 

energy is maintained over the crossing of 

intervals as well as over the duration of a 

single tone. 

* * * * * 

This article completes the entire series 

of these written “how-to” ideas of Keith 

Stein, and I would be most interested in 

hearing from anyone who wishes to comment 

on the ideas that have been included 

in these articles. I can be reached at 

, and would appreciate 

hearing from interested colleagues 

or students. 


David Pino is professor of clarinet in the 

School of Music at Texas State University 

in San Marcos. He studied clarinet with 

Keith Stein for 15 years, and is the author of 

the book The Clarinet and Clarinet Playing 

(Scribner’s, 1980, and Dover, 1998). He has 

performed and toured with the David Pino 

Chamber Ensemble (clarinet, strings, and 

piano), and is a former Secretary of the 

International Clarinet Society. 

Visit the I.C.A. on the 

World Wide Web at: 

WWW.CLARINET.ORG 

June 2007 Page 63

music is this Chamber 

music with clarinet, 

“What 

sure, but by whom” Radio 

reception in the Pennsylvania mountains 

fades, recovers, then fades again, exasperating 

drivers. Fear of missing the 

announcer’s tag forced me to pull over and 

wait for the coda. Finally came the revelation: 

Rick Sowash. New to me. I made note 

and hightailed it home to New York City. 

Googling later, I learned I had heard 

one of no less than 15 trios for clarinet, 

cello and piano by this 57-year-old 

Cincinnati composer. Among my best 

friends are a cellist and pianist. I thought, 

why not, and ordered the sheet music 

directly from the composer at his Web site. 

My cellist and pianist friends joined me 

twice a week, for seven weeks and played 

through all the trios in the order in which 

they were written, an extraordinary journey. 

Then we played them through all over 

again, thrilled to find memorable tunes, 

rich tonal harmonies, intricate counterpoint 

and an astonishing variety of moods, ranging 

from humor to tragedy. 

These trios were written during the past 

eight years for the composer’s French 

friends, “les Gavottes,” a Riviera-based 

professional trio. They recorded the first 

three on their CD Enchantement d’avril 

and have performed a half dozen of the 

trios, most notably at the Cannes Film 

Festival. Les Gavottes have not found time 

to perform or even read all the music 

Sowash has written for them; my friends 

and I are, I believe, the first musicians to 

play through all of Sowash’s trios. 

The first trio is entitled Journey of the 

Spirit, a title which might apply collectively 

to these 15 works. Its four movements 

proceed from a darkly mysterious 

opening in A minor, through a Romantic 

interlude in G major, to a probing plainchant 

in E major, to a Hallelujah-like 

finale in E ♭ major. It’s a journey from 

doubt to faith. 

Trio #2, Enchantment of April, gives a 

nod to the life-affirming Miramax film of 

a few years back entitled Enchanted 

April. We’re in B ♭ and E ♭ major and it’s 

all sweetness and light. 

The zig-zag pattern of these trios is 

apparent in the contrasting Trio #3, 

Shadows of November in A minor. The 

outer movements invite rough, energetic 

playing while the middle movement, a 

Page 64 

farewell to autumn, is some of the saddest 

music we’ve ever played. 

There are some challenging licks in 

these trios, but virtuoso display is not 

what this music is about. Solid intermediate 

players can easily handle most of the 

trios. Expressivity is what’s required. 

Conversation of the Trees is the subtitle 

for #4, in D minor, offering five 

movements of lively “chatter” between 

the three instruments, which are made of 

wood, after all, and wood comes from 

trees, right Here the trees “speak.” 

Trio #5, “in classical style,” takes up 

the vocabulary of Haydn-through- 

Schubert, but with an American twist. 

The key is G minor, the minuet is 

tongue-in-cheek, the variations on an 

original American-sounding hymn tune 

are colorful and funny and touching. All 

of the major themes of the first three 

movements recur in the rollicking Finale. 

Again by sharp contrast comes the 

lengthy Trio #6, Goddess of the Moon, 

with a Debussy-like atmosphere, impressionistic 

and ambiguous, and cast in the 

gorgeous key of D ♭ major. The movements 

are entitled: Prologue, Nocturne, Interlude, 

Scherzo and Epilogue. We performed this 

trio in concert and found that audiences 

want to applaud after the rousing Scherzo, 

thinking the piece has ended. 

It’s a zig-zag again from lush, long #6 

to short, snappy, funny #7 The Philosopher 

Visits a Country Fair in one movement. In 

A major, this one reminded us of 

Bernstein’s Candide Overture. The country 

fair bubbles along in changing meters 

while the grumpy philosopher is depicted 

by a noble, pompous hymn tune in 3/4. 

The two musics are then combined and get 

along beautifully. 

Selfportraits are usual for painters, 

rare among composers. Trio #8 offers 

Two Self portraits, both in E ♭ minor. First 

“as a fool,” a clunky, hilarious four-part 

THE CLARINET 

round with a contrasting pastoral section 

in C major. Then the deeply felt, “as a 

sage” with a C major middle section once 

again, this time with a starry-night feel. 

From self-portrayal, the composer 

moved to portraying Five Women in Trio 

#9 in F major. They are the women in the 

composer’s life, and his movement titles 

describe the ladies thus: Merry & 

Mystical, In the Process of Becoming, 

Mother of My Children, Beautiful & Sad, 

and The Vitality of Emilie. This is the 

trio with the greatest variety of styles. 

The next two trios are lighter and easier. 

Winds of May is #10 in B ♭ major, with 

movements entitled Morning, Deep 

Forest, Wildflowers and Sunset. #11 in G 

major is a nostalgic remembrance of 

good times, entitled We Sang, We 

Danced. The last movement is a very 

funny Tango, the only one in all the trios. 

The longest and most challenging trio is 

#12 in E ♭ major, Voyageurs, an epic 

homage to Canada. The first movement, 

Geese in Flight, captures the V-formation 

flight pattern of Canada geese with a figure 

that rises in the clarinet while falling 

simultaneously in the cello. Song of the 

Voyageurs evokes the hardiness of the 

French trappers with what sounds like a 

Breton folksong. Canada’s natural wonders 

are depicted in the last two movements: 

Starshadows on Snow and A 

Majestic Land. This music has a Sibeliuslike 

orchestral breadth and ambition. 

Thirteen is famously the unlucky 

number. Trio #13 Passacaglia and 

Fugue, though a joy to play, is alternately 

sad and furious. The two movements are 

played with hardly a pause between 

them, since the fugue subject grows right 

out of the Passacaglia tune. Indeed, at the 

height of the fugue, the Passacaglia tune 

recurs in the bass while the couterpoint 

rages overhead. This trio is boldly “dediby 

Joe Rosen

cated to the victims of Bush and Bin 

Laden,” a mournful, angry response to 

current events. 

There are two unnumbered trios, both 

chamber transcriptions of orchestral 

works. The View from Carew, originally 

a rhapsody in E ♭ major for clarinet and 

orchestra, evokes the sublime view of the 

Ohio Valley that is to be seen atop Carew 

Tower, the tallest building in Cincinnati. 

The other and most recent trio is a 

transcription of the composer’s new 

Concerto for Cello and Strings with 

Clarinet, written in the fall of ’06. It’s a 

cello concerto all right, but the clarinet 

seems unwilling to accept this and constantly 

tries to upstage the soloist. As in 

trio #7, the key is A major, and the score 

calls for the A clarinet. After the dark 

anger of #13 and the deep sighs of Carew 

the mood finally turns joyful again in this 

final trio. The four movements are: 

Hymns & Fugues, Bulgarian Blues, 

Sorbet (a 28-second bagatelle) and the 

improbable Finale, written in the 

Reggae/Dixieland style known as “Ska.” 

I’ll admit to being a little obsessed with 

this composer but the rewards of playing 

his music are very great. Part of the fun, for 

me, was that, when I started playing his 

music, almost no one seemed to have heard 

of him. That’s changing. Kalin Ivanov premiered 

his cello concerto in Carnegie Hall 

in April 2007. Rick met Kalin in my apartment 

while attending a home concert of his 

music which I had organized. 

In discovering these trios and the 

many other Sowash clarinet works (36 in 

all) we’ve also made a friend. Rick has 

attended and emceed performances 

we’ve done in Manhattan, Long Island, 

Cleveland, Cincinnati and Waterloo, 

Ontario. He’s even written two works 

specifically for me: Three Bagatelles for 

Clarinet & Bassoon and Audubon, his 

only wind octet. 

It’s been a Journey of the Spirit. And 

it all started with a half-heard broadcast 

in the mountains of Pennsylvania. 

For information about Rick Sowash’s 

CDs and sheet music, go to: 

. 


Joe Rosen is a passionate and very 

active clarinetist based in New York 

City. He has studied with David Weber, 

Harold Wright and Ricardo Morales. 

June 2007 Page 65

MUSIC REVIEWS 

by Joseph Messenger 

Walter Rabl. Quartet, Op. 1, for clarinet, 

violin, cello, and piano. Edition Silvertrust 

, 

2007, $29.95. 

Walter Rabl (1873–1940) is a composer 

known to very few. He gave up the 

study of law to become a composer, but 

his composing career was very short and 

most of what he wrote was for voice or 

opera. His musical fame is mostly as a 

conductor and he wrote only two pieces 

of chamber music. He was born in 

Vienna and studied there as well as in 

Salzburg and Prague. 

He entered this quartet in the 1896 

competition held by the Wiener Tonkünstlerverein 

(Vienna Musicians Association) 

for which Brahms, the head judge, 

selected it for first prize and recommended 

it to his publisher, Simrock, who 

published it in 1897. In spite of its early 

opus number, it is a mature work in the 

best late Romantic tradition. It has been 

out of print for long periods of time and 

has always been difficult to find. A recent 

recording by the Orion Ensemble 

(see The Clarinet, 33/4, p.15) has 

sparked renewed interest in the quartet, 

and it has been republished by Edition 

Silvertrust. This is a significant, beautiful 

work that should be in the library of 

every clarinetist, and one would be 

advised to obtain it quickly lest it disappear 

again. 

The four movements show the influence 

of Brahms and Schumann, but it is 

never a mere imitation of other composers. 

The opening “Allegro moderato” 

is the most Brahmsian in the beginning, 

but the second theme sets a different, 

more pastoral mood. The second movement, 

“Adagio molto, un poco lento,” is a 

theme and variation opening with a 

somber funeral march and moving 

through many moods before the dramatic 

close. The “Andantino un poco mosso” 

third movement is almost a lullaby and, 

at just over two minutes in length, leaves 

the listener wanting to hear more. The 

finale, “Allegro con brio,” is buoyant and 

dramatic and provides an exhilarating 

conclusion. The clarinet is often the leading 

voice in the ensemble, but never 

Page 66 

dominates. The clarinet part is not technically 

demanding, but requires control and 

sensitivity throughout. The violin and 

cello parts are often quite high, and the 

piece requires an excellent pianist. The 

quartet is chamber music at its best and 

not merely a piece for clarinet with 

accompaniment. It is, quite simply, one 

of the best pieces in our repertoire. and 

now that it is readily available again, it 

should be performed frequently. 

W.A.Mozart. Parto, Parto, from the 

opera La Clemenza di Tito, for voice, 

clarinet, and piano. Edited by Chris 

Allen. Emerson Edition (U.S. agent, 

Theodore Presser), 2003. 

La Clemenza di Tito was Mozart’s last 

serious opera, completed in 1791 and 

premiered in Prague that same year. It 

was the first of his operas to be performed 

in London, in 1806. It is well 

known to clarinetists for the two arias 

written for clarinetist Anton Stadler. 

Parto, Parto in Act One was written with 

an obbligato for Stadler’s basset clarinet, 

and Non più di fiori in Act Two includes 

an obbligato for basset horn. 

The soprano aria in Parto is referred 

to by singers as a “pants role” because it 

was written for a male character, Sesto, 

sung by a woman in present-day performances, 

although it was originally 

intended for a male soprano. The clarinet 

is equally important to the singer, and 

both parts include florid, virtuoso writing. 

The transcription has long been 

available in an edition published by 

International, but this new version 

deserves the attention of both clarinetists 

and singers. 

The piano part provided by editor 

Chris Allen provides a better basis for the 

music than the earlier version. The larger 

page size makes all parts more readable 

THE CLARINET 

and there are separate parts for the clarinet 

and the singer (which also contains 

the clarinet part). The clarinet part is edited 

for the standard clarinet, with the basset 

notes shown in cue size in compliance 

with Bårenreiter’s Neu Mozart Ausgabe. 

The vocal line includes asterisked notes 

indicating possible passing tones one 

degree higher. The editor has provided 

suggested articulations for the clarinet 

part, but players already familiar with the 

music may decide to change them. 

This music should be in every clarinetist’s 

library, and the Emerson edition 

should be considered even if you already 

own the International version. 

CD REVIEWS 

by Gregory Barrett 

DUO GUITARINET — 10th Anniversary 

Album. Jan Jakub Bokun, clarinet; 

Krzysztof Pełech, guitar. Marek 

Pasieczeny: Winter’s Tale - Fantasy for 

Clarinet and Guitar; Pavel Smutný: 

Dolor Amoris; Jacques Castérède: 

Sonatine d’avril (1st movement); Jaime 

Zenamon: Luz y Sombra, Op. 121; Heitor 

Villa-Lobos: Bachianas Brasileiras 

No. 5; Ronald Shroyer: It’s either a 

song or a dance for solo clarinet; Sergio 

Assad: Angela and Menino; Astor 

Piazzolla: Romantico; Patrick Roux: 

Soledad; Roland Dyens: Santo Tirso; 

Peter Graham: Different Geometry for 

solo clarinet; Radames Gnattali: Sonata. 

JB RECORDS JBR 003-2. Total 

time 69:23. (available from Web 

site: or e-mail: 

) 

Clarinetist Jan Jakub Bokun needs no 

introduction to the regular readers of this

column. He has previously released six 

other CDs: Il Convegno, Duo Guitarinet, 

From the Shadow to the Light, Hommage 

a Carlos Guastavino, Consortium 

Musicum, and Regreso al sur. Born in 

Wrocław, Poland, Jan Jakub Bokun studied 

clarinet with Mieczyłsaw Stachura at 

the city’s Music Academy, graduating with 

honors, and subsequently continued his 

studies with Guy Dangain at the Conservatoire 

National Supérieur de Musique de 

Paris. Bokun is also establishing a career 

as a major conductor, having worked with 

orchestras in Poland, Czech Republic, and 

the U.S.A. 

Duo Guitarinet was originally formed 

to perform music by Latin American composers. 

Over 10 years they have expanded 

their repertoire and have received new 

pieces from Steven Lacoste, Mario Broeders, 

Jorge Morel, Marek Pasieczeny, 

Pavel Smutný, Jaime Zenamon, Boris 

Gaquere, and Dietmar Ungerank among 

others. The performances recorded on this 

CD are wonderfully uplifting. They blend 

classical, jazz, and Latin elements. 

Clarinetist Jan Jakub Bokun plays beautifully 

in tune, with a classical sound — at 

times reedy, and with appropriate vibrato. 

He and guitarist Krzysztof Pełech give 

very polished, musical performances, with 

a nice sense of rubato and tone control. 

Guitar and clarinet are a wonderful blend 

of equal opposites — the clarinet being 

long-lined and vocal, and the guitar rhythmic 

and percussive. 

The first 10 tracks were recorded in the 

Great Studio of Polish Radio in Wrocław in 

March 2006. The sound is transparent and 

ideal. Marek Pasieczeny’s Winter’s Tale- 

Fantasy for clarinet and guitar is a nineand-a-half 

minute work merging worlds of 

cool jazz, dance rhythms, and classical 

ideas of texture and form. Included are 

beautiful song-like melodies, contrasting 

tempos, and an impressively played clarinet 

cadenza. Pavel Smutný’s Dolor Amoris is 

an expressive song for clarinet and guitar 

full of mordents and embellishing trills. 

The first movement of Jacques Castérède’s 

Sonatine d’avril is a three-and-a-half 

minute flowing composition with clarinet 

and guitar taking turns accompanying and 

imitating each other. Jaime Zenamon’s Luz 

y Sombra includes a minor-colored introduction 

that builds in intensity through an 

insistent rhythmic underpinning. The music 

eventually overflows into a more popular 

sounding melodic section with syncopated 

ideas and a variety of moods ranging from 

joyous to mysterious. The music ends with 

a flourish. 

The studio-recorded music continues 

with Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5, Villa- 

Lobos’ gem, originally for soprano and 

cello ensemble. The guitar does a nice 

job of imitating the pizzicato cellos of the 

original version. Bokun plays with an 

intimate vocal style. Contrasting with the 

transcendental Villa-Lobos, Ronald 

Shroyer’s It’s either a song or a dance 

for solo clarinet is in two movements, 

“Hoedown” and “Blues,” each one 

minute long. They are cute, and exactly 

what their titles say, but they do not fit 

with the rest of the music on the CD. The 

expressive jazz ballad style of the CD 

resumes with Sergio Assad’s Angela and 

Menino. Perhaps these are love songs 

The studio-recorded tracks end with a 

work from the master, Astor Piazzolla. It 

is his Romantico; a simple, bittersweet, 

expressive, slow ballad. 

The CD continues with live recordings 

from 2004 and 2005 international guitar 

festivals. The sound quality strongly 

matches the earlier tracks. The only real 

give-away is the brief applause included. 

Patrick Roux’s Soledad is, with its 

whole-tone scales, more modern in harmonic 

language than the Latin-inspired 

pieces, but in overall mood and melodic 

content it is compatible. Roland Dyens’s 

Santo Tirso is for solo guitar and consists 

of alternating sections of slow, thoughtful 

music with exuberant outbursts. Peter 

Graham’s (a.k.a. Jaroslav Stastny- 

Pokorny) Different Geometry for solo 

clarinet, is a two-and-a-half minute classical 

concert piece that fits with the other 

pieces on the CD because of its dancelike 

material. This is a minimalist piece 

with irregularly grouped, repeated, arpeggiated 

eighth notes. It includes simple, 

yet effective harmonic contrast and is 

very enjoyable to perform. Radames 

Gnattali’s Sonata is a three movement, 

10-minute sonata, in a light classical, 

jazz, and Latin style. 

This CD is beautifully produced and 

provides a pleasant hour of light listening 

by two very accomplished musicians. 

by David Niethamer 

Wind in the Reeds. The University of 

Florida Clarinet Ensemble; Mitchell 

Estrin, music director and conductor; 

June 2007 Page 67

David A. Waybright, guest conductor 

(Richards and Sain). G. Rossini-H. 

Hermann: Barber of Seville Overture; 

P. Richards: A Butterfly Coughs in 

Africa; G. Holst-M. Johnston: First 

Suite in E-Flat, Op. 28, No. 1; P. 

Grainger-M. Johnston: Irish Tune from 

County Derry; G. Jacob: Wind in the 

Reeds; M. Ravel-D. Hite: Pavane pour 

une infante défunte; B. Bartók-S. 

Kobayashi: Roumanian Folk Dances; 

G. Frescobaldi-E. Curry: Toccata; J. P. 

Sain: A Brief View of Eternity; G. 

Holst-M. Johnston: Jupiter, the Bringer 

of Jollity (from The Planets); J. P. 

Sousa-L. Conley: The Stars and Stripes 

Forever. MARK MASTERS 67202- 

MCD. Total time 72:20. (for availability 

see: ) 

Maybe it’s the memory of four years 

of clarinet choir at 8 a.m. every Wednesday 

morning. Maybe it’s the memory 

of the sound of Samuel Barber’s famous 

Adagio, transcribed (with the composer’s 

permission and interest) for a family of 

clarinets from A ♭ sopranino to BB ♭ Contrabass. 

For whatever reason, I approached 

this recording with a healthy 

dose of skepticism. 

Page 68 

This CD by the University of Florida 

Clarinet Ensemble made me question 

why some homogenous groups of instruments 

work better as a musical ensemble 

than others. String orchestras have a successful 

classical repertoire of music written 

by famous, first-rate composers. 

Bach, Mozart, Dvorák, Tchaikovsky and 

Elgar come immediately to mind, and 

this list is certainly not exhaustive. 

Although their repertoire has less cachet 

than the string orchestra, brass ensembles 

also perform viable concert repertoire. 

One rarely hears clarinet ensembles in 

professional performances. 

On this recording, I find the original 

works to be the most successful. A 

Butterfly Coughs in Africa, commissioned 

by the Florida ensemble for the 

2004 ClarinetFest ® , is the most arresting 

of these pieces. The composition grows 

out of two short motives, one an upward, 

legato arpeggio and the other downward 

and staccato. These motives combine and 

develop into a piece of increasing intensity. 

Composer Paul Richards writes in 

his program note that the butterfly cough 

“gradually whips into a frenzy, sending 

torrential rain down upon Bermuda, and 

turning inexorably toward the coast of 

South Carolina. Or something like that.” 

At under five minutes duration, the piece 

doesn’t outlast its welcome. 

Gordon Jacob’s Wind In The Reeds, a 

series of four character pieces for clarinet 

choir, makes idiomatic use of the sound of 

the ensemble. As usual with Jacob, the 

music is well crafted if not very deep. The 

third movement, “A Childhood Memory,” 

quotes the hymn tune Nearer My God To 

Thee extensively, but the notes do not explain 

this reference or memory — perhaps 

memories of the Titanic 

A Brief View of Eternity is composer 

James Paul Sain’s homage to his maternal 

THE CLARINET 

grandmother on the occasion of her passing 

at age 95. Based on the same hymn tune as 

Jacob’s “Childhood Memory,” the reference 

here is much more musically obscure. 

Percy Grainger loved the sound of 

homogenous woodwind ensembles and 

arranged several of his wind band pieces 

for both clarinet and saxophone ensembles. 

His Irish Tune from County Derry is 

a wind ensemble standard. Matt 

Johnston’s transcription for clarinet 

ensemble actually solves some of the balance 

difficulties inherent in the wind 

band version, bringing important parts 

readily “to the fore.” To me, this performance 

sounds too “straight” — as a folk 

song, I’d like to hear more ebb and flow 

in the tempo to reflect the vocal character 

of the music as it progresses 

Transcriptions are always a tricky 

business. If the music is too well known 

in its original incarnation, it’s hard to 

“sell” the listener on the new instrumentation. 

A recent recording of Beethoven’s 

Violin Concerto with the clarinet as 

soloist presents an example of this problem. 

In spite of the fine clarinet playing, 

a nagging comparison to the original is 

ever present as one listens. On the other 

hand, Michael Webster persuaded Aaron 

Copland to make a transcription of his 

Violin Sonata for clarinet and piano; this 

arrangement works very well. So too 

does Schubert’s Apreggione Sonata — in 

fact, the sound of the arpeggione, a sixstringed, 

bowed, fretted instrument, is 

close in character to the cool, vibrato-less 

sound of the clarinet. Since there are no 

touring arpeggione virtuosi playing this 

sonata in its original version in concert 

halls around the world, it is easy to accept 

a version played by the clarinet. For any 

transcription to work successfully, the performer 

must strike a balance between honoring 

the original version of the piece and 

finding ways to make the music sound 

idiomatic for the new instrument(s). 

On this CD, the most successful transcriptions 

are those originally intended 

for wind ensembles of some sort. 

Frescobaldi’s Toccata, which he originally 

composed for organ, is a favorite of 

both bands and orchestras. I’ve already 

mentioned Grainger’s Irish Tune, and the 

Holst First Suite for Military Band also 

fares well. Part of the reason is the inclusion 

of the original percussion parts, and 

part is the homogenous sound of the orig-

inal when played by wind band. Only the 

final “March” movement suffers from the 

lack of brass instrument sound. 

Bartók created many versions of his 

Roumanian Folk Dances over the years, 

from those for solo instruments to those for 

full orchestra. This recording combines the 

sound of the string orchestra version with 

some of the colors of the more exotic solo 

instruments in the full orchestra version. 

The arrangement works well, although I 

found myself wishing for more “Hungarian” 

rhythmic dance character in the playing, 

and a wilder “dash to the finish” in the 

final dance. 

To me, the arrangements of Ravel’s 

Pavane, Jupiter (from The Planets), 

Stars and Stripes, and Rossini’s overture 

to the Barber of Seville miss too much of 

the instrumental color of their original 

versions. It’s unusual to think of Rossini 

as a composer who uses a great deal of 

instrumental color, but in this overture, 

the solo horn, oboe and bassoon are 

greatly missed. 

The playing by the University of 

Florida Clarinet Ensemble is good by any 

standard. Technically all the players are 

proficient, and the intonation throughout 

is good as well. In addition to good intonation, 

I’d like to hear a better blend 

between players. I felt, especially after 

repeated listening, that too often I heard 

individual players stick out of the group 

texture. Also, it’s especially difficult to 

match articulations from the lowest to 

highest members of any instrumental 

family, and in some pieces I felt this 

needed more attention. 

The recording was made in the Curtis 

M. Phillips Center for the Performing 

Arts in Gainesville, Florida. The hall 

acoustic seems quite live, and the recording 

rather more reverberant than I’d like, 

especially at the loudest sound levels. 

In spite of the recording’s minor shortcomings, 

clarinet choir aficionados will 

want to own it for the interesting repertoire 

played at a high level of quality. 

by Michèle Gingras 

Concert and Contest Collection for B ♭ 

Clarinet. Paul Votapek, clarinet; 

Ralph Votapek, piano. S. Miskow: 

Allegretto Fantasia; W. A. Mozart: 

Adagio (from the Clarinet Concerto); 

J. Brahms: Allegretto Grazioso (from 

the Sonata in F Minor); Th. Verhey: 

Nocturne (from the Concerto in G 

Minor); R. Schumann: Fantasy Piece, 

Op. 73, No. 1; A. Gabucci: Aria and 

Scherzo; M. Delmas: Promenade; R. 

Glière: Chanson; L. Bassi: Nocturne; 

W. A. Mozart: Menuet (from 

Divertimento in D); G. Pierné: 

Canzonetta; P. Koepke: Scherzo in C 

Minor; N. W. Gade: Ballade; M. 

Bergson: Scene and Air (from Luisa di 

Montfort); J. Becker: Romance. BLUE 

GRIFFIN RECORDING, INC. (no 

catalogue number). Total time 59:15. 

(available from: Paul Votapek, 112 

Flame Vine Drive, Naples, FL 34110; 

$17.00 {shipping included}; e-mail: 

 

Finally! Someone had the clever idea 

to record the entire repertoire from the 

popular Concert and Contest Collection 

for B ♭ Clarinet, compiled and edited by 

Himie Voxman and published by 

Rubank. This collection of “Medium 

Easy-Medium” level pieces is used by 

countless clarinet teachers, and it was 

just a matter of time (however too much 

time) until it appeared on CD. 

The collection includes movements 

from the main clarinet repertoire such as 

Mozart, Brahms, Schumann, Pierné and 

Gade, however my guess is that some 

players may have overlooked the intriguing 

and wonderful gems by Miskow, 

Verhey, Gabucci, Delmas, Glière, Bassi, 

Koepke, Bergson and Becker. A good 

number of these pieces are on high 

school solo contest lists across the nation. 

Paul and Ralph Votapek not only provide 

us an opportunity to take a fresh look 

at this collection, but they do so through a 

most artistic and expressive interpretation. 

June 2007 Page 69

Paul Votapek is the principal clarinetist of 

the Naples (FL) Philharmonic and instructor 

of clarinet at the Bower School of 

Music at Florida Gulf Coast University. 

He earned his bachelor and master’s 

degrees from Northwestern University 

where he studied with Clark Brodie and 

Robert Marcellus, and also did substantial 

doctoral work at Florida State University 

with Frank Kowalsky. Ralph Votapek 

(Paul’s father) holds the distinction of 

being the first gold medalist of the first 

Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, 

and also won the prestigious Naumberg 

Award. He studied at Northwestern 

University, the Manhattan School of Music 

and The Juilliard School. He performed as 

a soloist with most of the major American 

Orchestras, and served as Artist-in-Residence 

at Michigan State University for 

36 years. 

Paul Votapek’s sound is rich in tonal 

colors, particularly the dark shades. His 

technique is irreproachable (Bergson), 

his phrasing is expressive and lyrical 

(Mozart Adagio, Delmas, Gabucci, 

Verhey, Glière, Bassi, Pierné, Becker), 

his chamber musicianship is sensitive 

(Brahms, Schumann, Gade), and his fast 

Page 70 

tonguing is impressive, smooth and clean 

(Mozart Menuet, Bergson, Koepke). Paul 

and Ralph Votapek’s interpretations are 

just right. No. Let me rephrase that. Their 

interpretations go beyond precision and 

beauty with their sensitive and gorgeous 

musical phrases, which inspires me to 

revisit this repertoire again and again. The 

recording is very well produced with 

excellent balance and engineering quality. 

Himie Voxman is unfortunately not 

credited on the CD cover, nor is the granted 

permission Votapek received from the publisher 

(Hal Leonard Corp. — Milwaukee) 

to record the material. However, Mr. 

Votapek will correct this printed omission 

in the near future. Votapek also inquired 

about pairing the CD with the published 

book, but the two will probably remain separate 

items for now. 

I give this long-awaited recording my 

top four-reed rating, plus one reed for 

finally giving our young students the 

opportunity to store this collection on 

their iPods to motivate them to secure 

first place ratings on solo contest day. 

My online friend, Keith Hudson, says 

it best in a clarinet chat group posting: 

“Every clarinet teacher and band director 

should own this CD! I can’t count how 

many times I heard Mozart’s ‘Menuet 

from Divertimento’ butchered or how 

many times I heard Koepke’s ‘Scherzo’ 

where the soloist had no idea how to play 

a cadenza. Students unknowingly play 

the opening of ‘Scene and Air’ by 

Bergson without emotion or nuance. The 

Mozart ‘Adagio’ is recorded with piano 

and B ♭ clarinet so the student can play 

right along. (Maybe now they will play 

the grace notes correctly.)” 

Need I say more 

by Gail Lehto Zugger 

American Images 3: The Michigan 

Connection. The Verdehr Trio: 

Walter Verdehr, violin; Elsa Ludewig- 

Verdehr, clarinet; Silvia Roederer, 

piano. David Liptak: Commedia 

(2001); Arnold Black/William 

Bolcom: Envoi (2000); Robert Mann: 

Katchi-Katchi (2002); Charles 

Ruggiero: Collage — 1912 (2001); 

James Hartway: five postcards (from 

michigan) (2003); C. Curtis-Smith: 

Trio (2000). CRYSTAL RECORDS 

CR947. Total time: 73:02. (available 

THE CLARINET 

at retail outlets and from the Crystal 

Web site: ) 

This latest offering, Volume No. 17 in 

the Verdehr Trio’s “Making of a Medium” 

series with Crystal Records, is a compilation 

of recent commissioned works from 

composers with a Michigan connection. 

Their third issue under the subtitle of 

“American Images,” this recording aptly 

typifies the well known Verdehr Trio, with 

their distinguished career commissioning 

more than 200 works while in residence at 

Michigan State University in East Lansing 

for 35 years. 

The composer David Liptak taught at 

Michigan State University from 

1976–1980, and currently teaches composition 

at the Eastman School of Music. His 

Commedia, commissioned by and composed 

for the Verdehr Trio in 2001, borrows 

from the 16th-century “Commedia 

dell’Arte” theatrical genre. The characters 

of Harlequin and Columbine can be seen 

dancing about whimsically in the first 

movement. Here, Elsa Ludewig-Verdehr 

delivers astounding impetuosity, capriciousness 

and pyrotechnics galore in my 

favorite clarinet writing of the work. The 

middle two movements are about serene 

Pierrot and jaunty, impish Pulcinella. The 

finale illustrates Scaramouche and furnishes 

many playful exchanges between 

all trio members. 

What follows is a sensitive, touching 

reading of Envio. Upon the unexpected 

death of composer Arnold Black in 2000, 

his wife found and sent to the Verdehr 

Trio a large section of a movement he 

had been working on for them. William 

Bolcolm, who teaches at the University 

of Michigan, completed the movement in 

short order, making it possible for the trio 

to give the first performance at Black’s

memorial service on October 25, 2000. 

This movement is one of many high 

points on this recording. 

The one-movement work, Katchi- 

Katchi, was composed in 2002 by Robert 

Mann, founding member and first violinist 

of the Juilliard String Quartet. His ties 

to Michigan occurred when his quartet 

was in residence at Michigan State 

University for nine years. Katchi-Katchi, 

a piece about a famous Japanese folk 

tale, is the result of the reworking of an 

earlier work for narrator, piano and violin. 

Here, Mann found the clarinet to be 

an apt replacement for the narrator. 

Interesting compositional effects such as 

prepared piano are utilized in this everchanging, 

intricate story telling. The 

blend and evenly-matched temperament 

between Walter Verdehr and Elsa 

Ludewig-Verdehr is impressive throughout 

this piece. Mann’s Katchi-Katchi is 

featured, with an interview of the composer, 

on a Verdehr Trio DVD produced 

just recently. 

The cover art for this recording is a 

painting of the Michigan sand dunes by 

MSU composition and music theory professor 

Charles Ruggiero’s daughter, Maria 

Fiorenza Ruggiero Sidiropoulos. She is at 

the center of Ruggiero’s composition 

Collage — 1912, for the Verdehrs had purchased 

several of her paintings and 

requested a piece with some ties to her 

work. Concentrating on his daughter’s 

technique and procedure for working with 

still-lifes, what results here is a wonderful 

collection of sections from 12 works composed 

in 1912 woven together much like a 

collage. The material, supplied by Bartók, 

Berlin, Debussy, Handy, Ives, Mahler, 

Ravel, Schönberg, James Scott, Richard 

Strauss, Stravinsky and Joaquín Turina, 

makes for several moments of “Name That 

Tune” at a most cerebral level, and amusement, 

particularly at the false ending. 

Ruggiero’s Collage — 1912 is my favorite 

composition of the lot and is exquisitely 

executed here. 

James J. Hartway is currently 

Distinguished Professor of Music at 

Wayne State University, teaching composition 

and theory. An award-winning 

composer, he has received many nods 

from Michigan including an Arts 

Foundation of Michigan Award and from 

the Michigan Senate. In addition, he 

received a doctorate from Michigan State 

University. His five postcards (from 

michigan) provides five short movements 

depicting five contrasting locales in 

Michigan: Detroit, the carillon tower at 

MSU, Taquamenon Falls, Sleeping Bear 

Sand Dunes, and Mackinac Island. 

Having visited all of these places, I found 

each movement appropriately reflects the 

individuality of each spot with a postcard 

sentiment of “Wishing you were here!” 

This is above all true in the ragtimeinfluenced 

final movement about an 

island that is a step back to a time where 

cars do not belong. 

The final work on this recording, C. 

Curtis-Smith’s Trio, composed in 2000 

and dedicated to the Verdehr Trio, is the 

most complex rhythmically. C. Curtis- 

Smith has taught composition at the 

University of Michigan and is currently 

Professor of Music at Western Michigan 

University in Kalamazoo. An impressive 

compositional resumé of awards, commissions 

and grants won, C. Curtis-Smith 

is also a renowned pianist. This threemovement 

work begins with “Specters,” 

a contrasting study in tension and lyricism, 

however a menacing, ominous 

quality wins out in the end. Intense is 

CALARTS SCHOOL OF MUSIC 

Multi-Focus Clarinet Performance Program (BFA, MFA) 

In addition to surveying Western musical repertoire from the medieval to the modern, the 

MULTI-FOCUS CLARINET PERFORMANCE PROGRAM also emphasizes contemporary styles, diverse musical 

cultures, improvisation techniques, new technologies and interdisciplinary media. The curriculum 

includes weekly seminars on performance practice and technique, and often features distinguished 

visiting artists as well as lessons with world renowned clarinetist William Powell. 

Faculty clarinetist William Powell leads students in a circular breathing exercise. 

 

 

 

 

June 2007 Page 71

“Largo with a Twist,” which overtly 

changes its tune in the closing measures 

(the “Twist”) in preparation for the final 

movement, entitled “Happy Canons with 

Hocketing.” This final movement, the 

most contrapuntal offering, has strict 

canons of two and three voices, occasionally 

at a time interval of three 16ths or 

less. The depth of understanding, cohesion 

and synchronicity that occurs 

between virtuosic chamber musicians is 

apparent in the Verdehr Trio’s performance 

of this demanding work. 

The Verdehr Trio’s latest release is a 

continuation of a long career of beautiful 

and groundbreaking chamber music making 

and represents yet another significant 

contribution to the trio repertoire. From 

the inspired performances, to the detailed 

liner notes about the works, to the fine 

overall production quality, this recording 

is the complete package. 

by Lori Ardovino 

Works for Clarinet & String Quartet. 

Roeland Hendrikx, clarinet; Arriaga 

Quartet (Michaël Guttman and Ivo 

Lintermans, violins; Marc Tooten, 

viola; Luc Tooten, cello). Anton 

Reicha: Quintet in B-Flat, Op. 89; 

Andreas Romberg: Quintet in E-Flat, 

Op. 57; Heinrich Bärmann: Adagio 

(from the Quintet No. 3 in E-Flat, Op. 

23); W. A. Mozart: Movement for 

Clarinet and String Quartet, K. App. 

91. KROON WERK KW0301. Total 

time 60:12. (available from artist Web 

site: or 

label e-mail: ) 

Roeland Hendrikx studied at the 

Lemmens-instuut in Leuven and at the 

Koninklijk Vlaams Muziekconservatorium 

Page 72 

in Antwerp. He is the principal clarinetist 

of the Belgian National Orchestra, and 

from 1998–2003 was a member of the 

Orchestra of the National Opera of 

Belgium. He performs and actively promotes 

Belgian chamber music for clarinet. 

The Arriaga Quartet, founded in 1980, 

comprises musicians who received their 

training at the Koninklijke Conservatorium 

of Belgium and The Juilliard School. The 

Arriga Quartet is regularly invited to play 

in many famous chamber music festivals 

in Europe, South Africa and Israel. For the 

next seasons they have been asked to give 

concerts in Finland, France, Switzerland, 

Spain, Iceland and the U.S.A. 

Antonin Reicha is best known today for 

his substantial contribution to the early 

wind quintet literature, 25 works written in 

Paris between 1811 and 1820, which were 

played all over Europe. Reicha claimed in 

his memoirs that his wind quintets filled a 

void. Reicha wrote of these works: “At that 

time, there was a dearth not only of good 

classic music, but of any good music at all 

for wind instruments, simply because the 

composers knew little of their technique.” 

While his first attempt to compose for these 

five instruments proved a disaster, which 

he quickly discarded, he soon found the 

knack and wrote a book of six quintets that 

were played all over Europe. Reicha goes 

on to say, “Encouraged by the success of 

these performances I wrote 18 more, bringing 

the number to twenty-four. They created 

a sensation throughout Europe.” 

I must admit, I am an enthusiast of 

Reicha’s chamber music. His works are a 

pleasure to play, satisfyingly melodious. 

Technically, Mr. Hendrikx is flawless in 

execution. This first movement is not 

unlike most of Reicha’s works for winds, 

exciting, technically challenging, yet with 

the grace it so deserves. This is all portrayed 

through the performance of this 

ensemble. The second slow movement displays 

the sublime elegance that is again a 

trait of Reicha. It has a certain smoothness 

of form that is pleasing to the ear. The 

third “Menuetto” is light and charming and 

as most menuetto movements are, this one 

is over much too hastily. The fourth movement 

shows sophistication of design and is 

ingeniously concise in form. The clarinet is 

featured, showing all of the technically 

demanding scalar passages which are sinuously 

executed with a combination of skill 

and ease. It is quite exhilarating to listen 

to, and leaves the listener in good spirits. 

THE CLARINET 

Andreas Jakob Romberg was a prominent 

performer/composer in the 18th and 

19th centuries. In the early 1800s he settled 

in Hamburg and cut his performing down 

increasingly in favor of composing. Haydn 

and Mozart were his models; he died too 

young to be influenced by Beethoven. 

Romberg knew the clarinet well, not only 

from the clarinetist Johann Hermstedt, for 

whom he composed his Clarinet Quintet in 

E-flat in 1819, but also from his father, 

who was a clarinetist. 

In the Clarinet Quintet in E-flat, after 

a very subtle opening from the strings, 

the clarinet bursts forth with flair, giving 

a sense of excitement from the start. 

Stylistically it is obvious that Mozart 

influenced Romberg, however, the quintet 

does show panache of the Romantic 

style with his audacious harmonies. The 

music effortlessly flows from the clarinet, 

as it does from the strings. The five 

instruments are treated as one and the 

same, all of them having an equal role, 

not simply as a clarinet with string 

accompaniment. The second movement, 

the “Menuetto/Allegretto-Trio,” is a bit 

unorthodox in its placement, usually the 

third movement of the work. The 

menuetto is delightful, and a lighthearted 

dance, very “classical” in style. The trio 

however, begins with strings alone in a 

minor key. The trio features the strings 

and the clarinet is to return in full only 

for the da capo. In the “larghetto,” in this 

case the third movement, more of the 

lovely Romantic qualities arise. The 

work is in a minor key, floating gently 

back between the major and minor tonalities. 

It is fairly short comparatively to the 

others, only half the length. The movement, 

so lovely, could stand to be longer 

to balance the other movements. 

Hendrikx’s tone is smooth and flowing, a 

pleasure for one’s ears. The “Finale/allegro 

vivace” begins vibrantly, both strings 

and clarinet on equal footing. Some very 

nice harmonic movement is present, the 

uppermost strings moving parallel with 

the clarinet, giving the movement a lovely 

contour. The blend is sublime, and the 

final movement is a bright, uplifting ending 

to an enchanting work. 

Bärmann’s Adagio has an interesting 

history — after his death in 1847, 

Bärmann’s compositions disappeared 

from the concert hall, so much that when 

the beautiful Adagio was rediscovered in

manuscript in 1926, it was attributed to 

Richard Wagner. For 50 years, the 

Adagio was published and performed as 

Wagner’s Adagio for Clarinet and 

Strings. It was more recently reattributed 

to its true author. 

The Adagio for Clarinet and Strings is 

performed with the utmost care in the 

phrasing and control by both clarinet and 

strings. Hendrikx’s tone is beautiful, mellow, 

and delightful to listen to. 

Mozart’s genius as a chamber composer 

rests on his mature masterworks for 

string quartet and quintet, but his total 

oeuvre comprises a rich diversity of 

ensembles. Several compositions feature 

strings and a member from the wind family: 

the flute, clarinet, oboe or horn. 

Primarily dating from an early period the 

chamber music for winds offers perfect 

and colorful delicacies with exquisite 

chamber textures and superbly idiomatic 

part-writing, sensitive to the innate characteristics 

of each featured instrument. 

Not as well known as the Quintet, K. 

581, this Allegro is a delight to hear. In 

this recording, only the exposition of this 

charming piece is recorded. Experts 

believe that this piece was probably written 

between the Clarinet Quintet, K. 581 

and the Clarinet Concerto, K. 622. It is 

assumed that it was also written for 

Anton Stadler. It is obviously in the same 

style as his other clarinet works. As to be 

expected, the beauty of Mozart’s world 

shines through. Everything flows into its 

proper place. Both clarinetist and strings 

masterfully perform this excerpt. It is 

unfortunate that we only have this movement 

of the Quintet in B-flat, K. App. 91 

for our listening pleasure. 

This CD has a very nice sampling of 

clarinet-and-strings repertoire. I would 

recommend this recording most favorably. 

by Gene Kavadlo 

Midnight Prayer. The Joel Rubin Ensemble: 

Joel Rubin, clarinet; Kálman Bálogh, cimbalon; 

Sándor Budai, violin; David 

Chernyavsky, violin; Claudio Jacomucci, 

accordian; Ferenc Kovács, trumpet; Csaba 

Novak, trumpet; Pete Rushefsky, tsimbl. 

Traditional melodies: “Khabno,” 

“Vinnitsa,” “Kiev,” “Brusilov,” “Rebbe of 

Medzhibozh,” “Volynsk,” “Cherniavsky,” 

“Rabinovitsch,” “Nikolaev,”; “Zeydl 

Rover” (Zeydl Rovner, trad.), and “Yosele 

Tolner,” (Yosele Tolner, trad.). TRADI- 

TIONAL CROSSROADS (no catalogue 

number). Total time 72:35. (label Web site: 

) 

Joel Rubin and company have assembled 

a Klezmer album of distinction; 

which comes as no surprise, since Rubin 

has collaborated with a cast of distinguished 

musicians for this project. They 

are all thoroughly familiar with the 

Klezmer style and afforded ample opportunity 

to display their klez chops in 

Midnight Prayer. 

Clarinetist/ethnomusicologist Rubin 

returned to the United States in 2003, after 

living in Europe for 14 years. He feels that 

Midnight Prayer owes much to influences 

of Jewish communities in his present 

life as well as his experiences in Europe, 

which strongly connected him to his ancestors 

and his Jewish history. Two diverse, 

yet musically overlapping repertoires are 

represented on this album: instrumental 

music of klezmorim, professional Eastern 

European Jewish instrumentalists from the 

16th century forward; and the mystical 

nigunim, spiritual religious melodies of the 

Hasidic movement. The purity of these 

melodies is seen as being able to establish 

a direct connection to the divine, without 

interference of text. 

Rubin’s credentials bring much credibility 

to Midnight Prayer. His clarinet 

studies were with Richard Stoltzman and 

Kal Opperman, but he has also worked 

with Klezmer legends Dave Tarras and 

Max Epstein. He holds a PhD in ethnomusicology 

from City University (London) 

for his pioneering work on improvisation 

and ornamentation in Klezmer clarinet 

music. He was founder and clarinetist with 

some of the most internationally respected 

Klezmer ensembles, including Brave Old 

June 2007 Page 73

World. His award winning documentary 

portrait, A Tickle in the Heart, is about the 

Epstein brothers orchestra. He has been a 

clinician with Stoltzman and Opperman at 

the Clarinet Summit, and authored several 

books, including Mazltov! Jewish-American 

Wedding Music for Clarinet. He is 

currently Assistant Professor and Director 

of Music Performance at the University of 

Virginia’s McIntire Department of Music. 

It is important to mention the other 

distinguished musicians who contribute 

so much to the success of this album. 

Kálman Bálogh is one of the greatest 

cimbalom virtuosi in the world, coming 

from one of the most famous Roma 

musical dynasties in Hungary. 

American Pete Rushevsky is a leading 

revivalist of the tsimbl, a small Eastern 

European hammered dulcimer. He performs 

with some of the leading practitioners 

of contemporary Klezmer music, and is 

Executive Director of the Center for Traditional 

Music and Dance in New York. 

Claudio Jacomucci is one of the leading 

contemporary accordianists in Europe, 

having distinguished himself in numerous 

international competitions. Violinists 

David Chernyavsky and Sándor Budai 

have both distinguished themselves in the 

world of Klezmer and Gypsy music; the 

former having released his own solo 

album, The Klezmer Violin, the latter 

having led several Hungarian Gypsy 

orchestras. Rounding out the ensemble are 

Hungarian musicians Ferenc Kovács on 

trumpet and Csaba Novák on bass. Both 

musicians have performed with the Gypsy 

Cimbalom Band and are well known in 

Eastern European ethnic musical circles. 

The music on Midnight Prayer was 

arranged and harmonized in suite form by 

Rubin, with several contributions form 

Page 74 

Rushevsky, Balogh, and Chernyavsky. 

Melodies come from a variety of sources: 

some transcribed from field recordings, 

some from live performances, others from 

handwritten manuscripts. All are tuneful 

and skillfully arranged and performed by 

the ensemble. 

Since clarinetist Rubin arranged much 

of the music, one might expect the clarinet 

to take the lead in many of the pieces 

— not inappropriate since the clarinet is 

often the centerpiece in Klezmer (isn’t 

that one of the reasons we clarinetists 

find the music so appealing). Rubin 

does not disappoint. His command of the 

style is exemplary: note bends, trills, 

slides, “hiccups,” all executed with good 

taste and in the service of the music. He 

exploits the range of the clarinet and 

demonstrates particularly lovely altissimo 

playing on “Volynsk.” Colleagues are 

showcased on many of the tunes and are 

equally adept at the style. The ensemble 

does not attempt to recreate the sound of 

a 19th- or early 20th-century Klezmer 

band. Although they are playing music 

from another time and place, they are 

thoroughly grounded in the present. 

Intonation in unison and octave passages, 

so prevalent in this music, is spot on. 

Ornamentation is executed with consistency 

throughout the ensemble, and each 

musician displays complete mastery of 

the geography of his instrument. This is 

Klezmer performed with chamber music 

precision. Even if it weren’t, however, 

the beauty of the music would shine 

through. Soulful melodies in the various 

nigunim are from the heart; lively 

freylekhs make you want to dance, even 

if you’re seated. Joel Rubin has introduced 

us to some fresh and engaging 

Klezmer repertoire that might have otherwise 

remained relatively unknown. 

THE CLARINET 

Midnight Prayer was recorded in the 

Operetta House in Budapest, Hungary, 

and the acoustics are lovely. Extensive 

program notes about the music and performers 

are included, and the album is 

dedicated to Kalman Opperman. Try it, 

you’ll like it. 

by Dileep Gangolli 

Mustafa Kandirali. Mustafa Kandirali, clarinet, 

with unidentified musicians. 

Traditional Turkish songs and dances: 

“Ussak Taksim,” “Haydar Haydar,” 

“Firuze Arabesk,” “Çiftetelli (Nonosum)” 

“Modern Anadol” “Kirbaç Romani” 

“Karcigar Taksim,” “Iki Çesmelik 

Romani” “Kürdili Hicazkar Saz 

Semaisi,” “Pristine Oyun Havasi,” 

“Bahriye Çiftetellisi,” “Tavas Zeybegi,” 

“Iskeçe Romani,” “Aydin Roman 

Havasi,” “Hicaz Dolap.” TRADITION- 

AL CROSSROADS (no catalogue number). 

Total time 66:33. (label Web site: 

) 

The world is flat! We all hear about 

globalization in the new world economy, 

but I often think about this trend and how 

it affects the insulated world of clarinet 

playing. To be sure, some of the results 

are more visible than others. 

For example, it is increasingly difficult 

for me to identify the country of origin of 

many of the leading clarinetists of our 

time. Clarinet students today are likely to 

receive training in countries far from their 

homeland blurring past nationalistic characteristics 

such as sound and style that 

older players took for granted. And the 

ease of digital downloads makes music 

accessible in all corners of the world and at 

price points that are inexpensive in any 

currency or even free of charge.

So when invited to review a recently 

issued CD featuring the Turkish clarinetist 

Mustafa Kandirali (b. 1930), I was 

impressed to hear something new and 

truly unique in scope, sound, and artistry. 

Turkey has always stood in the crossroads 

of East and West and its struggle 

for a national identity continues to this 

day. But to the good fortune of clarinetists, 

Western influence in Turkish 

culture has meant the acceptance of the 

clarinet in traditional Turkish folk and 

dance music ensembles. Through frequent 

radio broadcasts during the 1970s 

and 80s, Kandirali became the leading 

exponent of the clarinet in Turkish popular 

and dance music. As a recording 

artist, he has a discography of more than 

150 recordings that feature him as either 

a soloist/band leader or as an accompanist 

to many of the most prominent 

names in Turkish music after WWII. 

In this CD, efficiently titled Mustafa 

Kandirali, (available from and other Internet retailers), 

Kandirali’s virtuosity can be heard 

in its full glory. The CD features cuts 

from four different albums recorded during 

the prime of Kandirali’s career. The 

music is evocative of Klezmer music 

(with its dependence on microtonal 

inflections) and that of Eastern Europe 

(with percussive backdrop and compositional 

forms that derive from local folk 

dance). The flexibility of Kandirali’s 

playing is astounding. It is of a vocal 

character that is infinitely nuanced and 

strikingly emotional. His sound is so 

unique that, at times, I wasn’t even sure 

if what I was hearing was a clarinet — I 

could have mistaken it for an ethnic 

bowed string instrument. 

Prior to reviewing this CD, I was 

unfamiliar with Kandirali and his prominence 

in the musical life of Turkey. 

Surrounded by music from childhood, 

Kandirali taught himself the clarinet by 

following his musician father to wedding 

and party jobs in the Turkish town of 

Izmit. A product of a specialized music 

education system set up in rural areas 

during the early years of the Turkish 

Republic, Kandirali decided to concentrate 

on the clarinet after hearing Turkish 

folk clarinet virtuoso Sukru Tunar (1907 

–1962). By his teen years, Kandirali was 

helping to support his family by playing 

in cafes and parties. His local success 

inspired him to try his luck in Istanbul 

where, since 1947, he has been a fixture 

on the Turkish music scene. Though he is 

still living, Kandirali is no longer actively 

performing. 

The body of Kandirali’s ouevre consists 

of music in distinctive forms of 

Turkish folk music. Taksims are songs 

that are of a spiritual, meditative nature 

with obvious influences of the Islamic 

call to prayer. Havasi are songs intended 

for dancing. There are two taksims on 

this CD and both are hauntingly beautiful, 

conjuring images of the Orient in all 

its exotic grandeur. Performed a capella, 

both taksims are improvisatory and free 

of metrical pulse. In my opinion, it is in 

these solo evocations that Kandirali is at 

his best. He displays the ability to play 

with great subtlety in microtonal intervals 

walking the fine balance between 

virtuosic display and spiritual reverence. 

The other 13 selections on this CD are 

havasi (music for dancing). The bulk of 

Kandirali’s recording output has been in 

this form and these pieces all feature an 

emphasis on percussion instruments 

(played both by hands and beaters), cymbals, 

and ethnic stringed instruments 

(violins and plucked/strummed members 

of the guitar family). The musical forms 

are not complicated and I was surprised 

that most dances on this CD had a very 

simple metrical framework, unlike folk 

music of Eastern Europe. These havasi 

are excellent examples of Kandirali’s 

charismatic musicianship. In listening to 

Kandirali, it’s impossible to not get up 

and dance — these selections have a 

vitality and drive that is seductive, mesmerizing 

and full of life! 

I recommend this CD for clarinetists 

who enjoy world music or who are curious 

to stretch their listening comfort 

zone. The level of musicianship is very 

high and the sound quality is excellent. 

The very extensive CD liner notes, which 

come in the form of a hard cover book, 

are informative and very well done giving 

the listener a solid background on 

both Kandirali’s career and the history of 

Turkish popular music after the fall of 

the Ottoman Empire in 1922. 

After listening to a performer such as 

Mustafa Kandirali, I encourage future 

hosts of the annual I.C.A. conference to 

expand performance offerings to include 

more concerts or workshops by clarinetists 

who perform outside of the traditional 

Western classical realm. 

That a virtuoso like Mustafa Kandirali 

is not better known to clarinetists around 

the world (and I include myself) proves 

that meaningful opportunities still 

abound for expanding the horizons of an 

organization such as the International 

Clarinet Association to make it truly 

international as stated in its title. 

by Ani Berberian 

jožekotar.solo. Jože Kotar, clarinet. P. 

Bergamo: Concerto Abbreviato; V. 

Bucchi: Concerto; E. Denisov: 

Sonata; L. Lebiĉ: Chalumeau; L. 

Berio: Sequenza IXa and Lied; M. 

Bieniek: Fleshold: At the Crossing 

Over; A. Sioumak: Cl.air; U. Pompe: 

Kolar; I. Dekleva: Solo pour la Nuit 

2004. SAZAS SOTE CD 004. Total 

time 71:26. (for availability contact 

the artist: or 

) 

Recording a CD consisting of nothing 

but contemporary solo works for clarinet 

is forever a challenge, indeed! However, 

Jože Kotar has met and completed this 

undertaking with much success! He is the 

principal clarinetist of the Slovenian 

Philharmonic Orchestra and professor at 

the Ljubljana Academy of Music. 

(Ljubljana happens to be the capital of 

Slovenia, for you geography buffs!) He is 

a fascinating dichotomy of old and new: 

a traditional orchestral player who primarily 

tackles contemporary music outside 

of the orchestral realm, regularly 

performing on recitals held in conjunction 

with the Society of Slovenian 

June 2007 Page 75

Composers. Kotar has had several compositions 

written and dedicated to him, 

mainly by composers associated with this 

specific society. 

He has recorded a line of exceptional 

and distinctive compact discs, including a 

recording which exclusively features 

music for clarinet and harp. Frequently, 

his recordings are assigned descriptive 

and programmatic titles, such as 

Cocktail (2003) and Family (2003). His 

current recording entitled, jožekotar.solo 

(2005), is no exception. This title is an 

imaginary Web address, providing a clue 

to the recording’s modern day content for 

the listener. 

The back cover of the liner notes also 

demonstrates this dichotomy of old and 

new. It features a sleek and natural photograph 

of Jože Kotar taken in a purplegray 

tint, which could be seen in the photographs 

of the late nineteenth/early 

twentieth century. This lends an antique 

quality to the cover of this modern-day 

recording. Interestingly enough, the 

inside liner notes are provided in three 

languages: English, Slovenian and 

French. The author of these liner notes, 

Igor Krivokapič, begins with a profound 

Page 76 

commentary of the uniqueness of the solo 

instrument recording and how it illustrates 

this pre-historic concept: the 

expression of the highest Self through 

external means. This author’s highly 

developed observation was quite impressive. 

In the next section, he lists the contemporary 

techniques which can be heard 

on the recording and explains how these 

sounds may be produced, giving the listener 

an idea of what to expect. Bravo 

Igor! Thank you for helping the non-educated 

listener in becoming more familiar 

with the concept of contemporary music, 

which, of course, may or may not lead to 

a greater appreciation for it! He completes 

his commentary with a heartfelt 

invitation to enjoy the CD and not be 

intimidated by its contents. I was deeply 

moved by his attempt to relate to a broader, 

non-academic audience. 

Each composition on the recording is 

mentioned briefly in the liner notes. 

However, the more standard works 

receive the most attention while the lesser 

known compositions receive only one 

or two sentences of clarification. My 

only comment would be to include additional 

background information on these 

lesser known works since very little 

information could be found on the World 

Wide Web. 

jožekotar.solo was recorded in 2005 

in Slovenia — the details of the exact 

location are written in Slovenian. 

Therefore, I cannot further comment on 

that subject! 

Nonetheless, the sound quality of the 

recording is superb! The position of the 

microphone creates the ideal combination 

of clarity with the perfect amount of 

reverb, resulting in a crystal clear sound 

quality. This blend is idyllic for a solo 

instrument recording featuring contemporary 

music in that it beautifully reveals 

the subtle nuances and colors of the performance. 

Kotar produces a rich, multidimensional 

tone quality on the clarinet, 

which possesses depth and intense color. 

This striking color is especially heightened 

during the execution of contemporary 

techniques, most notably in his presentation 

of quarter tones. His performances 

are technically solid and consistent, 

as is his tone quality between registers. 

Audible breathing bestowed the 

recording a live performance quality. I 

feel he became increasingly connected, 

THE CLARINET 

interpretively speaking, with each of the 

works as the recording progressed. 

The compositions on the recording are 

presented in chronological order, spanning 

from 1966 through 2004, featuring, for the 

most part, the works of Eastern European 

and Russian composers (with one lone 

Australian thrown into the mix!). The first 

work, Concerto Abbreviato by Petar 

Bergamo, exhibits a lack of virtuosity and 

relies instead on pacing, color, extreme 

dynamic range and unusual sound qualities 

— all of which Kotar intuitively showcases. 

Secondly, the Concerto for Solo 

Clarinet by Valentino Bucchi is featured. 

This composition is a four-movement 

work performed without a break. 

However, these movements are tracked 

separately on the recording, allowing the 

listener to discern each movement. The 

performance of the multiphonics is, at 

times, “perfectly imperfect,” adding an element 

of spontaneity. In Edison Denisov’s 

Sonata for solo clarinet, Kotar presents a 

well paced, sparkling rendition of the second 

movement — expressive, yet effectively 

illustrating Denisov’s “mathematical” 

compositional approach. 

Chalumeau, a contemporary rhapsody, 

by Slovenian composer Lojze Lebič, 

exploits the register after which the work 

was named (imagine that!). The work is 

the most virtuosic on the recording to this 

point, making use of the extreme altissimo 

register and broad dynamic ranges, which 

Kotar brilliantly carries out. It is a composition 

that gradually builds in intensity and 

utilizes less common contemporary techniques 

such as spitting into the mouthpiece 

and sucking noises. In his performance of 

Sequenza IX and Lied, Kotar’s profound 

understanding of Luciano Berio’s lyrical 

compositional style is the most moving, 

interpretively speaking, on the entire 

recording. He marvelously emulates the 

human voice in a free and flowing yet 

somewhat somber manner. 

Fleshold: At the Crossing Over, by 

Australian composer Matthew Bieniek, is 

one of the most compositionally interesting 

works on the recording. In three sections, 

it was originally conceptualized as 

a concerto for clarinet and imaginary 

orchestra in which the solo part was written 

in such a manner that it would suggest 

an accompaniment, mainly through 

pockets of silence. Kotar interprets this 

interplay splendidly and communicates

immense feeling through his execution of 

microtones and fast, breathy trills. Very 

little information could be found on 

Cl.air by Russian composer Alexey 

Sioumak. Its contemporary title does not 

foretell the amount of technical and 

breath control that is required in the performance 

of this work! Kolor, by 

Hungarian composer Urska Pompe, is the 

only work on the recording dedicated to 

Jože Kotar. The final work, Solo Pour La 

Nuit 2004, is the most unusual work 

because of the fact that is was the most 

recently conceived and yet, compared to 

the other works, is the most traditional in 

its melodic and diatonic nature. 

In summary, I am grateful for the 

opportunity to become more familiar 

with the contemporary clarinet works of 

Eastern Europe. The recording is an 

excellent mix of standard and more 

recent works. For more information on 

Jože Kotar, please visit Sloway Music on 

the World Wide Web. Be sure to click on 

the Union Jack Flag!!!! 

DVD REVIEW 

by John Scott 

Les Masterclasses Vandoren: Guy 

Deplus (Vandoren 2CLV6) 

Les Masterclasses Vandoren: Karl 

Leister (Vandoren 2CLV7) 

Available at: 

or for 25 

Euros. As of this date, the DVDs are not 

distributed in the United States. 

Congratulations to Vandoren for producing 

two DVDs that are treasures. As 

the titles imply, these are master classes 

with two of the world’s most highly visible 

and distinguished performers and teachers. 

The Deplus disc was the first production 

(December 2002). It was done live 

with Deplus allowing the student participants 

to select their repertoire. It was 

filmed at 56 rue Lepic in Paris, home to 

Vandoren. The production technique is 

simple, but the content is extraordinary. 

The class is conducted in French with 

English subtitles. Participants are conservatory-age 

students from Mexico, Japan, 

France and Russia as well as a fine pianist, 

Claude Collet. 

The works performed include Mozart, 

Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra, K. 

622 (I), Poulenc, Sonata; Sancan, 

Sonatine; Debussy, Première Rhapsodie; 

and Stravinsky Three Pieces for Solo 

Clarinet. The musical gifts, experience, 

knowledge and communication skills of 

Deplus are unsurpassed. Among other 

positions held, he was professor at the 

Paris Conservatory, soloist with the 

Concert Colonne, performed with the 

Marius Constant and the Paris Octet and 

was Principal Clarinetist with the Opéra 

Comique. He was a student of Périer, 

recorded the Stravinsky with the composer 

(production by Boulez) and knew Poulenc. 

I have no doubt that he knew Sancan, and 

for that matter, I know, too, though he did 

not know Mozart personally, he lived a 

lifetime with Mozart’s music. 

His comments are direct, informative, 

insightful, inspired, constructive and utterly 

practical. Music, technique, breathing and 

reeds are all fair game. To be in the presence 

of such a wealth of knowledge is an 

inspiration. Master classes that can be 

repeated, studied and re-studied. 

The second DVD with Karl Leister is 

a more sophisticated production (May 

2004). It was recorded using more cameras 

and in a larger concert hall, the 

Atrium Magne in Paris. Leister chose the 

repertoire and speaks only to interpretation 

of the music. Technique is not mentioned 

save some references to breathing, 

and to some very valuable comments 

about articulation style. The class is conducted 

in English. Three young clarinetists 

perform with another fine pianist, 

Nicolas Dessene. 

The works performed include Brahms, 

Sonata No. 2, Op. 120 (I), Mozart, Concerto 

for Clarinet and Orchestra, K.622 (I 

and II) and Schumann, Fantasiestücke, Op. 

73. Leister is clearly a master of German 

Classical and Romantic interpretation. He 

was Principal Clarinetist with the Berlin 

Philharmonic where he worked with Herbert 

von Karajan for 30 years and was a 

founding member of the Bläser der Berliner 

Philharmoniker. In addition, he is 

revered throughout the world as a chamber 

musician and soloist. From 1993 until 

2002 he was professor at the Hochschule 

für Musik Berlin Hanns Eisler. One is in 

the presence of a German cultural icon. 

Leister’s lessons are based on many 

years of experience, impeccable musical 

taste and a deep understanding of phrasing 

and musical structure. Concrete musical 

suggestions are intertwined with insightful 

analogies often drawn from nature. 

Unique to this DVD is a series of interviews 

with Karl Leister by Vandoren’s 

Jean-Marie Paul, in which the maestro discusses 

topics ranging from the reason for 

his choosing the clarinet, to Mozart and 

von Karajan, to his passion for music and 

to his opinions on the new generation of 

clarinet players. 

In summary, one needs not wait to see 

and hear the collective wisdom of Deplus 

and Leister. Yes, the live setting is 

always best, but here we have “master 

class on demand.” The content is superb 

— everyone can learn from these DVDs. 

I know that I did. One would hope that 

plans are afoot to continue the series. 

Merci, Vandoren. 

June 2007 Page 77

STEPHANIE ZELNICK 

UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS 

LAWRENCE, KANSAS 

Stephanie Zelnick 

was recently 

appointed to the 

position of assistant 

professor of 

clarinet at the University 

of Kansas. 

Ms. Zelnick is serving 

as principal 

Stephanie Zelnick 

clarinet of the Mississippi 

Symphony 

Orchestra, Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra, 

Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra, 

Central City Opera, and the Colorado 

Ballet, as well as performing with the 

Colorado Symphony. She is currently on 

the faculty at the University of Wyoming 

and the University of Northern Colorado 

and teaches at Rocky Ridge Music Center 

in the summers. 

Ms. Zelnick was awarded a Fulbright 

Grant for study in the Czech Republic 

and served as principal clarinetist of the 

Czech Chamber Philharmonic. Ms. 

Zelnick has been awarded prizes in international 

competitions and has appeared 

as a soloist in Belgium, the Netherlands, 

the Czech Republic, and Italy. She 

remains a member of the Prague based 

chamber ensemble Classicon XX. 

In the United States Ms. Zelnick has 

performed with many ensembles, including 

the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, 

Seattle Pops series, the Aspen Chamber 

and Festival Orchestras and the Crested 

Butte Chamber Festival. She has also 

appeared as a soloist with many ensembles 

including most recently the Czech 

Chamber Philharmonic, the Aspen Choral 

Society, and the Greeley Philharmonic. 

Ms. Zelnick will complete her Doctor of 

Musical Arts degree in August 2007 from 

University of Northern Colorado where she 

also completed her master’s degree in 

2000. She holds a bachelor’s degree from 

Rice University. Her main teachers include 

David Peck, Stepan Koutnik, Bil Jackson 

and Frank Kowalsky. 

* * * * * 

Notices of recently filled positions in 

colleges, universities, orchestras and 

major military bands should be sent to 

the Editor. 

In January last year, Sir Nicholas 

Shackleton died at his home in 

Cambridge, England. He was known 

primarily as a geologist and climatologist, 

and had been a part of Cambridge 

University his entire working life, lastly as 

professor and director of the Goodwin 

Institute of Quaternary Research. 

But an important part of his life, was a 

great love of music and of the clarinet in 

particular. Most clarinetists know his 

excellent contributions to the New Grove 

Dictionary in addition to various other articles. 

His collection of clarinets was legendary, 

just as his willingness to show 

them to visitors and to share his knowledge 

and observations. 

When the Shackleton collection of 

musical instruments arrived in Edinburgh 

last summer, the museum director, Arnold 

Myers, and Heike Fricke of the Berlin 

Musical Instrument Museum and co-author 

of the catalogue (*Faszination Klarinette*) 

for the Berlin exhibition in 2004, were surprised 

to find nearly 900 instruments and 

more than 800 clarinets! With the help of 

photographer Dr. Raymond Parks, the 

team was able to photograph and catalog 

817 clarinets and basset horns and publish 

their book in time for a weekend conference 

held in Edinburgh June 22–24 in 

honor of Shackleton and as a celebration of 

this magnificent addition to the Edinburgh 

museum. Friends and enthusiasts from as 

far as the U.S.A., Japan and Australia came 

Page 78 

Edinburgh Shackleton Collection 

A Celebration 

for the weekend of papers, music and the 

chance to see all of the instruments laid out 

on tables in Reid Hall. It is possible to see 

an account of the conference at 

, and a 

book with all the papers will be published 

later this year. 

It is nearly impossible to describe the 

collection or even to pick out highlights. 

Shackleton managed to find examples of 

nearly every type of clarinet ever made, and 

in many cases several of each. There are 

two Baroque clarinets, a four-key clarinet 

by Rottenburgh, and from this point on he 

tracked down examples from every country 

in Europe and anywhere outside of Europe 

where the clarinet was made and played. 

The main interest is for the scholar or the 

player of historical clarinets. There are 

dozens of five-key clarinets from every 

country including two sets with corps-derechange 

to make four clarinets in C, B, B ♭ 

and A. There are several Müller-system 

clarinets, and clarinets by important makers 

in Vienna. He owned the Bachmann clarinet 

played by the Belgian virtuoso Joseph 

Blaes, Sax clarinets, and an Ottensteiner 

clarinet like that played by Mühlfeld. There 

THE CLARINET 

by Eric Hoeprich 

are a dozen basset horns including two by 

Raimund Griesbacher (Vienna) and two by 

Grenser (Dresden). One of his favorite makers, 

Jacques-François Simiot of Lyon, is 

represented by more than 10 examples, 

showing all of this maker’s inventions. 

Shackleton’s main interest among newer 

instruments was in German makers, and he 

played on Reform Boehm clarinets by Fritz 

Wurlitzer, which may please some players 

in The Netherlands! Clarinets by Oskar 

Oehler and Heckel are the most recent, in 

addition to unusual instruments like the 

Giorgi-Schaffner system, Romero system, 

van Perck system, Pupeschi system, 

Schmidt-Kolbe system, Louf system, 

McIntyre system, etc., etc. 

Thanks to the advances of digital photography, 

the catalog is beautiful and 

impressive, with excellent color photographs 

of the clarinets, including details 

in many instances. It is 795 pages and 

weighs about four kilos. The descriptions 

are rudimentary but useful. It is published 

by the Collection, ISBN 978-907635-58-1. 

[Eric Hoeprich has written a book on 

the clarinet which will be published by Yale 

University Press in January 2008. Ed.]

Now available! CD265,CD266,& CD267: The first three 

releases in Crystal Records’ series of Reicha’s monumental 

24 woodwind quintets, which are beautiful 

works, symphonic in scope. This recording project 

will feature releases every five to six months. Anton 

Reicha(1770-1836),oneofthemostrespectedcomposers 

of the period, friend of Beethoven & Haydn, 

and teacher of Berlioz, Franck, Gounod, & Liszt. 

“Reicha’s 24 wind quintets have been and probably always will be 

regarded as the summit and foundation of the literature. The Westwood 

Wind Quintet is known far and wide to lovers of this sort of 

music.” American Record Guide 

THE VERDEHR TRIO. (Elsa Ludewig-Verdehr, Clarinet). The Making of a Medium 

(Violin, Clarinet, Piano). 17 CDs of mostly newly-commissioned works. A small sample: 

CD741: Bartok; Hovhaness; Pasatieri; Mozart; etc. CD742: Rorem; Musgrave; David; Vanhal; 

Liszt. CD743: Schuller; Averitt; Currier. CD744: Husa; Dickinson; Freund; Niblock. CD746: 

Diamond; Sculthorpe; Corigliano. CD941: Menotti, Bruch; Constantinides; Deak. CD942: 

Chihara, Diamond, Satterwhite, Kramer, Biggs, Erb. CD943: Currier, Tower, Gershwin/Brohn, 

Welcher, Biggs, Hoag. CD946: Higdon, Sheng, Wolfgang, Chatman, Rihm. 

THE WEBSTER TRIO – Michael Webster, clarinet 

CD357: World Wide Webster. Delightful transcriptions of 

the Slavonic & Hungarian Dances by Dvorak & Brahms; Petite 

Suite by Debussy; & Dances by Gottschalk 

CD356. Tour de France: Michael Webster, Clarinet; Leone 

Buyse, Flute; Katherine Collier, Piano. Debussy: Afternoon of 

a Faune, Petite Pièce, Première Rhapsody, & Syrinx; Saint- 

Saëns: Tarantella; Bizet, Jeux d’enfants; Faure, Dolly Suite. 

“Delightful; exquisitely played.” Fanfare 

MELVIN WARNER: CD332. 

Weber, Fantasia & Rondo, Grand 

Duo Concertante; Stravinsky, 3 

Songs from Shakespeare; Penderecki, 

3 Miniature; Martino, Set for 

Clarinet; Spohr, Six German Songs; 

Wm. O. Smith, Five Pieces. “One of 

the finest clarinet recordings I have 

yet to hear.” Audio Magazine 

LAWRENCE SOBOL: CD808. Hovhaness, Saturn, for 

 

Chorus, & Orch. “Saturn is a beguiling hymnal...freshness and 

vitality.” Classic CD Magazine. 

® CRYSTAL 

Compact Discs US$16.95 

Crystal Records, 28818 NE Hancock, Camas, WA 98607 USA 

phone 360-834-7022 • fax 360-834-9680 

www.crystalrecords.com; email: info@crystalrecords.com 

CDs $16.95. 

 

RECORDS 

The Westwood Wind Quintet captures the 

gloryofthewonderfulReichaQuintets(Gene 

Zoro,clarinet). Astellarperforminggroupfor 

over 45 years, the group has presented over 

2000 concerts and recorded more than 15 

albums. Other acclaimed CDs by the Westwood 

Wind Quintet include: 

CD601: Nielsen & Hindemith Woodwind Quintets plus 

Schulhoff, Divertissement; CD250: Klughardt, Quintet; 

Berio,OpusNo.Zoo;plusLinn,Pillin,Stein,&Heussenstamm; 

CD750: Barber,SummerMusic;Ligeti,SixBagatelles;Mathias, 

Quintet; & Carlson, Nightwings; CD751: Dahl, Allegro 

& Arioso; Husa, Serenade; Moyse, Quintet; & Sapieyevski, 

Arioso; CD752: Bergsma, Concerto; Rochberg, To the Dark 

Wood; Carter, Quintet; Schuller, Suite; Schuman, Dances; 

Plog, Animal Ditties; CD647: Holst, Terzetto; Plog, Four 

Miniatures; Sapieyevski, Concerto for Viola & Winds, with 

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MICHAEL EDWARDS: CD735. Clarinet Sonatas by 

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June 2007 Page 79

STUDENT… 

Madeline LeBaron Johnson, clarinet. 

D.M.A. Lecture Recital, University of 

North Texas, April 21, 2007. “An Examination 

of the Clarinet Works of Luigi Bassi,” 

Divertimento Sopra Motivi Dell’Opera La 

Favorita di G. Donizetti, Transcription de 

l’Opera Don Carlos de Verdi, Bassi 

Jessica Stevens, clarinet, Senior Recital, 

North Dakota State University, April 14, 

2007. Fantasiestücke, Op. 73, Schumann; 

Rhapsody, Osborne; Sonata for Clarinet 

and Piano, Poulenc 

Rachel Yoder, D.M.A. Recital, 

University of North Texas, April 20, 2007. 

Première Sonata in C, Devienne; 

Fantaisie, Gaubert; New York Counterpoint, 

Reich; Four Pieces for clarinet, 

viola and piano, Op. 83, Bruch 

FACULTY AND 

PROFESSIONAL… 

Michelle N. Shoemaker, clarinet, and 

Vanessa B. Mulvey, flute, “Music of Her 

Voice,” Longy School of Music, 

February 11, 2007. Barn Dances for 

flute, clarinet and piano, Larsen; Fish 

Gotta Fly for clarinet and piano, Gibson; 

For an Actor: Monologue for Clarinet, 

Ran; Beasts of the Field for flute and 

clarinet, Wiemann 

* * * * * 

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 program 

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 format 

above. For student recitals, only solo 

degree recital programs (junior, senior, 

master’s and doctoral) will be listed. 


2008 YOUNG ARTIST COMPETITION 

Eligibility: The competition is open to all clarinetists who shall not have reached the age of 27 by January 1, 2009 and are not currently under major artist management. 

Application: Send materials postmarked no later than Monday, April 7, 2008 to: 

President Elect: Gary Whitman, School of Music, Texas Christian University, P.O. Box 297500, Ed Landreth Hall, Fort Worth, TX 76129 

e-mail: , office: (817) 257-6622, fax: (817) 257-7640 

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 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. 

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. 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. 

Luigi Bassi, Concert Fantasia on Motives from Verdi's Opera “Rigoletto” (edition: Ricordi) 

Claude Debussy, Première Rhapsodie for clarinet and piano (any edition) 

Olivier Messiaen, Mvt. III, Abîme des oiseaux (Abyss of the Birds) from Quartet for the End of Time (edition: Durand) 

III. A photocopy of the contestant’s driver’s 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. Email is the preferred means of communication. Please 

check your email regularly as this is how you will be contacted. 

Please go to to complete an online application form. 

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 12, 2008. Semi-final and 

final rounds will be held at the ClarinetFest® 2008, to be held in Kansas City, Missouri, USA, July 2-6, 2008. Semi-finalist will receive registration waiver for 

ClarinetFest® 2008. 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 ICA will provide a pianist for all finalists. 

All finalists will receive free registration at ClarinetFest® 2008. 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. 

Page 80 

THE CLARINET

Arecent visit to my doctor’s came 

around the time of my birthday. 

(Yes, 39 again!) With the joys of 

age and maturity comes a body less resilient 

to stress and strain. My doctor recommended 

the expected things like more exercise 

and a better diet, and also suggested I 

explore Yoga for the benefits of breathing, 

relaxation, and stretching. My first session 

of Yoga made very clear that many places 

on my body hadn’t been stretched in a long 

time. This idea of stretching to improve 

oneself lead me to thoughts of the many 

people who “stretch” themselves as volunteers 

for the I.C.A, and how we as an organization 

are stretching as we grow and 

evolve. The Artistic Hosts for our 

ClarinetFests ® immediately come to mind. 

Congratulations to Cris Inguanti, Wes 

Foster, Pat Kostek and their team for an 

exciting and memorable week in 

Vancouver at ClarinetFest ® 2007. The celebrations 

of three of our most notable clarinetists, 

Elsa Ludewig-Verdehr, Keith 

Wilson and William O. Smith, were especially 

moving. The beautiful location and 

even more beautiful performances were a 

highlight of my summer. 

Make your plans now for ClarinetFest ® 

2008 in Kansas City next July. Jane Carl 

and her team are busy organizing a great 

event for us including lots of performances, 

demonstrations and a special July 4th celebration. 

Look for more information in this 

issue and on our Web site. Don’t miss out 

on what is sure to be an incredible week. 

It is my pleasure to announce Porto, 

Portugal as the site of ClarinetFest ® 2009. 

Our host for the conference is noted clarinet 

teacher and performer Antonio Saiote. 

Many of you will be familiar with Antonio 

from his recent performances at 

ClarinetFests ® , his wonderful CD, Clarinete 

do Nosso Tempo, and from the consistently 

excellent performances by his students 

at I.C.A. Young Artists Competitions. 

Those who attended ClarinetFest ® 

2006 in Atlanta may also have heard the 

Lisbon Clarinet Quartet. It is clear from all 

of these wonderful clarinetists that there is 

a lot of great clarinet playing in Portugal. 

Our past-president, Bob Walzel, returned 

from a visit to Porto very enthusiastic 

about the fabulous location and the potential 

for a truly remarkable ClarinetFest ® . 

More information will be coming in future 

issues of The Clarinet and on the Web site. 

Please join me in thanking Past-president 

Alan Stanek for his wonderful work 

on the I.C.A. History. If you haven’t had 

a chance yet, take a few minutes to look 

through this section on the I. C. A. Web 

site (). The photos 

and information give you an overview of 

our history, and are a fitting tribute to the 

many people like Alan who have given 

so much of their time and energy to the 

I.C.A. and to all of us who play and love 

the clarinet. 

There has been some confusion about 

the performers’ registration fee policy for 

ClarinetFests ® . Those of you who have 

performed in recent ClarinetFests ® will 

know that in addition to the regular registration 

fee, we have a reduced registration 

fee for performers, currently $50. This 

coincides with a significant reduction in 

the general registration fee since the 

Washington, DC ClarinetFest ® . The idea is 

to make ClarinetFest ® as affordable and 

accessible as possible for all. Spreading the 

financial burden of producing a Clarinet- 

Fest ® across a wider range of participants 

makes it better for everyone. We keep the 

general registration fee low, which allows 

more people to perform and present, and 

we can keep from shifting the costs of the 

ClarinetFest ® to the vendors as some of our 

sister and brother organizations do. I have 

seen the positive effects of this community-oriented 

policy on the I.C.A. already in 

the two years since its inception. 

Thanks to our members like those listed 

above who give so much of their time and 

energy to the I.C.A. And thanks to all of 

you for stretching with us as we explore 

new ways to help the I.C.A. grow and 

evolve. I always welcome your comments 

and suggestions, and I look forward to 

hearing from you. 

Page 82 

THE CLARINET

Rice University 

The Shepherd School of Music 

With a dedicated faculty of gifted artists, extraordinary student 

ensembles, beautiful facilities, and an affordable education from one 

of America’s premier universities, The Shepherd School of Music 

creates an environment for musical and intellectual growth 

that is critical to professional success. 


Michael Webster 

Woodwind Faculty 

FLUTE 

Leone Buyse 

BASSOON 

Benjamin Kamins 

OBOE 

Robert Atherholt 

HORN 

William VerMeulen 

Rice University, The Shepherd School of Music 

Director of Music Admissions 

P.O. Box 1892 

Houston, Texas 77251 

713.348.4854 

www.rice.edu/music 

Rice University is committed to affirmative action and equal opportunity in education and 

employment. Rice does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual 

orientation, national or ethnic origin, age, disability or veteran status. 


Michael Webster is Professor of Clarinet and 

Ensembles at Rice University’s Shepherd School of 

Music and Artistic Director of the Houston Youth 

Symphony. Described by the Boston Globe as “a 

virtuoso of burgeoning prominence,” Michael 

Webster has collaborated with the Chamber 

Music Society of Lincoln Center, Yo-Yo Ma, and 

the Tokyo, Cleveland, Muir, Ying, Leontòvych, and 

Chester String Quartets. As a soloist, he has 

appeared with numerous orchestras, including the Philadelphia 

Orchestra and the Boston Pops, has served as the principal clarinetist 

of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and the San Francisco 

Symphony, and performed at many of North America’s finest 

chamber music festivals. 

Dr. Webster’s recital career began at Town Hall in 1968 and he has 

since performed in all of New York City’s major concert halls, across 

the United States, and in Canada, South America, Japan, New 

Zealand, Australia and Europe. He has been Music Director of the 

Society for Chamber Music in Rochester, Music Director of Chamber 

Music Ann Arbor, and Associate Professor of Clarinet at the Eastman 

School of Music, from which he earned three degrees. Dr. Webster’s 

original compositions and transcriptions are published by G. Schirmer, 

International Music Company, and Schott Music. 

Highly regarded as a pedagogue, he is a member of the editorial 

staff of The Clarinet magazine, contributing a regular column entitled 

“Teaching Clarinet.” Former students include: 

Steve Williamson, Principal Clarinet, 

Metropolitan Opera Orchestra 

Alan Kay, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, 

faculty, The Juilliard School 

William Helmers, Milwaukee Symphony 

Lee Livengood, Utah Symphony 

John Friedrichs, Syracuse Symphony 

Patricia Dilutis, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra 

Michele Verheul, Principal Clarinet , Orchestra London (Ontario) 

Recent student accomplishments: 

Laura Barbieri, Houston Grand Opera Orchestra 

Louis DeMartino, New World Symphony 

Brian Viliunas, Fulbright scholar to Norway 

Maiko Sasaki, First Prize, Orchestral Audition Competition, 

Clarinet Fest 2006 

Sarunas Jankauskas, First prize, Entergy Young Texas Artists Music 

Competition 2007

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