Buffet Clarinets...

One fust right for you!

■tl
ah. iia

R-13 Ideal for Symphony Clarinetist and serious student

-«i -"I
" O

iilr

C~12 Outstanding value for advanced student

•>>

. >
fit1 •4: " oio oa »r o
'

iTtr^
•# **

E-45 Totally new instrument from France, for the advancing student
# rrrjil

•tits:
#
v. y
&

E-l 1 Designed for beginner, all wood

olp

B-12 Designed for beginner, plastic

BOOSEY & HAWKES BUFFET CRAMPON

200 Smith Street, Farmingdale, New York 11735
 1985 ICS Conference update 2
Pierce's potpourri 3
Jerry D. Pierce
men: 1985 ICS Conference information 6
SPRING, 1985 ICS Conference Schedule 8
Volume 12, No. 3 ICS 1985 Conference Competition 9
A masterclass with Artie Shaw 10
Henry Duckham
Claranalysis 18
Lee Gibson
Creativity — a composer's view
on music and the clarinet 20
Meyer Kupferman
Musical Chairs 27
Care and repair 28
Robert Schmidt
In search of resonance: some preliminary findings 30
page 45 James M. Pyne
Concerts & Recitals 34
The 1984 University of Oklahoma
Clarinet Symposium 36
Bernard Rose
Dieter Klocker — A profile 38
Heribert Haase
Clarinet talk 43
Arthur Henry Christmann
Tom Foolery 43
page 37 Tom Ridenour
Swiss kaleidoscope 44
Brigitte Frick
Letters 47
Preparing for Auditions: a
study of symphonic repertoire 48
Kalman Bloch
Announcements 56
Record rumbles 58
Jim Sauers
Record reviews
page 15 Rosario Mazzeo 60
William E. Grim 61
Jerry Pierce 62
John W. Kuehn 63
Keith M. Lemmons 63
Frank Ell 63
New music reviews
John Scott 64
Dan Sparks 64
Phillip Rehfeldt 66
Keith M. Lemmons 66
page 29
Charles West 67
Classified advertising 65
ABOUT THE COVER: The legendary Artie Shaw. New publications for future review 68
Henry Duckham's enlightening interview of Mr. Shaw
appears in this issue beginning on page 10. Index of advertisers 68
Photo courtesy Henry Grossman, People Weekly, © 1984 Time Inc.

The Clarinet — 1
 International
Commercial Advertising/General Advertising Rate
Clarinet 1 Issue 4 Issues 1 Issue 4 Issues
Color Color B&W B&W
Society
Outside Back Cover . . . $660 $595 N/A N/A
Inside Front Cover .... .. $570 $515 $330 $300
President, Jerry D. Pierce, 4611 Mounds Road, Anderson, Indiana Inside Back Cover .. $570 $515 $330 $300
46013. Phone (317) 643-2914. Full Page .. $475 $435 $265 $240
Past President, Lee Gibson, 1226 Kendolph, Denton, Texas 76201. Half Page N/A N/A $145 $130
Vice-President, David Etheridge, School of Music, University of Okla¬ One-fourth Page N/A N/A $90 $80
homa, Norman, Oklahoma 73069. One Column-inch N/A N/A $35 $35
Secretary, Norman Heim, 7402 Wells Blvd., Hyattsville, Maryland 20783
Pre-printed 4-page sigs — $250. Specifications furnished on request.
Treasurer, James Schoepflin, Dept. of Music, Washington State Universi¬
ty, Pullman, Washington 99164. Phone (509) 335-3961.
Editor, James Gillespie, School of Music, North Texas State University, A 10% discount on the second entry will apply for two or more con¬
Denton, Texas 76203. secutive entries of the same advertisement.
Publisher, Betty Brockett, 1774 Avalon, Idaho Falls, Idaho 83402. Phone Circulation Information:
(208) 522-0908.
Advertising Manager, Henry Duckham, Conservatory of Music, Oberlin (a) Rates based on 2000 copies.
College, Oberlin, Ohio 44074. (b) Character of circulation: Clarinet teachers, students, and profes¬
Editorial Associates, Lee Gibson (address above); Himie Voxman, 821 N. sionals; college music departments and libraries.
Linn, Iowa City, Iowa 52240. (c) International circulation.
Editorial Staff, John Mohler (Editor of Reviews), School of Music, Uni¬ Deadlines for copy: Sept. 15, Dec. 10, March 10, May 10. Back issues:
versity of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109; James Sauers single copies $6.00; order from Betty Brockett, 1774 Avalon, Idaho Falls,
(Associate for Reviews of Recordings), 1234 Summit Street, New ID 83402.
Haven, Indiana 46774; Arthur H. Christmann, 4554 Henry Hudson
Parkway, New York, New York 10471; James Schoepflin (address Camera-ready commercial advertisements should be sent directly to:
above); Henry Gulick, School of Music, Indiana University, Blooming- Henry Duckham, Advertising Manager
ton, Indiana 47405; John Anderson, School of Music, University of Conservatory of Music
Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455; Robert Schmidt, School of Oberlin College
Music, Ithaca College, Ithaca, New York 14850; Brigitte Frick, Oberlin, Ohio 44074
Brachmattstr. 16, CH-4144 Arlesheim, Switzerland; Bohumi'r Koukal,
Praskova 7, 772 00 Olomouc, Czechoslovakia.
I.C.S. Research Center, Norman Heim, Coordinator, Music Depart¬
ment, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742.
Regional Chairmen: 1985 ICS Conference update
Northeastern: Norman Heim. Address above. A few particularly interesting events have been added to
Southeast: F. Gerard Errante, 4116 Gosnold Ave., Norfolk, Virginia those Conference items listed in the Winter issue of The Clar¬
23508.
North Central: Himie Voxman, 821 N. Linn, Iowa City, Iowa 52240. inet. Dr. Richard Lederman, leading neurologist on the staff
South Central: Wilbur Moreland, Department of Music, University of of The Cleveland Clinic, will make a presentation on a spe¬
Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Mississippi 39401. cial interest of his: physical stress-related problems of playing
Northwest: William McColl, 1354 E. Interlaken Blvd., Seattle, Washing¬
ton 98102. Phone (206) 322-7788. a musical instrument. Dr. Stuart Zetzer, prominent psychia¬
Southwest: Lee Gibson (address above). trist (and son of recently retired Cleveland Orchestra bass
Western Canada: Ronald Goddard, School of Music, Brandon University, clarinetist Alfred Zetzer), will deal with psychological issues
Brandon, Manitoba, Canada R7A 6A9. in performance in a lecture entitled "The Creative Artistic
Eastern Canada: Leo J. Chak, 4 Forest Laneway #2308, Willowdale, On¬
tario, Canada M2N 2X8. Personality: Implications for Clarinetists."
Pacific: William Dominik, Conservatory of Music, University of the Pa¬ John Nuerenberg, Product Specialist with the Yamaha
cific, Stockton, California 95211. Corporation, will make a presentation entitled "New Lines
International Liaison, Sherrick S. Hiscock II, 1504 Midgett Drive, of Inquiry into Clarinet Design."
Elizabeth, North Carolina 27909.
National Chairmen: The complete schedule of Conference events is printed on
Argentina: Mariano Frogioni, Juramento 5186, 1431 p. 1 "B", Buenos page 8 in this issue.
Aires, Argentina. As expected, there has been a great deal of interest shown
Australia: Neville Thomas, 36 Bishop Ave., Randwick, Sydney, Australia in the masterclasses being offered at the Conference by the
2031.
Belgium: Marcel Ancion, Avenue Brachet 21, 1020 Brussels, Belgium. eminent clarinetist Robert Marcellus. If interested in per¬
Chile: Luis Rossi, Los Leones 709, dep. 36, Providencia, Santiago, Chile. forming, contact Conference co-director Lawrence Mc¬
Czechoslovakia: Milan Kostohryz, U Smaltovny 22/A. Praha 7, Czecho¬ Donald as soon as possible.
slovakia.
England: Pamela Weston, 1 Rockland Rd., London SW15 2LN, England. There has been tremendous response to earlier announce¬
France: Guy Deplus, 37 Square St. Charles, Paris, France 75012. ments of the Conference, and all indications are that it will
Italy: Prof. Michele Incenzo, Viale Tito Livio, 176, Rome, Italv. Phone be a densely populated and highly exuberant celebration of
349-3653. clarinet playing.
People's Republic of China: Wang Zhi-Jian, Tianjin Conservatory of
Music, Tianjin, People's Republic of China.
Spain: Jose Thomas-Perez, General Romero Basart, 131 6.e Dcha.,
Madrid, Spain. Phone 705 4167. Dear member:
Singapore: Dr. Ong Eng San, 21D Grange Heights, Singapore 0923, On your mailing label for The Clarinet, two numbers
Republic of Singapore.
Sweden: Kjell-Inge Stevensson, Mistelvagen 10, 5-197 00 BRO. Sweden. are provided. The first indicates your membership
Uruguay: Horst Prentki, Varo 1078, Montevideo, Uruguay. number. Whenever you communicate with the Pub¬
ICS Correspondent for Germany: Allan Ware, Krumme Strasse 26, lisher or Secretary, please use the member number.
D-4930 Detmold, West Germany.
The second number is the expiration date of your
© Copyright 1985, INTERNATIONAL CLARINET SOCIETY membership. Thus, 8509 is the date your dues will be
ISSN 0361-5553 All Rights Reserved
Published quarterly by the INTERNATIONAL CLARINET SOCIETY due in 1985, the ninth month (September).
Designed and printed by: FALLS PRINTING CO. — Idaho Falls, Idaho USA
2 — The Clarinet
Pierce's potpourri
By Jerry D. Pierce, President, I. C. S.
As I write this install¬
ment of my column it
seems that spring may fi¬
nally be on its way. Unless
you are one of those fortu¬
nate few who lives in a very
temperate climate, this has
been a rough winter. Rec¬
ord-breaking low tempera¬ life i
tures have not only affected
Indiana, but areas as far
away as Europe have seen
unusual amounts of snow
and severe storms. My
good friend Marcel Salle
writes from France that
there was even snow in
Cannes and Nice. In fact, Jerry D. Pierce
it was so cold there that ol¬
ive tree groves were destroyed. I don't have to tell you what
temperatures like that do to our source of reeds in the Var re¬
gion of Southern France. Many of us have had to deal with
cancelled lessons and postponed concert dates, but the effects
of this winter will be far reaching as most of us depend on the
arundo donax plant for our reeds. Since the cane has to grow
two to three years to give the best results, we can only guess
at the effect to come in the next several years. Good cane is
going to be very scarce, and I would think that the price will
go even higher for "useable" reeds. More than ever, the
adage "buyer beware" will be a fact of life for the clarinetist
depending on commercial reeds.
This past week I gathered up my family, and we made a
trip which included stops in Lexington, Kentucky, and Col¬
lege Park, Maryland. While we were in Lexington we were
guests (and I can use the term "royal" here) of Ron and
Joan Monsen. It was a real pleasure to work with Ron's stu¬
dents along with students of Earl Thomas at Eastern Ken¬
tucky University. Having all of this talent available lead me
to program the Schindelmeisser Symphonie Concertante for four
clarinets, Op. 2 as the final number on my recital there.
With pros like Ron and Earl I wasn't worried that we would
only have about a ten-minute rehearsal to put it all together.
My wife Linda and I had already had more than our share of
fun romping through the Ponchielli II Convegno for two clari¬
nets and piano. Earlier in the evening I'd even slipped in a
number for basset horn. The highlight of the evening, at
least for one gentleman who appeared to be in his 90s (and
who I later found out had a Ph.D. from Columbia Universi¬
ty), was an answer to his request — an encore (of four bars)
from Some Enchanted Evening. Heinrich Baermann never had
it so good!
After a twelve-hour drive we were at the home of Norm
and Cathy Heim in Hyattsville, Maryland. Travel is cer¬
tainly easier in this day and age than it was in Heinrich's
era. However, I wonder if his son Carl needed as many stops
at McDonalds Playlands on route as my almost three-year-
old Daniel needs? It is funny how a child who can't even do
all of his alphabet yet can catch "the big M" a mile or so
away.
The Clarinet Festival at the University of Maryland was
certainly a success and a real credit to Dr. Norman Heim's
planning. Fine performances were rendered by Dr. Heim,
George Silfies, Howard Klug, Charles Stier, and Gerry Er-
rante.
I contributed a session on adjusting commercial reeds and
how to make hand-made reeds starting with tube cane.
Hand-made reeds still are a bit of a gray area to many, but
those of us that do make our own reeds are quite happy with
the results and certainly think it is worth the effort to learn
how.
It is always nice to meet old friends and make new ones,
and what better place than at a clarinet festival? Many of us
had a chance to see the International Clarinet Society Re¬
search Center housed at the Hornbake Library. Bruce Wil¬
son, the Curator, was out of town, but I did get a chance to
spend some time chatting with Mrs. Pearl Tubiash who has
prepared many of my own loan requests. She is a delightful
person, and it was so good to meet her. Although she was not
scheduled to work on Saturday, she had come in just so she
would be available to clarinetists who might wish to see the
library during the Festival.
Speaking of libraries, I was able to spend a few hours
browsing through Dr. Heim's own personal music. To say I
was impressed would be an understatement. Some real
"horse trading" will probably take place now as I discovered
some 19th-century "gems" that have long been out of print,
and, surprisingly, neither of us seemed to have much dupli¬
cation in that period.
Guy Deplus, professor of clarinet at the Paris Conserva¬
tory and our National ICS Chairman in France, has sent me
a copy of the 1984 "solo de concours" piece. It is Distances
pour clarinette en si bemol (with piano ad lib) by Jean Paul Rie-
unier (who is in charge of contemporary music at the Paris
Conservatory) and is published by Editions Salabert. This
work was used in conjunction with the Robert Schumann
Fantasy Pieces as the test works this past spring. Since Profes¬
sor Deplus was kind enough to supply all the changes in the
printed part of Distances, I'll pass these on in an article about
the work in the next issue of The Clarinet.
Many of us are interested in "new" repertoire for the
clarinet. While I was at the University of Kentucky I heard
the Alun Hoddinott Concerto (for A clarinet) that one of the
students had worked up. I was impressed with the work
which I had not heard before and, though I have it in my li¬
brary, I hadn't even played through it. My own Oxford Uni¬
versity Press edition was bought in London some years ago
(at 90 pence) and after hearing this charming work, I won¬
dered why it isn't well known. College students would be
able to handle this work if they have an "A" clarinet.
The "fingering of the week" was playing a high F with
thumb, register key, left hand 2 & 3 (no change so far), but
using the right hand E-flat/B-flat trill key instead of the left
hand C-sharp/G-sharp key, and right hand pinky (on the
A-flat/E-flat key). It's a bit high in pitch but for a fast pas¬
sage, it will work. Many times a choice of fingering depends
on what's before and what's after. In this case, I'd just run
out of little fingers that were free (without sliding) and, thus,
the need for another high F fingering. In the Schindelmeisser
1st clarinet part, 13 bars before the end of the piece, I felt I
needed a secure high A (thumb, register key, left hand 2 & 3
— and the L.H. pinky on the F-sharp/C-sharp key) thus the
new F fingering.
It will be interesting to see how things work out for the
clarinet playing career of Steve Bennett (an American now
living in London). The current "accepted" route to a soloist
The Clarinet — 3
 career is to win a major international contest which then puts
you in the eyes of the public. Steve decided this was silly,
The Clarinet and Saxophone and, instead, used his hard-earned money to commission a
major composer (in this case Arnold Cooke) to write him a
Society of Great Britain concerto. He has now played the Cooke 2nd Clarinet Concerto
with orchestra on the B.B.C. which has cast him into the
public's eye and caught the attention of critics. It's certainly
The Society a new approach to an age-old problem, and we wish Steve
Founded in 1976 the Clarinet and Saxophone Society was good luck.
formed for the mutual benefit of everyone who has an interest Neville Thomas, president of our "sister" society in Aus¬
in the clarinet or saxophone and their repertoire. Teachers, tralia, the Clarinet Society of New South Wales, has just sent
students, professional or amateur players, manufacturers or word that the winner of the coveted Mitchell Lurie Clarinet
composers, the Society has members in twelve countries, in¬
cluding the U.S.A and Australia. Award is Mark Hayes. Our congratulations to Mark who
Membership of the Society not only admits you to the Socie¬ will now have the use of Mitchell Lurie's fabeled old Buffet
ty's benefits but also enables you to generate new contacts, clarinet for the coming year.
form new groups or ensembles and promote and strengthen the Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. has just acquired
development of the art of the single reed.
Belwin-Mills Publishing Corp. This move now gives Colum¬
The main purpose of the society is: bia the Kalmus catalog, among others. Previously, Colum¬
• To publish a quarterly magazine providing information and bia had acquired Studio P.R. so now Columbia Pictures will
research relating to the clarinet and saxophone, with par¬ be able to offer a comprehensive line of educational methods
ticular regard to performance, repertoire, history, design con¬ in addition to involvement in many other areas of the enter¬
struction and maintenance together with reviews of con¬ tainment field.
certs, books, new music and recordings.
Rosemary Lang, for years Professor of Clarinet at Butler
• To organize or encourage the organization of workshops, lec¬ University in Indianapolis and author of several works for
tures and seminars which are open to the public.
• To encourage the composition, publication and recording of clarinet including Short Cuts to Virtuoso Technique, collapsed
works for, or including, the clarinet or saxophone. and died of a heart attack February 5th. The ICS extends to
• To encourage research into the development of the design her family our deepest sympathy.
and construction of the instruments. I'll look forward to seeing many of you at Oberlin July
• To provide a lending library service for members. 22nd thru the 26th this summer for the International Clari¬
• To make available an insurance scheme for members. net Society Conference. I do hope those of you whom I don't
• To furnish members with expert advice. know will come up and introduce yourselves to me. Bring a
friend, too; the ICS can always use new members.
The Annual Congress
The society's Annual Congress takes place in July each year
at which members from throughout Britain as well as from
overseas come together for a weekend of recitals, lectures,
demonstrations, clinics and workshops.
The Annual Teachers' Course
This is held at Easter each year and is specifically designed c
for teachers of the clarinet and saxophone. i net s
AI1
Membership Fees fees to be paid in Sterling The Clarinet is the official journal of the International
SUBSCRIPTIONS Clarinet Society. Published quarterly, it is sent without
U.K. & Eire Europe All Other
Individual membership £12.00 £14.00 £15.00 charge to all members.
Student membership £ 6.00 £ 8.00 £ 9.00 Membership is open to anyone interested in the clarinet
Senior citizens £ 6.00 £ 8.00 £ 9.00 upon payment of annual dues. The following types of
Family membership £14.50 £16.50 £17.50 membership are available:
Affiliated Membership • Active and Student: The only category of mem¬
bership with voting privileges. U.S., Canada,
Commercial, industrial Mexico, $15 annually. All other countries $25 an¬
concerns and nually, which covers the extra cost of mailing The
professional groups £30.00 £34.00 £35.00
Amateur and Clarinet magazine.
educational groups £18.00 £22.00 £23.00 • Associate: A nonvoting membership available to
ALL ABOVE FEES HAVE A £1.00 DISCOUNT IF PAID BY STANDING ORDER. libraries, publishers, dealers, and others with an
active interest in the clarinet music profession.
Membership applications and enquiries to: $15 annually.
The Membership Secretary Send payment by check or money order in U.S. currency to:
Susan Moss
24c Wellwood Road NORMAN HEIM
Goodmayes mSJ 7402 Wells Boulevard
Essex 1G3 8TR Hyattsville, MD 20783

4 — The Clarinet
 The most
respected name
in woodwinds offers
an exceptional line
of clarinets. Designed
musically and mechanically
to be an asset to the aspiring
student musician and worthy
of the name... Armstrong.

1000 Industrial Parkway

Elkhart, Indiana 46514 "
Write for your free "Armstrongdr Music" wall poster.
i The most respected name In woodwinds.
SIP
 International Clarinet Society

1985 CONFERENCE

Oberlin College Conservatory of Music

Oberlin, Ohio

July 22-26, 1985

6 — The Clarinet
 Robert Marcellus

Robert Marcellus, the eminent clarinetist

and teacher, will be a featured participating
artist. He will conduct masterclasses open to
all registrants and will work with a limited
number of students. For more information
on masterclass participation write the Con¬
ference.

Participating artists as of February 1, 1985:

Walter Boeykens, principal clarinet, Philharmonic William McColl, professor of clarinet, Washington
Orchestra of the B.R.T., Brussels State University
Larry Combs, principal clarinet, Chicago Symphony David Ross, professor of clarinet, University of Texas
Orchestra at El Paso
J. Lawrie Bloom, clarinet and bass clarinet, Chicago Lawrence McDonald, professor of clarinet, Oberlin
Symphony Orchestra College Conservatory of Music
Russell Dagon, principal clarinet, Milwaukee Hans Rudolf Stalder, principal clarinet, Tonhalle
Symphony Orchestra Orchestra, Zurich
James Gillespie, professor of music, North Texas State Jean Kopperud, free-lance clarinetist
University Uwharrie Clarinet-Percussion Duo
William McColl, professor of clarinet, University Yokohama Clarinet Ensemble
of Washington Jazz Clarinetist Frederick Starr
Special events:
• World Premieres for clarinet. Works by William Lath¬ ICS Concerts by Conference registrants
am, Edward Miller, William Sydeman, Paul Martin Jazz Performances by Henry Duckham and Fred Starr
Polombo, Conrad Cummings, Ralph Turek, and Enrique Lectures and Performances on chalumeaux, antique
Raxach clarinets, and basset horns
Exhibitors:
Instrument and accessory manufacturers, mouthpiece makers and publishers.
Facilities:
The Oberlin College Conservatory of Music has excellent concert halls and abundant practice rooms and rehearsal
space. Housing and dining facilities are moderately priced and conveniently located to the Conservatory.
Oberlin:
45 minutes from downtown Cleveland. 30 minutes from Cleveland's Hopkins Airport. Limousine and college
transportation will be available.
Costs:
Pre-registration (prior to June 30, 1985) $135 Husband and wife $175
Registration (after June 30) $150 Student group rate (three or more) $ 98
Dining and housing Jor the Conference period:: (Includes five nights lodging (Sunday through Thursday) and meals.)
Single occupancy per person $140.00 Double occupancy per person $115.00
The International Clarinet Society 1985 Conference
To register, write: Oberlin College Conservatory of Music
Oberlin, OH 44074 (216) 775-8643
Pre-registration date has been moved from June 15 (announced earlier) to June 30 to accommodate publishing and mailing date
of The Clarinet. Heavy pre-registration activity suggests early registrations to ensure reservations.

The Clarinet — 7
 1985 International Clarinet Society Conference Schedule

July 21 July 22 July 23 July 24 July 25 July 26

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY
8:00 ICS MEETING

8:30

9:00 Opening Remarks Competition Lecture: The Masterclass II Presentation: "New

Finals Early History Robert Marcellus Lines of Inquiry Into
9:30 Recital: of the Clarinet Clarinet Design" by
James Gillespie by David Ross John Nurenberg
10:00 Lecture: "Physical Yamaha
Stress and the Corporation
10:30 Recital: Instrumentalist" by Lecture Recital: ICS Concert III
Uwharrie Duo Dr. Richard Lederman The Basset Horn
11:00 ICS Concert 1 and its History
11:30 by William McColl
12:00

12:30

1:00 Lecture: Berg's Lecture: The Creative

Chamber Works For Artistic Personality:
1:30 Clarinet Recital: J. Lawrie Masterclass 1 Implications for
Dennis Nygren Bloom, Clarinet & Robert Marcellus Clarinetists" by
Bass Clarinet Dr. Stuart Zetzer
2:00 Recital: Concert: Starr and
Lawrence McDonald Company. S. Frederick
2:30 Starr, clarinet
3:00

3:30 COMPETITION Concert: Concert: Henry ICS Concert III

Semi Finals Jean Kopperud Duckham Quintet
4:00

4:30 Mozart Quintet:

Smithsonian Chamber
5:00 Players
5:30 Gala Conference
6:00 Film: "Time Is All Film: "Time Is All
You've Got": Artie You've Got": Artie
6:30 Shaw Documentary Shaw Documentary
7:00

8:00 Recital: L. Combs Recital: R. Dagon

8:30 Recital: W. Boeykens Recital: H.R. Stalder

8 — The Clarinet
 The International Clarinet Society
1985 Conference
Oberlin College Conservatory of Music

COMPETITION

July 21, 1985

Eligibility' Open to all clarinetists who shall not have reached the age of 22 years by January 1,
1986.

Application: The following materials should be submitted, postmarked no later than June 15,
1985 and mailed to:
ICS 1985 Conference Competition
Oberlin College Conservatory of Music
Oberlin, Ohio 44074
1. Application fee check for $15.00 (current ICS member) or $20.00 (non-member)
made out to ICS 1985 Conference Competition. Fee is non-refundable.
2. Good quality reel-to-reel or cassette tape recording containing repertoire indicated
below. Tape should be two-track stereo, recorded in one direction at 7 V2 ips. The
name, address, telephone number of the contestant and the repertoire should be af¬
fixed to the cassette or the reel. The sequence of the selections on the tape should
correspond to the repertoire list (Weber, followed by contestant's selection).
3. A separate written statement attesting that the recording is the playing of the con¬
testant. The statement should show the name, address, telephone number, class
level and name of the school or college (if a currently enrolled student) and age of
the contestant as of January 1, 1986. Statement should be signed by contestant.

Repertoire: Preliminary tapes which must have piano accompaniment should include the follow¬
ing:
1) Weber, Concerto No. 1 in F minor, Op. 73, mvts. II and III.
2) Selection of the contestant's choice, not to exceed eight minutes. Work may be an
etude, unaccompanied piece, or portion of a larger work.
Semifinals and finals to be held at Oberlin will include preliminary repertoire, plus
Spohr, Concerto No. 2 in E-flat, Op. 57, mvt. I.

Awards: The top three finalists will have a choice, based on their ranking in the Competition,
of a professional line clarinet from a leading manufacturer. The Conference will have
tuition fee waived for the three finalists.
The person judged the best clarinet enrolled in high school grades 9, 10, 11 and 12 at
the time of the competition will be awarded a cash prize of $250.00. Should this person
not be one of the three finalists, conference tuition fee will be waived for that individual
also.

Judging: Judges will be participating artists of the Conference.

Semifinals will take place on Sunday, July 21, at the Oberlin Conservatory of Mu¬
sic. The final round will take the form of a public concert early in the Conference.
Accompanists will be provided, if desired. Repertoire need not be memorized. Semi-
finalists are expected to register for the Conference, and should notify directors of the
Conference of their intent to compete within ten days of notification of acceptance. All
tapes become the property of ICS 1985 Conference Competition.

The Conference is grateful to Yamaha, Boosey-Hawkes Buffet, Leblanc, Selmer, and Conn for donating
instruments, and to the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music for the cash award.

The Clarinet — 9
 Photo courtesy Henry Grossman, People Weekly, © 1984 Time Inc.

By Henry Duckham

I remember seeing a documentary once on the painter, Jackson Pollock. He would lay
out one of his large canvases on the floor and begin dripping paint, covering large
sections in wide sweeps and as he progressed he would return to sections already
worked, adding more, repeating this process of backing, filling and expanding until the
work was completed.
A conversation with Artie Shaw is a lot like that. Over the course of many hours
this artist, educator and only parenthetically clarinetist, would touch on the subject of
great art, education, purpose, perfection and personal development, veer off only to
return to touch on them again. And each returning inevitably filled in the canvas,
further illuminating what had previously been touched. It was a masterclass in the best
sense in that, in the end, the distance between teacher and pupil had diminished while
the pupil's horizons had receded — an image, incidentally, Shaw is fond of calling up.
Shaw's personal horizons have been receding steadily from a very early age. He
talked about how he first got caught up in music...

— The Clarinet
 I drifted into it. Well, as a kid it was a way out of the ghet¬ stepped out on the stage he was now playing a minor third higher
to. But then when I got into it awhile I began to realize there than the piano.
was an awful lot to it. Once I got past the idea of playing in * * *
bands and knocking the guys out and the audience out, I be¬
gan to realize there was a lot to learn. People have asked me What's going on? I've got to learn everything all over
where I've studied and I've said that all my life I've studied again? And in a different key? What is this?! Well at that
with the guy next to me. If I got with a band where I was the point it was either give up music or learn something about it.
best in the band, I'd quit and go to a band where there was So I started learning. And I then got into little orchestras. At
somebody who knew more. In my lectures I give my simple that time I was always the youngest — 14, 15, I began play¬
steps to becoming a genius: 1) Find yourself a genius. 2) ing in bands with guys 19, 20, 21. Eventually I learned
Make friends with him. 3) Follow him around. 4) Watch something about playing in orchestras, and by 1932 or so
everything he does. 5) Do it. Well, without knowing it that was the first-call alto studio man in New York. Incidentally,
was my program. just the other day Arnold Brilhart said to me on the phone
When it really hit me was when I was 19 and I heard Fire¬ "Artie you don't seem to remember. You were the guy we
bird and Afternoon of a Fawn. I took those records home and all knew really had the natural talent." I said "Was that true
began to realize you can learn music from those guys. I then?" "Sure it was true then," Brilhart said. "I knew it; all
didn't know who "those guys" were. I didn't make any dis¬ the guys in the studios knew it. You were always the weird
tinction between what they did and what I was doing except one." That was two or three years after I'd heard Stravinsky
that it was lots better, much more complicated, much more and Bartok and company and it was sort of like the transition
evolved. from C-Melody to E-flat alto because about that time I be¬
When I began to hear Ravel's Alborado del Gracioso and gan to study arranging seriously. I don't mean study with
Daphnis and Chloe, Stravinsky's Petroushka and Le Sacre and somebody. I'd pick up miniature scores — all the way from
Debussy's La Mer — those were influences. Then I began to Mozart to Hindemith and Honegger — and study them.
hear Satie and Bartok, and Schoenberg's Kammersymphonie
and I began thinking in terms of art form. But here I was
playing You are My Lucky Star and Is It True What They Say
About Dixie? to make my living. My God?! And even though
once in a while we'd play something fairly nice, I began to
realize I was the wrong guy in the wrong place.
The point is I found myself selling soap and cigarettes and
automobiles and that wasn't what I'd intended to do. But at
that time where was there to go? There were no decent bands
you could join, no working jazz bands. Casa Loma was
around but that was not really much of a jazz band. So that
by the time I was 23 I found myself pretty much at a dead
end. Writing seemed to be the only thing I could do to get off
that treadmill where I would be playing Is It True What They
Say About Dixie? week after week for the rest of my life. You
see that was the kind of thing you did on those programs.
And, as a matter of fact, the worse they were musically the
more money they seemed to pay. I still get nightmares when
I recall one program called Manhattan Merry-Go-Round.
So by the time I was 23 I decided I'd get out of the music
business altogether and bought a farm. I bought a 27-acre
place in Bucks County, Pennsylvania from a poet, Isadore
Schneider, who used to write for the magazine New Masses
which in those days was still respectable. That was, of
course, before Joe McCarthy scared the hell out of all of us
here in America. I lived out there for a year or so trying to
write a book. Chopped wood for a living. Almost chopped
my finger off. Actually I was kind of pleased because that
would have taken away that choice. You see it would have
made it tougher for me to go back to playing. But then the
finger grew back and — well, therein hangs a tale.
* * *

Shaw's first instrument was a C melody saxophone and he

talks about winning amateur night contests playing Charlie
My Boy, saving up those contest winnings and buying an alto Artie Shaw
saxophone and then discovering, to his amazement, that when he Photo courtesy Henry Grossman, People Weekly, © 1984 Time Inc.

The Clarinet — 11
 In the glory days
The conversation moves to writing and literature. Shaw talks
about the writer's craft, and that if you're going to be a good
writer you ought to be able to write about anything. It's what
he's been doing for most of the last thirty years since he played
his swansong at the Embers in 1954 with a quintet made up of
people like Hank Jones on piano, Tal Farlow on guitar and
Tommy Potter on bass.
He has since published two books — one non-fiction and the
other a series of three novellas, and has a file drawer full of short
stories, as well as some 1300 manuscript pages of a novel more
or less semi-autobiographical, but fictional ("Fiction is the only
way to write the truth without getting involved in a million law¬
suits. "), about a young jazz musician who is extremely preco¬
cious, very young and in a terrible rush. We talked about mor¬
tality and Dylan Thomas' admonition in his poem Do Not Go
Gentle Into That Good Night.
* * *
The idea of going gently is stupid. Beethoven shook his fist
at death. I've got something about that in my book. When
12 — The Clarinet
Photo courtesy Brigitte Berman
my young guy at age 19 runs up a flight of steps on a hot day
and hears this pounding in his chest, he lies down and waits
for it to subside. All at once it occurs to him that one day it
will subside all the way to a complete stop. And he just can't
get that through his head. At which point he starts thinking
what a monstrous joke that maniac up there we call God is
perpetrating on us: "Why, that's got to be the most sadistic,
terrible joke anyone ever made. How could anybody do
that? Christ, there's so much to learn, so much to do, so
much to find out. And for what? So I can end up as dead as a
dog lying in a gutter? Man, that really is a sick joke!" At that
point, of course, he's too young to see the real point of living.
If there is a point, that is!
* * *
I asked Shaw about his early experiences in the music business
in the New York studios.
* * *
I played with the CBS staff band and occasionally we
joined forces with the CBS Symphony Orchestra under the
direction of Harold Barlow. There were some very good mu-
sicians there at the time —Johnny Corigliano who later be¬
came concertmaster for the New York Philharmonic and Ni-
colai Berezowsky who wrote an excellent clarinet concerto
among other things, who was probably one of the finest com¬
posers of that period. I don't know what's happened to his
music but it's bound to come back; it's first-rate stuff. Any¬
way there were guys like that and also the clarinetist Daniel
Bonade. What a player. Man, he was really something. I re¬
member a luncheon many years later when Benny Goodman
and I were talking about various things and he asked me
what I thought about Reginald Kell. I said "too schmaltzy."
What about Bellison? "Too much the other way — a little
rigid." "Well, who do you like?" Benny finally asked. I
said, "Dan Bonade. Bonade's my idea of the consummate
clarinet player." He said, "Who's he? I don't know his
work." I said, "Well, he's a Frenchman, a big burly guy
and he plays beautifully; fluent technique, beautiful tone,
tongue like a snake and he can do anything. His playing is
lovely, truly." Well, Benny went on asking me about this
guy and that guy until finally I said, "Benny, you're too
hung up on the clarinet." He said, "What are you talking
about, that's what we play isn't it?" I said, "No, I've been
trying to play music." You know, I truly believe that's the
first time he seriously ever had to consider the notion that the
clarinet is a means, not an end. I don't think the realization
lasted long because he went right back to the end again.
Maybe it's that he doesn't have the ear or the proper kind of
sensibility — it could be just that. Because the fact is that
musical sensibility is everything. Without it, I don't care
how fluent you are or how proficient. Anyway that pretty
much says what I've been trying to say here — we weren't
doing the same things. Linear approach is certainly a large
part of what the music is about, and that reached a kind of
peak with Bach after which it got lost for awhile. Even so,
none of the great composers ever forgot to write a melody.
In the 30s and 40s people were making all the inevitable
comparisons between Benny and me although I myself never
saw any real reason for comparison. I mean we weren't aim¬
ing at the same thing. I noticed in your interview with him
he studiously avoids mentioning my name, talks about other
clarinetists as if I never existed. It's as though he wishes I
were never there and if he avoids thinking about me I'll go
away. Well, of course I did go away a long time ago when I
finally quit the business in 1954. Normally, I don't like put¬
ting people down because it sounds sour and small-minded
but, my God, you'd think a guy like Benny would grow up
as he gains security, or at least would become a little more as¬
sured so he wouldn't have to revise history.
* * * ten cook fish with the head and tail still on — entrails and
And while Shaw's drive for perfection is still unswerving
there is an uncommon tolerance for those who fall short of it.
* * * ing of a fish. So Picasso picked it up and wandered off.
It seems to me that artists in general are entitled to be
judged by the best they do. I mean, people are inclined to
pick them apart, to expect perfection every time. It's almost
like expecting a tennis player to make an ace against Mc¬
Enroe or Connors on every serve. It can't be done. After all,
what do we remember about Roger Bannister? That he
broke the four-minute mile. We don't dwell on how many
times Babe Ruth struck out. Who cares? What is this unfor¬
giving thing toward artists who, after all, do their developing
in public? Because that's what an artist is really about. He's
doing the best he can every time he lays himself out there,
but God knows, he's only human and we're all flawed. I re¬
member when Billy Butterfield joined my band, and one
night splattered a note all over the place reaching for some¬
thing he couldn't quite make, and then came up to me after¬
wards and said, "Man, I'm sorry." And I said, "Forget it.
Hell, if you didn't do that once in a while, I'd know you
weren't trying."
* * *
A recurring theme in a Shaw conversation is the universality
of all knowledge and the compelling need for any artist to know
and integrate many fields.
* * *
Artie Shaw with clarinetist Dick Johnson.
Photo courtesy Henry Grossman, People Weekly, © 1984 Time Inc.
Certain cross references, certain contexts are bound to
feed into whatever you do because you don't do things in a
vacuum. A person can't be a great musician and not know
something about painting, for instance. There's a nice story
about Picasso that took place when David Douglas Duncan
was doing his book on Picasso, who at that time was living
with Frangoise Gilot, I believe. The three of them were hav¬
ing lunch and eating fish. And you know the Europeans of¬
everything. So Picasso cleaned out his fish and was finally
down to the bones. Well, there was this skeleton, this head
and tail in the shape of a fish — a sort of childlike stick draw¬
Didn't say anything; just left. And Duncan thought, "Well I
suppose he'll be back." But he didn't return. Finally Dun¬
can said to Gilot, "Is he coming back?" And she said, "No,
no. He's probably off somewhere doing something. When he
gets an idea, he goes away and does it." Duncan said,
"Where do you think I'll find him?" She said, "Try the cer¬
amics studio." So he went there, knocked, heard "Entrez"
The Clarinet — 13
 Shaw with his new band speaking to the audience in Brockton, Massachusetts, October 1984.
Photo courtesy Henry Grossman, People Weekly, © 1984 Time Inc.

and found Picasso had prepared an oval plaque of soft plaster
in which he made an imprint of the fish skeleton. He had
stuck various things around it. A stone, a piece of this and
that, a feather, a piece of seaweed and whatever. When it
was all done he had this peculiar object. Picasso held it up
and said in Spanish, "Que cosa mas rara. " Which is Spanish
for "bizarre, unusual, intriguing." Not "good or bad."
None of that. Just what a strange thing. As if to say, "Look,
has anyone ever made anything like this before?" He ob¬
viously got a kick out of it and, of course, that's what a large
part of this thing we call "art" is all about.
* * * the subject could have been poetry or any other art, it
Until the renaissance of his new band, Shaw had been spend¬
ing his mornings working on his novel. His studio occupies the
top floor of his home in California, halfway between Los Angel¬
es and Santa Barbara. It is a comfortable, roomy but unpreten¬
tious house with a spectacular view of the hills. But it is the stu¬
dio that is astounding. For occupying almost every conceivable
bit of wall space are wooden, unpainted shelves from floor to
ceiling jammed with, and groaning under the weight of, an im¬
mense collection of books. Our interview was punctuated by re¬
ferences to various volumes — a wonderful cartoon by Abner
Dean, The Artist; a magical book by Canadian author, Ray
Kinsella, Shoeless Joe, and Zen in the Art of Archery by
Eugen Herrigel. The book on Zen had particular meaning for
Shaw, the performer...
* * *
That book deals with means versus ends. It really says now
is all you have so do it — now. The author who is German,
goes to Japan to study with a Zen archery master; actually
wouldn't matter. The Zen master says here is the bow,
here's the arrow and here you are and these are the steps to
the way. Never mind the target — that will take place in its
own time. But the pupil, the German who has gone there to
study, is still obsessed with the western notion of trying to hit
the target until he finally learns that the end is merely secon¬
dary and that when the self is forgotten, the end somehow
takes care of itself.
* * *

14 — The Clarinet
 I comment on Shaw's fluidity and connection with the instru¬
ment — the sense of playing through it the way that Tatum and
Parker did, something Buddy DeFranco had commented on
Shaw's playing in my interview with him.
* * *
Well, at a certain point I totally concentrated on the
means. The instrument was everything — almost as though
it were an extension of myself. When you hit a musical
phrase that felt right you knew you were in tune with the uni¬
verse as the Zen people put it. Suddenly everything came
through in a way that was — well, right. Never quite totally
right, of course, but you felt that one of these days you'd
have it all. It's very difficult to put into words, but it's a little
like the character in Moliere's Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme where
someone tells him he is speaking prose and he marvels at the
idea he has been speaking prose all his life. You see, I didn't
realize that as an instrumentalist I'd been dealing with Zen
most of my adult life. But then eventually, once I got in¬
volved with music I became less interested in the clarinet as
an end in itself. After all, once you learned to play it, you
pretty much had that; as the man said: "The medium is the
message," etc. Anyway, I was never terribly concerned
whether or not the message would work for the large audi¬
ence. All that was just part of the picture. I mean, that's the
business part of it. OK. I've got this band. I've got to pay
the guys X number of dollars a week. So obviously I've got
to attract an audience to pay the weekly nut. Also you need
Photo courtesy Brigitte Berman
business managers, lawyers, PR people, arrangers, what¬
ever. It's all part of it and that's a big distraction, of course.
But what really mattered to me was the fundamental idea to
make music. As a result I let people steal me blind. But I was It's funny. I didn't think I'd done anything worthwhile. It
never concerned with that, and, as a matter of fact, I lost seemed like it would be many years until I got away from the
millions of dollars. But the real problem arose when the audi¬ Groucho Marx concept that I wouldn't belong to any coun¬
ence began saying, "Stay where you are. Don't change it. try club that would have me as a member. If you've read The
We like it the way it is." I kept trying to point out that I ar¬ Trouble With Cinderella [Shaw's autobiographical first book
rived there on my way to developing into something else and published in 1952] you'll know what I'm talking about. I had
I still had to keep moving ahead to get where I set out to go. a very screwed-up opinion of myself. In short, if I did it, it
You know, there is a Dryden line, He who lives to please, couldn't really be much good. I felt I was kidding people,
pleases to live. Fair enough but I didn't want to live to please, that they were being taken in by me. Even at the peak of my
or vice versa. So eventually I had to get out. People ask me, success part of me kept saying, "Oh well, that's ok but I
"Do you miss it?" That's like asking a man who had to cut don't really value any of it." It's taken me all those years to
off his right arm because it was gangrenous if he misses it — come to the point where I finally know who I am. Along the
obviously he does. But he didn't want to die. So I simply had way I lay on a couch for four years unlearning all the gar¬
to get out of the music business. And, of course, when a guy bage that had been laid on me by my education, the culture
gives up several million dollars he has to have fairly compel¬ and the society we live in. Analysis is only one way of think¬
ling reasons. My compelling reason was I wanted to live, not ing, one way of seeing and I can't say it works for everyone,
die. It's that simple. I suppose that sounds awfully pat but but in my case it helped immensely because when I went into
it's true. I am convinced that if I had stayed in it, I'd be dead it I was at a point I figured any change would be an improve¬
by now. ment. In other words, I was no longer able to live with me in
* * *
the world I lived in. W^hat's the line? "Alone and all afraid in
There is the public persona. The man of multiple retirements a world I never made." That's what it was like. I never
from the music business and multiple marriages. The protean made this world. I didn't like it, and I didn't want to be a
accomplishments — writer, clarinetist, leader, band lecturer, part of it. But then gradually after some years of analysis it
educator, farmer, film composer and distributor, fly fisherman began to open up and I realized to some extent you make
and precision rifleman with world class ranking in a national your own world. It's something you have to do. You can't
expect miracles but you do what you can to make things a lit¬
competition. But there is the inner self, and Shaw recalls his
tle better, for yourself anyway.
struggles to gain a different sense of himself.

The Clarinet — 15

Artie Shaw
Photo courtesy Henry Grossman, People Weekly, © 1984 Time Inc.
The conversation returns to the clarinet. I already knew that
Artie hadn 't studiedformally with anyone and his first book tells
us he came to the clarinet after he had played the saxophone for a
couple of years.
When I did that thing with Whiteman ["The Blues" re¬
corded with Paul Whiteman and His All American Band.
Live at Carnegie Hall in 1938], I had that horn in my mouth
eight to ten hours a day. I was working all the time. I didn't
have time to practice. Hardly had time to change reeds.
Sometimes I'd play a chunk of reed right out. I'd go to hit a
high A or B or C and suddenly I had no reed. I'd have to
grab another. People are always asking me what mouthpiece
I used. I never did know, I just hunted around until I found
one that felt reasonably good. Then I would get a piece of
emery paper and fool with it until I got it to where I wanted
it. My upper register developed from playing in front of a
strong brass section when microphones weren't very good
16 — The Clarinet
and large speakers didn't exist. I couldn't compete with
trumpets playing high Ds and E-flats so I had to play high Gs
and As and Bs and even Cs to get above them. In most clari¬
net literature there's no reason for that. I decided though ifl
were going to play up there it should sound like normal
notes. I didn't see any reason for the tone to thin out. I
worked at it until it came out. But I didn't work at it practic¬
ing in a room; I did it in front of my band. You know, you
were playing in dance halls the size of Zeplin hangars. There
was one microphone in front of the whole band. Today you
see a wall full of speakers and everybody's got a mike up his
nostril.
I've done a lot of thinking about why the clarinet fell out of
favor. As a matter of fact they sent a guy over from Time
magazine when I was living in Spain. He located me in an
obscure little place that wasn't even on the map and asked
me that very question. Time was asking Goodman, Woody
Herman and me and I gave him a lot of speculative answers
but they all boiled down to one or two sentences. The one
that I still think is probably closest to the truth, but I can't
swear it is the number one answer, is that it's harder than
most instruments to make sound good in jazz. Very tough to
play a lot of the chromatic chords you use in modern jazz.
Guitar, of course, is marvellous. You just move your fingers
one fret up or down and you've got another key; piano too.
The other thing I think is very important is that when I was
playing we were living in a much more innocent era. Drugs
were practically unheard of. But the beginning of the cool
and bop eras right after the war coincided with the demise of
the clarinet. It's interesting because about that time every¬
thing, including the language, became fuzzy. The word
"like" crept into the language. "Like, man," "Like, cool,"
"like" "like" "like" — and the language became hazy and
blurry. The clarinet, on the other hand, is a clear instru¬
ment. You can't be fuzzy on it. The clarinet's very precise; if
you miss a note you get a squeak or a squawk. Trumpet, for
instance, you can play in between the notes and get away
with it. Flute has become a jazz instrument but you know it's
not as precise or as good a jazz instrument as the clarinet.
I visited Artie Shaw in August of 1983. At that time Book-
of-the-Month records had not yet released "Artie Shaw. A
Legacy. " But he had the initial cuts which he was in the process
of remixing. A great good fortune for me because he played a good
number of those works. There was a performance of the Mozart
Share
your
society . . .
Acquaint your colleagues,
students, and friends with
the benefits of ICS membership!
 Quintet with a studio pick up group. Crystalline tone, tasteful
and unobtrusive vibrato and a vitality and drive that clarinetists
more traditionally focused could well learn from. There was a
performance of the Berezowsky Concerto recorded in Carnegie
Hall in 1938 with the National Youth Symphony, Leon Barzin
conducting. Demanding, humorous and much more than a
period work it was recorded during the year that Shaw had
dedicated essentially to playing longer form works. Perhaps the
most stunning display of virtuosity and holistic music-making
was to be heard on the Gramercy Five recordings made while
Shaw was in the midst of one of his final engagements at the
Embers in New York City in early 1954. Working with first-
rate mainstream musicians from the bop era the Shaw on these
recordings is a far more evolved and complex player than we
know from his early 30s and 40s cuts. There is an unexpected
and complete grasp of the contemporary idiom, an adventuresome
linearity and an awesome fluidity that bespeaks the falling away
from the instrument itself and the instant translation of innerness
to music-making.

I hadn't played for about a year and a half when I made

these records, but I had been listening a lot. When I put this
group together I wanted to work with modern players. I
thought I'm not going to play like I did anyway. There was a
lot of evolution in those recordings. Also a lot of risk taking.
The point I keep trying to make to people is that you're
never satisfied.
Artie Shaw Photo courtesy Brigitte Berman

Well we haven't talked a lot about the clarinet, have we?

I'm aware of that, but as I told you at the beginning that
isn't really where my interests lie too much these days.
We've been listening to music here. It happens to be a clari¬
net, but it wouldn't matter very much. I'm just as interested
in what Hank Jones plays, or Tad Farlow or whomever.

It is interesting to speculate about the present position of the

clarinet in the world of improvised jazz had Shaw continued
performing. It seems more than likely his playing would have
continued to evolve and might well have served as a continuing
model for us to accomplish what psychologist Jerome Bruner
calls "pushing back the limits of what is possible. " We should
all be grateful for the remarkable work on what the Book-of-the-
Month Club has aptly called "A Legacy. "As important as his
contribution to the clarinet has been, what Shaw reveals to us as
an open, dedicated and searching artist and human being is per¬
haps most meaningful of all.

About the writer...

Henry Duckham is Director of External Affairs for the
Oberlin College Conservatory of Music and is active as a
clarinetist performing both notated and improvised works.
Photo courtesy Brigitte Berman © 1985, Henry Duckham

The Clarinet — 1 7
Claranalysis
By Lee Gibson
Fraising (undercutting)
tone holes of the clarinet
A history of fraising in woodwind instruments
The practice of fraising of tone holes of a thick-walled
woodwind instrument is a venerable one which necessarily
developed with the design and construction of the first
multiple-register woodwinds.
Aside from the adjustabilities provided by mouthpieces,
embouchures, reeds, and speaker vents, a woodwind maker
has perhaps three areas for controlling the ratios of frequen¬
cies of the successive modes. They are (1) choice of a bore
which most favorably relates the first three or four registers
to each other, (2) placement and sizing of tone holes so that
each produces a full and secure tone with the chosen bore
and mechanisms, and (3) providing an exactly appropriate
amount and quality of fraising for each tone hole, so that its
resultant tones are of proper color and resistance, and pro¬
duce well-tempered scale intervals in each useful mode.
For the conical metal reed instruments, the saxophones
and their double-reed relatives, the Sarrusophones, larger
bores are necessary to accommodate the larger tone holes
which cannot be fraised.
With the very small oboe bore and its rather small tone
holes, most holes require very considerable amounts of frais¬
ing to produce, as Benade has described, appropriately low
and uniform "tone-hole cutoff frequencies,"1 as well as
practical overblown-mode frequencies.
The bore of the bassoon, larger than that of a bass oboe
which might play in a similar but less extended range, and
much smaller than that of a comparably-pitched saxophone,
conveniently uses moderately small tone holes having very
little need for fraising. Of the bassoon's two lowest and most
problematic second-mode vents, F-sharp and G, the G, with
its split venting, seemingly cannot utilize much fraising and
therefore requires corrective fingering.
Theobald Boehm's unprecedented, complete mechanical
and acoustical revision of the flute required for its lower,
larger tone holes, which were not to be fraised, a much larg¬
er, nearly cylindrical bore. Kendall's article on Boehm in
Grove's (1954) describes Buffet's and Triebert's efforts to
produce Boehm-system oboes and bassoons. In the case of
the oboe, at least, the Boehm system's use of much larger
tone holes failed because of the relative stridency of its tones.
To this date Boehm's principles have yet to be successfully
applied to any reed-instrument family, the misnomer of
International Clarinet Society
=0 ©©KlIF
Oberlin College Conservatory of Music
Oberlin Ohio — July 22-26,
18 — The Clarinet
"Boehm Clarinet" not withstanding.
Coming now to the clarinet family, which currently in¬
cludes Ivan Miiller's system (as improved by many, such as
Carl Baermann, the Mahillons and Alberts in Brussels, and
Oehler, the Uebels, and the Wurlitzers in Germany), and
the Klose-Buffet "Boehm" system: The first clarinets, hav¬
ing almost no keys, were necessarily made in smaller bores
with small tone holes which were easily coverable by the fin¬
gers, and fraising of tone holes was essential for providing
usable pitches in different registers. Unfortunately, as a pre¬
ference for larger bores developed, many makers, including
some of high repute, remained unaware of the complete re¬
pertory of the effects of fraising and failed to properly dimin¬
ish the amount of fraising which they applied to tone holes of
larger-bored clarinets, further contributing to a general im¬
pression that clarinets had to play sharp in the chalumeau re¬
gister and would also be flat in the middle of the clarion
register.
The manufacturer-player team of Henri and Alexandre
Selmer was among the first to discover in the twentieth cen¬
tury that larger bores could do quite well with almost no
fraising whatsoever, and from 1920 to 1932 Selmer's 14.85
mm. soprano clarinets in this model reached a level of excel¬
lence which is hardly to be found anywhere in 1985 in an un-
fraised clarinet. German makers have remained convinced
of the superiority of the original system, and their 15 mm.
instruments are still rather uniformly and highly fraised, in
order to produce the sounds to which German players and
audiences have been accustomed. Actually, the 15 mm. Ger¬
man system is superior in intonation to the unimproved
Boehm in the same bore, having better venting for B/F-
sharp and the upper E/B, as well as the indispensable Oehler
B-flat/F resonance vent.
During the first half of the twentieth century the venerable
firm of Buffet Crampon followed the popular trend with
somewhat larger bores, without, however, making the neces¬
sary reduction in fraising which would have enabled their
Boehm clarinets to compete with the overwhelmingly suc¬
cessful Selmers. In 1945 this nearly bankrupt firm employed
as its plant manager and designer the highly talented and as¬
tute Robert Carree (died c. 1981). Within fifteen years Buf¬
fet Crampon's success with Carree's 14.6 mm. soprano clar¬
inets was followed by almost every important maker's gradu¬
al abandonment of the 15 mm. standard.
It should be noted here that in any soprano clarinet of the
now expected 14.6 mm. to 14.75 mm. range fraising be-
1985
comes an indispensable part of its design, since the reduced
bore emphasizes the speaker vent's upwards displacement of
the pitches at each end of the clarion register. For such a 14.6
mm. Boehm system B-flat clarinet of 17 keys and six rings,
then, fraising (in degrees of 1 to 5) will have been provided at
the factory for the primary hole opened for each tone, as fol¬
lows:
CLARION REGISTER PITCHES
B C C# D Eb E F F# F# (x) G G# A Bb B C C#
4522211122113543
Fig. 1 — Relative amounts of fraising applied to the primary
vent for clarion-register tones, Buffet Crampon 14.6 mm. R 13
B-flat clarinet.
* Fraising is applied to these tones to produce evenly colored
and resistive tones, not to bring down the clarion-register pit¬
ches (although the latter occurence is inevitable).
** For the bell-tone B, fraising is provided by the longer
taper and the reduced bore at the bell.
The attributes of proper fraising of clarinets
Fraising of tone holes is done at the factory with precise
machine tools designed specifically for each hole. The follow¬
ing statements are characteristics of the best practice for clar¬
inets.
1. Narrow-angle fraising, in which the interior diameter of
a fraised hole is rarely made over 25% wider than the
exterior diameter, is the rule. Wider fraising causes ex¬
cessive resistance, stuffiness, and a loss of pitch stability.
Excessively deep, too concave fraising can produce too
much rejection of high frequencies.
2. Rounding of interior edges of tone holes, which has been
advocated by some acoustical experts, can improve li¬
quidity in connecting tones, but this is accomplished
with a loss of pitch stability and control, and is therefore
not advised.
3. The fraised wall of a tone hole should preferably be gent¬
ly concave, as is the case of proper machining in the fac¬
tory. When fraising has to be done with a fine, oval file
by hand, the resultant fraised wall should be straight and
even, not convex. If a fraised tone hole needs more frais¬
ing, avoid at all costs any substantial widening of the in¬
terior diameter of the hole.
4. Unless it is advisable to effectively lower or raise the lo¬
cation of a tone hole by fraising upon one side or the
other, fraising should be evenly applied to the entire cir¬
cumference of the hole, again avoiding any substantial
widening of the interior diameter. Attempts to bore clar¬
inet tone holes at different angles, as in a bassoon, are
mostly counterproductive since they usually cause exces¬
sive wind noise and deterioration of tone quality in the
high pressure, high wind resistance, and smaller tone
holes of the clarinet.
5. Fraising the upper side of a tone hole always raises the
fundamental-mode frequency, while slightly decreasing
the ratios of the overblown frequencies.
6. Fraising the lower side of a tone hole lowers the cutoff
frequency (again decreasing the ratios of the overblown
frequencies) without substantially altering the funda¬
mental-mode frequency.
7. Designers and makers are quite aware of intonational
defects in their instruments, and they undoubtedly be¬
lieve that they have made every possible effort to reach a
best compromise in tuning the different modes. The
player has every right to prefer a slightly different com¬
promise, but should realize that after such an adjust¬
ment the problem will in all likelihood have been shifted
to one or two other modes, which may call for different
fingerings. (Take, for example, the rather flat thumb
and sidekeys fingering for first-space F-sharp. I prefer to
fraise the second side-key hole upon the upper side, in
no case touching the bottom side of the hole, which
would worsen the drainage problem which already ex¬
ists. This raises the F-sharp considerably and the
C-sharp slightly, which will make covering the D-A hole
even more advisable for the C-sharp.)
8. Do also realize that when wood is removed from a hole
or the bore there is no completely satisfactory way to re¬
place it without time-consuming, expensive, and rather
unlikely surgery. If by chance a tone hole has been ex¬
cessively fraised at the factory (as can happen), this part
of the hole may be filled with successive coats of nail pol¬
ish (which continue to shrink for days but can easily be
removed at any time with polish remover). One who is
acquainted with the use of epoxy can fill and recontour
tone holes, but any undesired residue must be removed
with polish remover within three to five hours. (Do not
use quick-dry epoxy for this. Black epoxy is available
from repair supply houses but translucent epoxy is not
unsightly.)
9. I prefer not to fundamentally redesign a good clarinet,
even in the model of Hans Moennig at his best. Not
even Moennig could be invariably successful at this.
Rather, one is well advised to pick a really fine clarinet
and make only the most minute adjustments to its tone
holes. If the instrument was designed to use a 66 mm.
barrel I would not retune it with a 67 mm. or 68 mm.
barrel.
10. At most first-line factories fine tuning is done with ta¬
pered drills which provide the ability to continuously ad¬
just the amount of upward tuning. The diameter of each
hole is therefore smallest at the onset of its fraising. For
lowering pitches, tape should be applied to the upper
side of the hole, extending around as far as necessary
(but not into the fraised portion). One must remember
that the application of tape to a fraised hole effectively
increases its fraising.
11. For a player who prefers to trust himself or herself with
fine tuning, one should be aware that there are no per¬
fect woodwind instruments, and that each has its own
characteristic faults. Further, one is well advised to con¬
sider that a fault should only be half corrected, and this
only over a period of several weeks.
12. For such minute tuning of a clarinet, the indispensable
tool is a Nicholson X. F. 3!^" Die Sinker's File, two
oval sides, no. 2 cut. Another useful file in this series is
the round file.
ENDNOTE
1. Arthur H. Benade, "Fundamentals of Musical Acoustics,"
Oxford University Press, New York, 1976, pp. 430-504.
The Clarinet — 19
Creativity — a composer's view on music and the clarinet
(EDITOR 'S NOTE: The Kupferman Clarinet Concerto will be performed at the 1985 ICS Conference in Oberlin by Peter Alexander.)
By Meyer Kupferman
Imagine three chords! Powerful chords! Very dissonant,
sensuous orchestral chords! Let them welcome you into the
volatile but essentially private creating world of the compos¬
er.
Now imagine a sneaky ponticello tremolo beginning as a
rumble in the basses and celli, joined by the timpani and cli¬
maxed with a brassy fluttering 12-tone chorale in the trom¬
bones. After a five second "luftpause," the high woodwinds
enter with an ostinato. Chattering trumpets plunge into the
fray as six horns, in terrifying unison glissando, launch an
attack in their most powerful range.
Time seems to stop as forty violins sustain, in pianissimo,
an ethereal chord cluster of glass-like harmonics. Far below
this suspended animation, the contra-bassoon sets its darkest
notes into slow vibration. These sounds, this blood curdling
music which you have just heard in your mind's ear, are the
sounds of my tenth symphony... and they represent a battle
to the death! So be warned: this trip may be dangerous!
Let us open our minds and ears to the music of our time.
Every listener may experience the rich creativity of our new¬
ly won freedoms. Let us make a commitment to the world of
sound as "imaginer" and "receiver" by understanding
those forces involved in our contemporary aesthetic. These
same forces bring us together and keep us clearly to our sepa¬
rate places.
It is difficult to compare the satisfaction that comes with
inventing a new musical score to that of any other artistic ad¬
venture. It is through his music, or the sheer power of sound,
that the composer is the potential source of an enormous en¬
ergy. It can make armies march, celebrate every life ritual,
help people work, dance, play, pray, sleep, concentrate. It
can sell soda-pop, automobiles or cigarettes. It can provide a
discipline for the fingers and the mind, and a unique crucible
for mathematics. In some cultures it can heal the sick. It can
kill. It can make one forget pain and can awaken feelings of
sensuality and love. It can tell stories, make one aware of his¬
torical epochs, distant cultures, and touch the depths of trag¬
ic emotion, fear, joy, honor, anger — even violence.
Today, with the rich potential creativity of the computer
— and its attendant electronic instruments, fresh new direc¬
tions are emerging. The expanding interaction of these elec¬
tronic resources suggest a new era where the composer may
become his own virtuoso soloist, his own full symphony or¬
chestra, just by pressing a few buttons... his own publisher,
because the computer actually spits music paper... scientist,
mathematician engineer, cinematographer and artist... all
rolled into one! I predict that during the next two decades the
computer will, in fact, provide us with a revolution in sound
whose impact and function will offer undreamed of opportu¬
nities to the composer.
Let us begin our exploration of creativity in music with the
realization that musical sounds do not have to be heard to be
real. The composer, in fact, spends 90% of his working time
with imagined sounds and ideas. Naturally, this takes a spe¬
cial gift, a gift of inner hearing — which enables him to dis¬
tinguish precisely pitch, rhythm and orchestration. He must
manipulate in his mind dynamics, melody, counterpoint, at¬
tack, balance... and control, by thought alone, the essentials
of form, style, theoretic system and aesthetic conception.
An experienced composer can do all this without the aid of
any instrument, he feels ideas... then lets his thoughts gener¬
20 — The Clarinet
ate a few musical sounds. Once he makes himself ready for
those volatile internal improvisations, creative events may
soon occur... all silently concentrated inside his head.
Some composers improvise at the piano before they begin
to write things down; but that is usually just a warm-up exer¬
cise. Stravinsky, for example, was once asked about his in¬
cessant piano rambling... he burst into laughter and said:
"Tovarish, I am like a skinny goat hunting around in a junk
yard for something to nibble on." (Let's face it, that old goat
did all right for himself!)
A few composers may have to spend a lot more time at the
piano when they compose... their keyboard becomes a labo¬
ratory in which they can test their ideas... or generate, by
finger contact, new musical thoughts. To an outsider listen¬
ing in, it might sound like an insanely persistent clobbering
of wrong notes, with no resemblance to the musical score
that will eventually emerge. But to the composer, while he
plays — and his fingers are improvising in all directions —
he is, in truth, examining his ideas in slow motion. Harmo¬
nies, melodies and textures are juxtaposed in a kind of men¬
tal playback — a crucible of remembered realities which re¬
quired enormous concentration.
As for myself, I find the simple act of writing very beauti¬
ful; the feeling of fresh manuscript paper, pens, ink, rulers,
electric erasers, pencils, pencil sharpeners, scotch tape,
masking tape, glue, cardboard, paper clips, staplers... in
fact, anything to do with the writing of music, turns me on. I
love beautiful manuscript. Music handwriting is so evocative
that I treat every score-page like a painting. When I write I
feel like a god because every tiny mark I make contains a real
command and a real sound. Often I improvise on paper, dis¬
covering new sonorities by varying the handwriting strokes
or the density of the ink, many times a blot of ink will spill on
the score... before I correct it I always try to find if the mis¬
hap contains a message, like a better note! I imagine a galaxy
of sound in silence and engineer its evolution through a still
deeper silence... writing.
When an emerging musical thought occurs, it may often
be vague, unshaped and quite incomplete. This is what I call
the "hint" of a creative idea. It is like a fisherman who feels
a very faint try at the end of his line. Others, less sensitive,
might ignore those nearly imperceptible movements; but he
begins, ever so gently and evenly, to draw in his line. Thus
the true artist will recognize the distant "hint" of an idea in
its earliest stages; and with patience and love he will haul in
his catch.
I find that it is best to compose during the early hours of
the morning. At that time my own activity for hearing seems
sharpest and my inventive powers seem to function on their
own steam. Later on, in the afternoon, things go downhill —
my musical thoughts are sluggish and I have to work much
too hard, much too deliberately to create the simplest musi¬
cal invention.
I still play the clarinet. I find that performing new "music
by my friends" on the clarinet is creatively stimulating be¬
cause it challenges me with complex ensemble situations and
enables me to probe the interesting conceptions of my col¬
leagues. As an active performing musican, I feel closer to the
reality of music making; this means adhering to a daily disci¬
pline of practice, fussing with reeds, keys, pads and mouth¬
pieces. Also it means playing Mozart, Brahms, Debussy and
 The Garden

of my Father's House

for Violin and Clarinet

Meyer Kupferman
Leoto con rubato (J-60)

V iolin

& f
10
l£V) ' T
Clarinet
(in A)
tt=r
ip i' ■»
/

2
J a (/TM

Jp ^ Jp' Jp
molto
jsr 10
/CN

—
T3 y P f f ff cresc
ff

7 i

Flutter "
Fl
Flutter
^ > ord

TT
TT
fP PP rrtp
psub.

Copyright 1973 by GENERAL MUSIC PUBLISHING CO., INC., Hastings-on-Hudson. N Y. 10706

International Copyright Secured Made in L'.S.A. All Rights Reserved

The Clarinet — 21
other major classics once in a while — which is always good
for the soul. I started out as a jazz musician; even now I love
to compose jazz works for the clarinet. These are usually
very difficult — but I do not mind because it provides me
with fun things to practice. While I am playing I often sense
the onset of a new idea. Perhaps this may trace back to my
youth when I was a symphonic clarinetist: often during re¬
hearsals I would hear a nuance of orchestration and I would
start composing. By the time the rehearsal was over I was ea¬
ger to get to some manuscript paper to write down my ideas.
The same thing would happen every time I played chamber
music. The link between performing and composing for me
and for most of my composer friends who perform — is still a
very strong one.
The flexibility of the clarinet lends itself to continued ex¬
perimentation. Composers today are eager to use multi-
phonics, electronic tape methods, lip slides, flutter tonguing,
glissandi, range extentions, circular breathing, vibrato, elec¬
tronic attachments (even artificial extensions of the clarinet
bell for some extra low notes), quarter-tone trills, unortho¬
dox tremolos, extreme dynamic resources, and a variety of
improvisational devices culled from all these new techniques.
The enormous, impressively even range of the clarinet and
the rich timbres available in that instrument's dark chalu-
meau, for example, are in themselves an attraction to our
composers. (And let us not forget the sensuous floating qual¬
ity of its throat tones, the bell-like roundness of the solo regis¬
ter and the trenchant brilliance of its highest notes.)
As a clarinetist and composer myself I am always on the
lookout for new ways of creating a more exciting gamut of
expressivity on the horn... this, through the kind of direct
experimentation that comes with playing a lot and writing a
lot. I have found that by quickly shifting the clarinet's instru¬
mental settings in my chamber orchestration — the fast in¬
teraction offers me infinite possibilities of design. In my two
clarinet concerti my soloist has to play incredibly fast pas¬
sages in all the registrations of the clarinet, bounce back and
forth from high notes to low notes in split second exchanges
and articulate clearly with all sorts of staccato tricks. It is
challenging to me to try all this out as I write these works. Al¬
so it enables me to coach the soloists with an intrinsic under¬
standing of their problems.
I often apply a certain style of vibrato for transitional pas¬
sages in my own music as well as in music by my friends. Vi¬
brato can be most beautiful in creating a blend with strings
in almost any music — but I think it should be used with
great care and not on every note! The cellist Janos Starker once
explained to me that he only uses vibrato on certain notes in
a phrase, always making sure that some "straight" notes re¬
mained as a natural counterfoil. The contemporary style of
clarinet playing makes it possible to create a counterpoint be¬
tween the vibrato of sustained clarinet tones and the gentle
tonguing of articulated phrases. I must admit that the use of
vibrato for high notes first grew out of my jazz background.
Years later I found, however, there were passages in Moz¬
art, Brahms, Weber and Debussy that seemed to be more ex¬
pressive with a touch of vibrato.
I believe all clarinetists should be able to produce a big
clarinet tone when the music requires it. It has been great
fun for me to explore the sheer natural power of the clarinet.
The right mouthpiece, the right reed, the right lip feel and,
most important, the right concept about one's own "sound
image" should enable any performer to project through
brass and percussion without problem! Could it be that the
22 — The Clarinet
real precursor to the clarinet was some sort of trumpet-like
instrument (like the clarion, perhaps) and that the contem¬
porary clarinet should be able to draw upon equally powerful
resources? Personally, I am not fond of our "new wave" of
pianissimo-styled clarinet soloists. This approach, a relent¬
lessly quiet tone for everything one plays, bores me just as
much as continuously loud playing distresses me. Even
worse, however, is the encapsuling effect of such severely
limited "pianissimo" interpretations of the traditional litera¬
ture or of the 20th-century literature.
From time to time I have enjoyed another type of direct
experimentation: the live clarinet pitted against the tape ma¬
chine — either with pre-taped clarinet lines or synthesized
electronic accompaniments. Indeed there are wonderful pos¬
sibilities in this area alone for any composer or clarinetist.
Now, after completing a big clarinet concerto which was pre¬
miered in March, I am planning a new work called Superclari-
net for clarinet and tape (a sequel to Superflute which I com¬
posed for Sam Baron about a decade ago). The tape will con¬
sist of pre-recorded tracks of E-flat clarinet, A clarinet, bas¬
set horn, bass clarinet, doublebass clarinet and some elec¬
tronic games made possible by the synthesizer. The live clar¬
inetist may be one of us players wearing a Superman shirt,
blowing a plain old Buffet B-flat clarinet and suspended high
above the audience surrounded by floating balloons, each
containing a loudspeaker.
Clarinetists who approach 20th-century music with the
same interpretive attitudes they employ for the classical liter¬
ature may be missing an important creative step. A perform¬
er, born during the last fifty years has a natural affinity for
the total sound-culture of today's music. The world around
him, the TVs, the phonographs, the radios, his music teach¬
ers, his performing experiences, his family, his friends and,
most of all, his own talent, intelligence and ability to absorb
these experiences — all affect the way he plays. Heroes are
also important to each of us: my own childhood heros were
Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Simeon Bellison, and Regin¬
ald Kell. Clearly, if a clarinetist lets himself tune in to the
sound-culture of his time he will sense the right nuances for
such works as the Debussy Rhapsodie, the Stravinsky Three
Pieces, the Berg Vier Stiicke, the Bartok Contrasts, and the Cop¬
land Concerto.
The Stravinsky, for example, has been abused by many
soloists because they refuse to invest the notes of the printed
music with anything of their own contemporary back¬
ground. A bit of analytical observation may yield a far more
complicated first movement than would appear evident to
the naked eye. I always perform this movement as if it were a
duet, with two different tone-colors to separate the voices;
First voice:
Second voice:
The opening motive is based on an old Russian folk tune.
But the answering motive is not. The next phrase contracts
this curious amalgamation still further:
First voice:
Oxw 'n kiLiN£T_r.Dureft.T(^ri<iv<+

ft l»*0+4 **-JHAST Mcyc^-

The Clarinet — 23

Second voice:
Eventually the two voices become intertwined. But I still find
it possible to keep their identities clear by using a darker,
reedier timbre for the first voice and a light-as-air tone for
the second voice. Stravinsky's dynamic instruction at the be¬
ginning — Sempre p e molto tranquillo — should be interpreted
intelligently and not taken at face value. There are many
shades of piano possible on the clarinet, particularly in the
chalumeau. The composer's markings of dashes, breath
points and occasional crescendi should be considered as
clues. The lack of other dynamic indications does not mean
"play it all on one flat level" — which is how, unfortunately,
I have always heard it played. Instead, what we should hear
is a subtle internal phrasing going on all the time!
I find Stravinsky's grace notes particularly challenging!
One usually hears them performed very quietly in the classi¬
cal style of 19th-century embellishments. But my own back¬
ground tells me these grace notes should be accented with a
kind of breath impulse or "belly" accent — very much the
way a Russian folk singer might insert a tiny cry or break in
his voice to enrich the expression of an especially touching
phrase. The trick is to play these grace notes within an accep¬
table range of accent attack but to drop down immediately to
a piano subito on the "real" note which follows:
Bar 14
y * i brightness of sound with the articulations providing a rich
If the player truly commands the full skills of his fingers —
assuming that he has mastered those awkward side-key lev¬
ers that tend to undermine even the finest techniques — his
major considerations will be in these four areas:
1. the way he feeds air into the horn
2. the firmness and sensitivity of his lips
3. his control of the tonguing action
4. his ability to choose the right reed
I never throw reeds away. Some of my best reeds are more
than 25 years old. I enjoy preserving them — which I do
with soap and water; also, I am careful not to use the same
reed two days in a row (for this weakens them). All my reeds
have names — mostly of friends and composers. In this way
I remember the quality of each one over long periods of
time. I never give up on a reed but am forever scraping and
clipping away. My motto is simple: "My kingdom for a
reed!"
As for articulation — certainly the tonguing action is
made freer by a responsive reed. A little cane resistance,
however, is healthy. Also, the style of mouthpiece and the
tightness of the ligature will have some effect. But for a really
good staccato a clear mental image before each attack will
work wonders! In Weber, for example, I keep the image of a
sharp tonguing style bouncing directly off the reed. It is as if
the tongue is throwing short, playful darts at the music. The
picture is different in Brahms: in this music my tongue bare¬
ly touches the reed and when it does it is rarely at "tongue-
24 — The Clarinet
point." I feel these attacks must be fatter, perhaps even
heavier but capable of launching an immediate expressive
lyricism. It is for this reason that in Brahms one should not
draw attention to the attacks; in Weber, on the other hand
articulation is clearly part of the virtuoso brilliance indigen¬
ous to the style.
As for playing the old masters the most important starting
point is the quality of tone. It is hard for me to separate tone
from phrase style since the two are so dependent on each
other. Another thing is tempo. Most of the problems in this
area come from playing things too fast or in too inflexible a
beat. If one plays a Mozart phrase too quickly it would be
more expressive on a xylophone rather than a clarinet. One
needs time to shape a phrase or to bring a real nuance to the
timbre of the instrument. The traditions of the great teachers
has enormous value for us as does the study of old recordings
and live performances. But when these are imitated or fol¬
lowed too closely our own creativity ceases. Ultimately, we
must experiment just as much with the traditional literature
as with the contemporary field. But we must educate our¬
selves to the refinements of style for each historical era. To
get back to matters of tone, however, classical performance
requires the gradual stretching of a single line — a line with
relatively few changes in register. Contemporary music may
encompass a continuum of register changes, leaning quite
heavily on quick shifts between extreme highs and lows (and
one may add to this extreme shifts between loud and soft
notes). In Brahms the stretch of each single line requires its
design to peak and then to fade. In Schumann the lines are
so long that great care must be taken not to fatigue the em¬
bouchure. Mozart and Weber require an exquisite operatic
intelligence to the lines... almost like the words of an opera!
Many clarinetists play with an embouchure setting that is
far too rigid. As a result there is a lack of individuality in
their basic sound. Variety may be lacking too. The problem,
as I see it, is can the artist change tone quality easily and con¬
vincingly while "in flight?" It should always be possible, for
example, to lessen the lip and air pressure during a long sus¬
tained tone and modulate it from a full, firm reedy sound to
a floating pianissimo (or to execute the same idea in reverse
order — from soft to loud). If the lip is flexible enough vibra¬
to may be added at will at any point in the change. The Bee¬
thoven B-flat Trio, Op. 11 might be a case in point:
The cello plays the theme first so I begin the clarinet phrase
ppp with a touch of vibrato to match the string sonority. I
quickly drop the vibrato and build a long range crescendo
going into the high "d" with a full, reedy tone — making
sure not to reach beyond a proportionate forte level. After this
climax I have to reverse the process in less than half the time,
once again changing the entire timbre of my instrument.
The requirements of air will change with differing phrase
lengths, registers, dynamics, and the physical characteristics
of each artist. But however one struggles to keep the body
well supplied with air the real issue of control is how evenly it
is expelled. The release of every air wave may produce a cre¬ through blaring trumpets, trombones, and drums in every
scendo, an accent, a swell, a diminuendo or even an unwant¬ final chorus. Only the brilliant notes of the clarinet's high re¬
ed vibrato. Once again an image in the mind before the tone gister could cut through the power of this "tutti." As a re¬
is played, is most essential. One must direct the air flow to sult, a wonderful style of fast figuration emerged which took
the moment-to-moment shaping of each note. Now it is im¬ on new characteristics during the Goodman era. The
portant to understand that in traditional music small notes "standing mike" made it possible eventually to accomplish
often become one with long notes. In other words an entire this without blowing so hard. Also, the "standing mike"
phrase may be treated as a single note — this, because the air permitted the clarinet to play low notes very softly on the
flow needs to be evenly graduated. In today's conceptions, noisy dance floor. This style, called "sub tone" because of
like the works of Carter, Boulez, Babbitt, or Stockhausen — its floating airy tone quality, attracted the attention of com¬
every note, long or short, is more often a world unto itself. mercial arrangers who, in turn, developed new lyrical ap¬
Here the air flow is short, interrupted and explosive. proaches for the clarinet's chalumeau during the Big Band
Clarinetists who have performed my jazz works, like Tun¬ era.
nels of Love, Infinities 33, Adjustable Tears, and Moonflowers, A significant issue for many symphonic clarinetists today
Baby! have questioned me about matter of my jazz notation who wish to play jazz is how to interpret the written jazz
and that particular approach to a "classical-jazz" style which eighth note. Some "old timers" say it is best to write
appears to be central to my music. First of all, these artists, "straight" eighths "... and we'll do the rest!" In other
who are classical clarinetists, should understand that they are words if I wrote:
not playing jazz but experiencing a crossing of time zones. I
have created something new out of something old: the popu¬
lar musical language of the 30s, 40s, and early 50s — the Big
Band Era, the Benny Goodman-Artie Shaw Sound, the rich
period of innovative improvisational giants like Eric Dolphy, ...it would probably be played with the proper jazz lilt (or
such experimental ensembles like the Modern Jazz Quartet swing) — that is, if I had "old timers" to play it. But if I
— all this as a background source to my own compositional wanted a young clarinetist to play this phrase in jazz style I
work with 12-tone technique, electronic music, aleatoric would be better off writing it this way:
games and classical improvisation. Mostly what I have
drawn upon can be boiled down to jazz rhythms, lip or finger
jazz nuances, the restless driving thrust of the improvisation¬
al "feel" for phrases and linear design, and finally, that
sense of harmonic cadence that exists in all jazz, even the
most chromatic.
Once again the secret is in the sound. The tone of the clar¬
inetist will immediately tell us if he is playing jazz. Yes it
may be that some vibrato is called for but that is only a small
part of it. Very few sustained tones are played straight. The
real beauty of jazz is that each note has to be totally expres¬
sive — played as if it was going to be the last note that artist
would ever play. Each note requires a detail: a "bend," a
"fall-off," a "growl," a "scoop," a glissando or an embel¬
lishment which might even yield a little surprise like a frag¬
ment from a forgotten tune.
Also in jazz the fingers are the true explorers. Aside from
plunging into incredible feats of virtuosity, they love to
probe the harmony, find new connections and discover new
sounds and fingerings where none existed before. If a jazz THE COMPLETE CLARINET BAG
player saw a chart like this: * Holds clarinet, music and accessories
* Made of 11 -oz. cordura nylon fabric
* Instrument pockets lined with polyester
sheepskin
...he might improvise something like this: * Heavy-duty nylon straps
* Available in black, rust, tan, and gray
* s49.00 as pictured (plus $2.95 handling)

Send check or money order to

Instinctively, he looks for curious ways to keep the stepwise
motion of the whole notes evident. Meanwhile, his fingers OLATHE BAND INSTRUMENT
weave little complicated figures based on the few chord 231 S. Kansas Olathe, KS 66061
changes attached to the original tune. or call
The wide range of the clarinet has always been a great
temptation to the fingers (and to composers and arrangers). (913) 764-4159
In New Orleans jazz, for example, the clarinet had to play

The Clarinet — 25
The dotted figures in jazz, however, are never pure. Gun-
ther Schuller, for example, often prefers the triplet notation.
My guess is that he would notate the phrase this way:
Actually, I believe the truth may lie someplace in the
middle... which cannot be notated accurately for any practi¬
cal purpose. Since so much of my jazz background grows out
of the "swing" period of the 40s I prefer the dotted notation
but I expect my players to invest these rhythms with the right
jazz lilt!
One further point remains: the placement of accent. If one
were to play the original two-bar pattern in even eighths...
and then add "belly" accents on all the afterbeat eighths an
additional type of jazz feel would emerge — clearly one
whose genre is closer to the music of the early 50s:
Now a combination of the 40s and 50s influence might pro¬
duce something that might come out this way:
Moonflowers, Baby!, a classical-jazz work which I composed
for Richard Stoltzman, begins with some triplet groups and
then shifts to dotted figures:
At the end of bar 3, where the dotted figure is introduced, it
would really kill the tune if the player performed it exactly as
written. (Accurate 16th notes would be too darn square!) So
the player must take up the feel of triplets in the opening
phrases and segue into a jazz lilt at the dotted rhythms. The
syncopation at the beginning of bar 3 would most likely be
interpreted very freely.
From: A. * = Pf h* ^
When I write for young symphonic-jazz players I expect they
will take just as many liberties with my scores as an "old
timer" would. My ballad or torch song in Moonflower is writ¬
26 — The Clarinet
ten in standard lead-sheet form. It is a "sub tone" melody. I
have employed almost no markings to tell the player what to
do.
BUT I know that in the hands of a Richard Stoltzman this
music will come alive with all kinds of subtle nuances be¬
cause he understands jazz.
Like painters, most composers collect sketches. These are
usually in the form of themes and motifs. We scribble them
down then tuck them away in little notebooks to hibernate. I
am always amazed to discover how much unconscious com¬
posing goes on... because years later these same primitive
sketches may ease themselves, quite perfectly, into a new
score.
I remember the first time I visited Edgard Varese's studio
in the village during the 1950s... he let me in, then left the
room to speak to his wife. I felt I was in some holy place be¬
cause I had always been in awe of his music. I studied every¬
thing around me: there were giant scores all over the place.
Varese was like a Texan: he liked big things! But my most
interesting discovery was that pinned up on every wall, every
door and every cabinet were tiny sketch fragments and
graph-like drawings on torn scraps of manuscript paper.
Varese had literally surrounded himself with his unfinished
ideas, the composer had made himself captive to their crea¬
tive interaction. Years later, I was delighted to recognize
these sketches. They had been transformed into the key ma¬
terials for his great electronic masterpiece, Deserts.
At this point, I think I should talk a little about improvisa¬
tion. I firmly believe that every creative act begins as an im¬
provisation. My father, who was an extraordinary musician,
told me that each finger in my hand had a mind of its own.
"Just let your hand fall gently on the piano," he said, "think
of something else, and you will soon hear magic... the music
of your fingers." I heard it then when I was eight years old...
and I still hear it today when I am half a century older!
An improvisation becomes a composition when it is tossed
into the machinery of a written score. On the other hand one
can compose aleatoric scores which are completely based on
improvisatory techniques. John Cage broke new paths in
this direction by introducing "chance" as an essential musi¬
cal ingredient. His first chance scores, which began to ap¬
pear in the late 40s, took the form of graphs, drawings,
poems, instructions, road maps, hand gestures, radio manu¬
als and finally... complete silence: all designed to channel the
improvisatory flow of his music into totally new events, often
like a happening, that not only related to his art but also to
his philosophy.
To improvise means to move on impulse... to make some¬
thing out of nothing, but to do it so quickly you do not have a
chance to really think about it. To compose, however, we
must make a score: and that takes time... notational symbols
have existed for over two thousand years but they are clearly
not adequate for our new musical conceptions. Each of us
have devised fresh symbols suitable for our ideational ges¬
tures... I find it curious that as we invent new score mark¬
ings and fresh notational game-plans we inevitably direct
ourselves into newer areas of compositional discovery. It
would appear then that a new written symbol is in itself a
stimulant to musical invention.
 Musical chairs

A score to a symphony is far more complex in its visual de¬ University of Wisconsin/Stevens Point
sign than an architect's blueprint for a skyscraper. The si¬ Stevens Point, Wisconsin
multaneity of events one may expect the human ear to per¬
ceive is staggering, as is the problem of laying it all out for Andrea Splittberger-
the eye to assimilate... this fact alone pays tribute to the mag¬ Rosen has been appointed
nificence of our precious hearing apparatus which we take so Instructor of Clarinet at the
much for granted. Think of it: a hundred instruments play¬ University of Wisconsin-
ing at the same moment... all represented on a single page of Stevens Point. Her duties in¬
score which may take only three seconds to play. A gifted clude teaching clarinet, clar¬
conductor can see it at a glance, keep every major nuance in inet choir, single reeds class,
focus and fix the entire experience in his memory. and theory. She performs in
How to perceive the structure of a large abstract work like the Wisconsin Arts Quintet
a symphony requires a remarkable feat of memory. Music is and as principal clarinetist of
not like a piece of sculpture: you cannot touch it or walk the Central Wisconsin Sym¬
around it or re-examine it: you must remember it the mo¬ phony Orchestra.
ment it ceases to exist! Form exists in time, and time exists in Ms. Rosen is a graduate
memory, our basic instrument. of Michigan State Univer¬
In closing, I would like to say something about perform¬ sity and the Eastman School
ers. Throughout my career as a composer, I have been privi¬ of Music and a Ph.D. candi¬
leged to have wonderful friends who have played my music. date at Michigan State Uni¬
These artists have inspired me to compose many challenging versity. Her major teachers Andrea Splittberger-Rosen
works. They have taught me to understand the most inti¬ have been Elsa Ludewig-
mate secrets of their instruments — this through the prism of Verdehr, Keith Stein, Stanley Hasty, and Frank Ell.
their own skills and personalities. Together, we have ven¬ As co-founder and clarinetist of the Uwharrie Clarinet-
tured far beyond the normal limits of technique and endur¬ Percussion Duo, Ms. Rosen has presented recitals and resi¬
ance. They have told me in their own way they love my dencies throughout the United States with grants from the
music... and I have been moved by their incredible rituals of National Endowment for the Arts. The Uwharrie Duo parti¬
preparation and ultimately by their magnificent performanc¬ cipated in the North Carolina Visiting Artist Program for
es. Clearly, they have encouraged me to understand freedom four years, sponsored an international composition contest,
— aesthetic freedom and the freedom to explore every aspect and made its New York debut in 1980. The Uwharrie Duo
of virtuosity to my heart's desire... I feel the results have has been invited to perform at the International Clarinet
been rewarding... it is through them that I have produced a Conference this summer.
literature which I hope will someday provide a meaningful Ms. Rosen has taught at Michigan State University, as a
contribution to younger artists and to younger listeners. I graduate assistant, and at Alma and Elon Colleges. She has
wish to pay tribute to their friendship and to their generous performed as a member of the American Wind Symphony
gift of confidence. I think I speak for all composers in saying Orchestra, the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, and the Greens¬
"when I write music for a friend... I am at my best!" boro and Lansing Symphonies.

iimimi
vertical pressure |

not horizontal as \
other ligatures |

exclusive side shoulders * 5

• Will not distort or crush reed fibers nor warp mouthpiece as 2
do metal ligatures 2
• Top and bottom straps are spaced wider apart and work ™
independently of each other. (Helps regulate and control S
reed opening). JJ
• Sound posts are scientifically designed to give equal pressure ™
and full reed vibration. ™
• Tighten screws firmly to desired tension, (very important). ■

PLaza 3-7111
4318 MAIN
KANSAS CITY, MO.
:niiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimrrr<miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiii7

The Clarinet — 27
Care and repair

By Robert Schmidt, Ithaca College

Crowfoot & Co. adjustments, Part I

The next two articles will be devoted to the ad¬

justment of keys controlling the four large pads in PHOTO 1
the clarinet's lower joint. In the last issue of The
Clarinet we talked about three key bending tech¬
niques for subtle shifting of the pad seat. This article
will continue that discussion and relate methods for
controlling the height of key openings.
Photo 1 displays the four RH little finger keys in
good position. The cork bumper on the crowfoot
touches both keys. The C & B-flat keys are reason¬
ably close to each other.
Here are some relatively safe ways to improve a
crowfoot that doesn't touch both keys. Photo 2
shows a gap between the RH E-B key and the crow¬
foot. This space is exaggerated in the photograph PHOTO 2
and would usually be much less. Assuming you're
happy with the E-B key opening and response, this
slight play in the key can be relieved by lightly sand¬
ing the cork bumper below the F-sharp/C-sharp
key. (Photo 3)
If the gap is more severe, you can open the
F-sharp/C-sharp key by pressing it up with your
thumb as shown in Photo 4.
If there is a gap between the crowfoot and the
F-sharp/C-sharp key (Photo 5), you can bend that
key closed as shown in Photo 6. Minor crowfoot ad¬
justments can be helped with light crimping by your
flat-nosed pliers. (Photo 7)
You may wonder how far your E-flat key should
open. Photo 8 shows how little my E-flat key opens.
A playing test provides the best answer. Your low PHOTO 3
A-flat and 4th space E-flat should be clear, yet the
key be as close to the tone hole as possible so that
your 4th space E-flat and altissimo D & G pitches
are held down.
A more graphic demonstration shows that less
than half a penny fits under the opened key. (Photo
9) If you have several pad slicks you could note that
one slick and a tip fit under the key. (Photo 10)
We'll use pad slicks to measure other key openings
in the next article.
You may recall in the previous article that a pad
gripping lightly at 12 o'clock could be bent forward
with some object holding the key arm or back of the
pad cup open. Photo 11 shows this correction with a
pad slick in back. You may have even greater suc¬ PHOTO 4
cess by finding an appropriate metal object that
safely fits under the key arm (i.e. a sawed-off key
arm from an old clarinet).
In Photo 12 I'm bending the small prong to allow
more or less E-flat key opening. Bend the prong
down for more opening, up for less, with snip nose
pliers.
Photo 13 shows another method for making the
E-flat key open less. Press the finger piece down
with one thumb while your other thumb keeps the
pad closed.

To be continued PHOTO 5

28 — The Clarinet
The Clarinet — 29
In search of resonance: some preliminary findings
James M. Pyne
By James M. Pyne
During my Visiting Professorship (1983-84) at the Uni¬
versity of Michigan it was my good fortune to meet and work
with Professor Norman E. Barnett. A former French horn
player with Dr. Revelli, Professor Barnett is Professor of
Acoustics in the College of Architecture and Urban Planning
at the University of Michigan and has set up a laboratory
(including a Real Time Analyzer) that would surely be of
great interest to anyone who is curious about music and
sound.1 For me it was a wonderful opportunity to begin to
explore the complex relationships that exist between the gen¬
eration of sound, the environment into which it is generated,
and the listener. As an incorrigible mouthpiece tinkerer, I
have long been amazed by the fact that truly minute changes
in a clarinet mouthpiece or reed can make important audible
differences to the performer and audience. When the reed-
mouthpiece relationship suits and works well for the per¬
former, artistry is enhanced.
In a way, the instrument itself is a kind of complex envi¬
ronment for the sound (standing wave) generated by the air-
embouchure-reed-mouthpiece matrix of the performer. If
the clarinet is designed well and is well maintained, it will be
reasonably consistent and reliable in its relationship to the
performer's input.
Still, we are to a great degree at the mercy of another envi¬
ronmental factor, the room or hall into which we attempt to
project our generation of sound. Anyone who has performed
in many music halls can relate quickly to the profound differ¬
ences experienced, and how much a musical performance
can be affected in both positive and negative ways.
When on tour, I usually arrive at a new hall early when
the stage is still relatively quiet. I then go through the reeds
I've prepared in order to fine tune the reed-mouthpiece rela¬
tionship for that particular environment in an attempt to in¬
sure good quality and projection of tone. The reed, its posi¬
tion on the mouthpiece, and the embouchure are the adjust¬
able parts of the generation mechanism in this situation, in
that most of us will not reface our mouthpieces on the spot or
tote extra clarinets with varying sound and resistance charac¬
teristics to suite a free, resistant, live, dead, dry, bright,
warm, cold, resonant, non-resonant, etc., hall. As we work
to move the particles of air within our instrument they, in
turn, must move the particles in the hall, not just to reach the
30 — The Clarinet
incredibly sensitive ear mechanism of the listener, but reach
it in a way and form that is perceived as musically artistic.
Many not fully understood factors, both acoustical and
psycho-acoustical, are involved in these complex relation¬
ships. As a clarinetist, I like to think of a fine, projective tone
as being both warm and resonant. Without sufficient reson¬
ance, contrast needed for musical expression as well as pro¬
jective quality can be lost. Additionally, evenness of reson¬
ance throughout the clarinet scale is not easily achieved.
The throat tones in particular can be problematical in that
they often lack projective focus without the use of special fin¬
gerings that "resonate" these tones. Simply using more air
support is not a successful solution in that overblowing will
cause stridency and flatness. Pinching to compensate for this
pitch drop will often completely close off the sustaining vi¬
bration.2 On the other hand, at soft volume levels the oppo¬
site situation exists, with pitch going sharp and compensa¬
tory loosening causing even further loss of focus. Changing
the oral cavity through various tongue (throat) positions can
be helpful but does not provide a complete solution to these
problems. Therefore, my initial project with the spectrum
analyzer was to study selected "resonated" versus "non-
resonated" throat tones.
First, I wanted to see if the harmonic spectra of "resonat¬
ed" throat tones (special fingerings) would show any consis¬
tent spectral pattern differentiating them from "non-
resonated" throat tones (normal fingerings). Secondly, if
such a differentiating pattern existed, could any specific har¬
monic spectrum characteristics unique to a resonated throat
tone be associated with a resonant clarinet tone in a general
sense? Preliminary findings seem to suggest that this may in¬
deed be the case.
The Real Time Analyzer will display the harmonic spec¬
trum (partials) of any sound on a cathode ray tube. The rela¬
tively organized sound or tone of a musical instrument ap¬
pears as a sequence of "spikes" on the screen, each "spike"
giving a reading vertically in decibels and horizontally in fre¬
quency. The exact frequency can be located by adjusting a
moveable bright dot on the screen to a location at the tip of a
"spike." Once the bright dot is located, an automatic LED
readout of dB occurs. Some clever work by Professor Barnett
added this LED readout to the original equipment, in re¬
sponse to the need for quicker analysis of many tones. Previ¬
ously time-consuming vertical square counting was needed
to yield precise dB readings.
There are many fingerings in use that will improve the
quality of throat tones G1, G-sharp1, A1, and B-flat1. The
fact that not all clarinets react in the same way to the applica¬
tion of a specific resonated fingering accounts for the large
number of options. The speed of the RTA allowed us to look
at a great many of these fingering possibilities. However, in
order to get as consistent and broadly applicable results as
possible, I decided to spectrally compare only the following
two tones, fingered normally, with their respective resonated
counterparts (Figure 1).
R R
x A Key x A Key x A Key x A Key
0 0 0 0
0 • 0 0
a1!' 0 bb' 0 •
0 0
0
•
x C Key x C Key
Normal Resonated Normal Resonated
Fingering Fingering Fingering Fingering
Figure 1
 I have used the fingerings outlined above on my Buffet
R-13's for many years and have found them to work well for
the majority of students I have coached. Although other re¬
sonated fingerings will not specifically be dealt with here,
many yielded spectrum changes similar to those studied
when compared with their non-resonated counterparts.3
It has long been thought that a more subjectively pleasing
tone is achieved when the spectrum of a tone is quite energet¬
ic in the fundamental (Partial 1) and partials relatively low in
the spectrum. It would seem that "scattering" the energy in¬
put into a great number of audible partials becomes increas¬
ingly strident and is musically undesirable. According to
Winckel, "in observing the sequence of notes in this har¬
monic series, we see that the 7th partial is dissonant to the
fundamental, according to classic musical theory, as is also
the 9th partial, and in the upper reaches of the harmonic ser¬
ies dissonances are very close together. These make a sound
rough and harsh, a reason why a great number of partials is
not desirable. All the same, one wants to have at least the 7th
and 9th partial present, as long as they are of slight intensity,
since — as already mentioned — they provide the necessary
spice in the too pure sound."3
As a point of interest, I think it is worth noting that tones
played secco (stopped staccato), especially at full volumes, can
present a much more "scattered" spectrum than the sus¬
tained tones. The abundance of harmonics along with noise¬
like onset characteristics conceivably add to the percussive
quality or "snap" in the attack, a necessary quality for many
scherzando passages. Generally percussive sounds are rich,
but not highly selective in harmonics. If a note of these spec¬
tral characteristics were held past its appropriate short dura¬
tion, the quality would doubtless be perceived as cutting and
lacking in warmth.
Let's return to the realm of sustained tones and the actual
testing of the pitches mentioned earlier. Each test sequence
consisted of alternately playing the non-resonated and reson¬
ated tone, followed by overblowing that specific fingering to
the 3rd partial, the spectrum of each note being "frozen" on
the analyzer display for study of individual partial strength
and frequency characteristics up to partial 12.
I played each test sequence twice. First utilizing a Gigliotti
mouthpiece model P, combined with a hand-made reed skill¬
fully fitted by John Mohler, Professor of Clarinet at the Uni¬
versity of Michigan, and secondly with a Pyne WS 12 +
mouthpiece, Olivieri 3^ reed combination, my own set-up.
The ligature used was always a Bonade inverted with the
central section cut away as I'm told Robert Marcellus advo¬
cates. The exact sequence was then repeated by Kyle Peter¬
son, a fine clarinetist who ably assisted me through many
days of testing and data compilation. Study of this data pro¬
duces some interesting features and implications.
The addition of the resonated fingering yielded a spectrum
picture more ideal in the Winckel sense, in all but a very few
isolated cases. That is to say, the partials nearest the funda¬
mental (2 through 7) were strengthened at the expense of the
higher partials (8 through 12). (Figure 2.)
The RTA will react fairly quickly (one-tenth of a second)
to input change, and it was interesting in initial experimen¬
tation to watch the display shift energy to the left (nearer the
fundamental) and to the right, while alternately applying
and releasing the resonated fingering with no stop in tone
production. I would also agree with Winckel that in all in¬
stances the subjective quality of sound was improved by de¬
creased scattering thereby concentrating the energy in the
lower-order harmonics. It would seem that more controlled
and efficient use of generation energy yields a subjectively
better result.
The general energy shift noted is doubtless a major feature
in this improvement; however, there is by no means an exact
uniformity of partial strength relationships in the band most
heard in the resonated tones. Looking for specific frequency
relationships in the spectrum of resonated versus non-
resonated tones was not conclusive. There is some sugges¬
tion from the data that the pitch of the partials beyond the
fifth flattens slightly in the resonated tone. Likewise, an indi¬
cation of a thorough preference for strengthening the odd, as
opposed to the even partials in a resonated tone, was incon¬
clusive. Normally the fundamental was the strongest partial
in all trials. There was some tendency for the 3rd partial to
be equal or nearly equal to the fundamental in resonated
tones (Fig. 2). Generally the odd partials predominated over
even up to the 5th partial in resonated and non-resonated
tones. Above this no consistant pattern was discerned except
that more general energy input above the 7th partial seemed
to create more stridency.
One uniquely consistent factor, however, was that the
overblown version (3rd partial) of the resonated fingering
was always higher in pitch (10 to 15 Hz) and more easily pro¬
duced, than its overblown counterpart normally fingered.
Somehow impedence below cut-off (section of the clarinet
beyond the actual tube length needed to emit the wanted
fundamental) was affecting not only the distribution of har¬
monics in the fundamental test tones but also production-
frequency characteristics of the overblown test tones. This
suggested a possible connection with natural reed resonance.
Stephen Thompson, in studying the effect of reed resonance
on woodwind tone, has said, "experiments on the clarinet
show that the player can adjust the reed resonance frequency
from about 2 to 3 kHz," and that, "presumably the end
points of the range would change somewhat for different reed
and different mouthpiece facing designs." He further states
that "the best musical quality occurs when the reed frequen¬
cy matches a harmonic of the playing frequency. "b Further¬
more, Arthur Benade has placed properly sized lumps of wax
in the bell of the oboe to change impedence beyond cut-off,
thereby improving upper register notes.
Two factors concerning resonated throat tones might
point toward a possible relationship of their characteristics to
natural reed resonance. First, the spectrum analyzer showed
a centralization of energy input in the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th
partial range, roughly equivalent to the reed resonance area
(2 to 3 kHz). (Figures 2 and 3.)
In some trials this occurred even when the 2nd, 3rd, and
4th partials decreased slightly. Secondly, considering the
overblown test tones in their own regime, the higher fre¬
quency noted when using resonated fingerings put the 1st
harmonic (2nd partial) of the overblown tone in a spectral
position more central to the natural reed resonance band.
The ease of production and better stability experienced being
a possible function of feedback at the reed resonance fre¬
quency through the 2nd partial. This would suggest that im¬
pedence changes in the clarinet bore beyond cut-off can be
arranged, by the use of resonated fingering combinations, to
centralize desirable harmonics in the natural reed resonance
band. This may allow a playing frequency harmonic to be
matched to the reed frequency by the performer's embou¬
chure, eliciting a re-inforcing feedback phenomenon. Ac¬
cording to Thompson, "the oscillation is stabilized by the in-
The Clarinet — 31
 Pitch: a1! Figure 2 Pitch: a^
Fingering: Normal Fingering: Resonated
Instrument: Buffet R-13 Instrument: Buffet R-13
Mouthpiece: Gigliotti P Mouthpiece: Gigliotti P
Reed: Mohler Reed: Mohler
Player: Pyne Player: Pyne

90- 90

reed resonance band 80 reed resonance band

80' 1
I f

70 - 70

60 - 60'

50 50

kO W-

dB dB
1 2. 3 10 11 12 12 3 10 11
Partials Partials

creased feedback at the reed frequency. The incidental small
frequency changes and the spurious noise present in the tone
are thereby decreased."0 Throughout testing the clarity of
the resonated tones seemed always to be accompanied by a
sense of ease of production. Possibly getting a more satisfac¬
tory return for one's effort simply made it seem easier. How¬
ever, this reaction although less dramatic than for overblown
tones, may also be related to the reed resonance feedback
phenomenon quoted above from Thompson. Certainly spur¬
ious noise reduction and increased stability were clearly evi¬
dent in the resonated tones.
Relating these findings to resonance on the clarinet in gen¬
eral implies that conservation of energy in the low-order
(non-dissonant) partials will yield resonance and projective
capability without stridency or loss of warmth. The ability of
the performer to adjust natural reed resonance to a harmonic
of a given tone assists this conservation of energy through a
feedback process. The parameters of this adjustability would
be affected by reed-mouthpiece design relationships relative
to the performer's embouchure. Possibly work on instru¬
ment design exploring techniques to more efficiently utilize
impedence beyond cut-off factors will further assist in this
adjustable feedback process, yielding better evenness of re¬
sonance throughout the clarinet scale.
In closing, sincere thanks to Professor Norm Barnett for
his most generous gift of time and knowledge. Thanks also to
Dean Paul Boylen, Associate Dean Paul Lehman, Professor
John Mohler and all who made it possible for me to spend
such a rewarding year at the University of Michigan. Also
special thanks to Professor Hugh Cooper for his insight and
sound advice.
About the writer...
James Pyne, principal clarinet of the Buffalo Philharmon¬
ic Orchestra, began his career at age 18 when Josef Krips
selected him as assistant principal. Mr. Pyne has recorded
with Buffalo under conductors Lukas Foss, Michael Tilson
Thomas, and Julius Rudel. A frequent soloist, he regularly
performs in chamber music concerts and conducts numerous
master classes. He was formerly a member of the Buffalo
Woodwind Quintet and principal clarinet of the Lake Placid
Sinfonia. His research into clarinet mouthpiece design has
led him to prepare handcrafted clarinet mouthpieces for pro-

32 — The Clarinet
 Pitch: a4?' Figure 3 Pitch: a^'
Fingering: Normal Fingering: Resonated
Instrument: Buffet R-13 Instrument: Buffet R-13
Mouthpiece: Pyne WS 12+ Mouthpiece: Pyne WS 12+
Reed: Olivieri 3J" Reed: -Olivieri 5^
Player: Peterson Player: Peterson

90 90-

reed resonance band reed resonance band

80 80 1

70 70

60 - 60

50 50

i+0- kO

dB dB

—
1 2 3 9 10 11 12 12 3^567 10 11 12
Partials Parti als; I

fessional clarinetists here and abroad; he has also conducted
research into clarinet bore configurations which has brought
about modifications of bore and tone hole placement. Mr.
Pyne is a faculty member at the State University of New
York at Buffalo and the Cleveland Institute of Music and
was Visiting Professor of Clarinet at the University of
Michigan during 1983-84. During the summer of 1984 he
performed at the Sebago-Long Lake Chamber Music
Festival in Maine. Mr. Pyne earned the BFA in performance
and music education at the University of Buffalo and the
M.M. in performance and music literature at the Eastman
School of Music where he studied with Stanley Hasty.
In June of 1985 Mr. Pyne will be the featured performer/
lecturer at the first University of Arizona Clarinet Sym¬
posium.
ENDNOTES
A real time analyzer (RTA) is an electronic instrument which
rapidly displays the frequency spectrum of an input signal.
The specific instrument used was a Spectral Dynamics Corp.
Model SD301C which, technically, is a time-compression type
of spectrum analyzer. The air-borne sound from the clarinet
was picked up with the microphone of a General Radio Co.
Type 1933 Sound Level Meter and the electronic signal from
this instrument was the input to the RTA.
2. Possibly this indicates that the phase relationship of the air col¬
umn mode to the natural frequency of the reed will not sustain
the regeneration process, in that pinching the reed changes its
natural frequency.
3. There are many fingerings combinations that I advise for G1,
and G-sharp1 in that there seems to be a great deal of variation
in what works best from clarinet to clarinet. Normally I work
with a student simply trying fingering combinations until the
best result is achieved. In this sense I have no preferred or rela¬
tively universal fingerings for these tones.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
a. Winckel, Fritz. Music, sound and sensation, a modern exposition.
Translated from the German by Thomas Binkley. New York,
Dover Publications, 1967. Pg. 8.
b. Thompson, Stephen C.. "The effect of the reed resonance on
woodwind tone production." Journal of the Acoustical Society of
America, Vol. 66, No. 5, Nov. 1979. Pg. 1299, 1304, 1305.
c. Ibid. Pg. 1306.

The Clarinet — 33
 •ItLllc,-. 13th Season
V.!1 ttCriCS
fall . OF FACULTY ARTISTS
PROGRAM
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, FRESNO Sonatina MalcolmbornArnold
DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC 1921
AIlegro con brio
Andantino
IARY CA'JCHI, clari
Sonata in B-flat Johann1739-1813
Wanhall
A Ilegro moderate
; i Bob
rginiaBennett,
David King, cl.pian<
Vargetts, violin
Rondo - A Ilegro
James Stark, violin
Derccster, violoncellt Sonata for Two Clarinets Francis Poulenc
1899-1963
Vi f
INTERMISSION
Sunday, February 24, 1985 Grand Quintette, Op. 34 Carl Maria von Weber
3:00 p.m. 1786-1826
•^il
CSUF Music Recital Hall Fantasia -- Capriccio
Menuetto Adagio ma Presto
non troppo
Rondo - Allegro giojoso

CONCERTS

& RECITALS
North Texas State University
School of Music
Guest Recital
APOLLO CLARINET CONSORT
Barbara
PeborahGaryHall, E-Flat
Unqaro in,and B-Flat
Fab'«B-Flat B-Flat Clarinet
Clarinet
Beverly Whitnan, Clarinet
ThomasLavocat,
Beers, B-Flat Clarinet
Bass Clarinet
with Special Guests
Dr. James Gillespie** and Or. John Scott**, Clarinets
Wednesday, February 13, 19R5 6:15 p.m. Recital Hall
PROGRAM
Allegro from Sinfonia II arr.J.H. C.Voxman
Bach
Sonata FrancoiA-AdrUen
Allegro moderato BoieZdieu
' (1775-1834) ThefromMusic of Gershwin G. Gershwin
I Preludes
Allegro forben Piano
ritmato e deciso arr. T. Beers
Elegie II (1983)* Kazuto Hiyazam. IIIII Allegro
Andante ben
con moto
ritmatoe poco rubato
e deciso
Andrea Splittberger-Rosen Lointaine No^ I* Paul lamoureux
Sonatina
Moderato Bohu&ta.v Uaxtinu
(1890-1959) The Clarinet Polka arr. D. Lovrien
Intermiss ion
Concert Piece I, Op. 113 trans. F. Mendelssohn
I. Srhwarz
Faculty Recital INTERMISSION Dr. James Gillespie, Dr. John Scott, Soloists
SechsSei deutsche Lieder, op. 103 Ludtxig Spohl fine kleine I AndanteHachtmusik
Allegro arr. y. A.T. Mozart
Beers
still mein Herz
Zwiegesang (1784-1859) IIIIIIV Menuetto
aA&i&ted by Das heimliche
Wach auf Lied Allegro
Martha d'Thomas,
Cretchen pianist
Annand,pianist
sopran Stars and Stripes Forever J. P.T. Beers
Sousa
Michael Keller, Sonata (1962) Fiancii Poutznc arr.
^Composed for the
"Denotes NTSU Faculty Member Apollo Clarinet Consort
Allegro con fuoco
A
uw/p * Written for the performer.

Monday, February 4, 1985

en Concert8:15HallP.M.- Fine Art

The Clarinet
iimuiAM YOUM; I;\IVKRSITV North Texas State L'mvorsitv
COI.LKCK OF FINK ARTS AND COMMUNICATIONS School of Music
Student Recital
i No. 2 in E-flat Major, op. 120, no. MARGUERITE BAKER, Clarinet
CRAI6 NYTCH, clarinet Allegro Assisted by:
Allegro
Andante Jing LingKeinecke,
Judy Tumi nson,
Pi
Tam, Sopran
Violi
Assisted by:
Diane Basti.ir INTERMISSION 31, 1985 6:15 p.m.
• Clarinet Solo, op. 27. Introduction, Theme and ' .Gioacchino Rossini
FACULTY RECITAL
.Claude Debussy

^n-lantinf Intermission
Allegro
Andante |
Allegro r SechSeiLieder, Op. 103.
Saturday, February 8:00 p.m.
23, Hall
1985 still mein Herz .
Franklin S. HarrisMadsen
FineRecital
Arts Center

Will inn ftilum

* Snngs of Innocence
Piping dm-n the Vallevs Wild Oh io cUn i vefsity
St. John's Provim-i College of Fine'Arts
440111 Five Mile Rod.l, I' SCHOOL of cTWUSIC

l/niversity
College of Ken
SchoolofofFine
Has.
GUEST RECITAL Mr. Pierce receivedBalltheState
B.S. degree In Symphonic
HeInstruments
has studiedfroeclarinet withUniversity
Daniel Bon*in 1973.
JERRY PIERCE, clarinet and basset-horn
assisted Halifax Syi Mr. Pierce has played
CAROLYN RANKIN, PIANO Orchestra.
and the CBC Symphony, Halifax, and the Augusta 1
LINDA PIERCE, CLARINET ofcurrently Wind and of! the ofIntethe Kational ,
College president
RON M0NSEN. CLARINET
EARL THOMAS, CLARINET
The 1984 University of Oklahoma Clarinet Symposium

By Bernard Rose
The 1984 University of Oklahoma Clarinet Symposium
took place at the Norman, Oklahoma campus on July 6, 7,
and 8. The events had an international flavoring with guest
artists coming from three countries: Belgium, Great Britain,
and the United States. The symposium faculty consisted of
Himie Voxman, retired professor of clarinet at the Universi¬
ty of Iowa; Marcel Ancion, professor of clarinet at the Brus¬
sels Conservatory; Charles Bay, manufacturer of clarinet
mouthpieces and accessories; John Denman, principal clari¬
netist in the Tucson Symphony and formerly with the Royal
Philharmonic Orchestra of England; and Jerry Smith and
David Etheridge, both faculty members at the University of
Oklahoma.
The first scheduled event was a recital by Professor Ethe¬
ridge who performed Schubert's Arpeggione Sonata, the Hon-
egger Sonatine, the Osborne Rhapsody for Solo Clarinet, and the
Uhl Kleines Konzert. For the Schubert piece Etheridge used
the Jack Brymer edition, which is very different from the In¬
ternational edition commonly found in the United States.
Etheridge performed it with the delicacy and charm that it
deserved. The Honegger Sonatine, which poses several tech¬
nical and musical problems, was played with great finesse.
The Uhl trio included Digby Bell on piano and Pierre d'Ar-
chambeau on viola. They did a superb job with tight ensem¬
ble playing, excellent intonation, and musical sensitivity on
a very intricate and expressive piece. This unusually fine re¬
cital set a high standard for the rest of the symposium.
Next, Himie Voxman presented a lecture on ornamenta¬
tion which he based on a treatise written by August Muller
(1767-1817) and published in 1815. It included examples of
long appoggiaturas, short appoggiaturas, double appoggia-
turas, slides, snaps, trills, shakes, and trills. It was an infor¬
mative and stimulating presentation which, by its conclu¬
sion, had Dr. Voxman explaining the "ups and downs" of
mordents.
On Friday evening Marcel Ancion presented a recital
which consisted of Rene Bernier's Reveries, the Jansens Con¬
certino, the Debussy Premiere Rhapsodie, the Abime des Oiseaux
from the Messiaen Quartet for the End of Time, and the Weber
Duo Concertant. Monsieur Ancion played with remarkable
sensitivity to dynamics and musical nuance. His pitch and
expressiveness were consistent at all dynamic levels but espe¬
cially in the piano-pianissimo range. Nowhere were the con¬
trast of dynamics and the sweetness and purity of tone more
obvious than on the Debussy Rhapsodie.
Saturday morning Marcel Ancion gave a lecture and mas¬
ter class. He spoke on the history of the clarinet in Belgium,
as well as the elements of expression and nuance on the clari¬
net, of which he is a master. He also discussed altissimo
fingerings, breathing, and tone color, which triggered a very

Just about all you could ask of a moumpi

for yoM Jfipuph painstaking researc!
attention^ detail, and expert final frnishtng. Prof
siona! testers monitor the mouthpieces to be sure
every Bamber plays and feels right on the most
popular brands of woodwind instruments.

Bamber mouthpieces match the critical parts: facing, table, baffle, and chamber
are in perfect balance to provide evenness of scale and full tone. In fact, all
you could ask of a mouthpiece. Ask your favorite music store for a playtest. 'BAMW'R
And write or call for our brochure with specifications and facings. 50741 U.S. 31 North
South Bend, IN 46637
Bamber mouthpieces for Bb clarinet and saxophones: $39.00 to $75.00. 1-800-348-5003

36 — The Clarinet
Pierre d'Archambeau, violin; Digby Bell, piano; Mar¬ Left to right: Bernard Rose, David Etheridge, Pierre
jory Cornellius, cello; Jerry Niel Smith, clarinet. d'Archambeau, John Denman, Marcel Ancion, Jerry
Smith.
stimulating and informative open discussion with all of those
present. The 1984 Oklahoma University Symposium brought to¬
In the afternoon Charles Bay gave a lecture demonstration gether artists from the varied national musical backgrounds,
on his accessories for the clarinet, adjusting of clarinet tone each one having something special and unique to offer. They
holes, reed preparation, embouchure, and breath control. generally reinforced one another on the basics and essentials
Also that afternoon John Denman presented a lecture and of clarinet playing and musicianship. Participants were the
master class. Denman's lecture emphasized phrasing, or the fortunate beneficiaries of exposure to varied and high quality
"battle of the bulge" in clarinet playing. He referred to the performances, master classes, and lectures with the schedule
tendency of inconsistent breath support to result in change in planned so that ample time was given to each. Anyone who
pitch, causing some notes to bulge or swell, especially in le¬ wished could perform at one or several master classes. Each
gato playing. He also discussed the effects of mouthpiece and artist gave freely of himself, his skills, his experience, and his
barrel bores on intonation and related adjustments for im¬ musicality in a constructive, relaxed atmosphere. Also im¬
provement of pitch. Denman in his master class showed him¬ pressive were the Oklahoma University students who per¬
self to be an excellent diagnostician and communicator. He formed, especially the graudate students. As in years past,
was able to identify a problem and suggest proper solutions. the symposium was a unique and inspiring event which
Student response was remarkable. could have lasting value to any clarinetist who attended.
Saturday evening Jerry Neil Smith of the O.U. faculty
performed the Messiaen Quatour pour la fin du temps. He was About the writer...
assisted by Digby Bell on piano, Pierre d'Archambeau on Bernard Rose is Associate Professor of Music at Odessa
violin, and Marjory Cornelliur on cello. This was an unusu¬ College and Director of Instrumental Music. He teaches
ally fine performance of a very difficult piece. Intonation, woodwinds and jazz studies.
precision, and musicality were all superb. Dr. Smith played
with a warm, lush tone, and impeccable intonation. Alto¬
gether it was a beautiful and memorable performance.
On Sunday morning David Etheridge demonstrated tech¬
niques of teaching elementary clarinet. He clearly demon¬
strated teaching techniques which were easily transferable to
most pedagogical situations.
In the afternoon Dr. Smith demonstrated his handling of
much of the clarinet part on the Quartet for the End of Time. He
offered much valuable insight on how he so successfully pre¬
pared his part.
Sunday evening John Denman presented the concluding
program of the symposium. On the program were the Ra-
nish Sonata in F Major, the Gade Phantasiestiicke, the Hidas
Fantasia, the Rabaud Solo de Concours, the Messager Solo de
Concours, and the Cahuzac Variations sur un air du Pays D'Oc.
The Ranish was performed with much sweetness and a very
singing quality, whereas the Messager was performed with
contrasts of extreme sensitivity and high energy. During the
whole program Denman displayed warmth and sensitivity,
as well as flamboyance, while consistently maintaining a
high level of expressiveness. It could be said that more than
playing the clarinet John Denman was playing music. John Denman — masterclass.

The Clarinet — 37
 Dieter Klocker — A profile

By Henbert Haase
"My life is my hobby!" Dieter Klocker is certainly very
fortunate to be able to say this, more fortunate than most
people and musicians. His whole path through life was influ¬
enced by a number of decisive instances of good fortune
which, next to his talents and his immense hard work, helped
him to become one of the foremost clarinetists in the world.
Even his first contact with the clarinet was such an in¬
stance of fortune. By the time Dieter, who was born in Wup-
pertal (West Germany) in 1936, had reached the age of sev¬
en, his father, a trumpet player in a band of brass and wind
instruments, took him along to a rehearsal. One of the fath¬
er's friends remarked that Dieter was by now about big
enough to play in the band, which was, at that time, in need
of a clarinetist. Thus, they handed Dieter a B-flat clarinet
which, however, was too long for him. An E-flat clarinet
suited him better. And then what happened was most deci¬
sive: Dieter at once produced a decent sound, not a squeak.
He played in the band for one year, and there he received his
first instructions in playing the clarinet in accordance with
the following rule of thumb: "Just press your fingers hard on
the instrument and you'll play with much expression." Lat¬
er, Dieter received real instruction by Karl Kroll, a very
committed teacher. It is mainly Kroll who shaped Klocker's
musical personality and paved his way to become a musi¬
cian.
Karl Kroll, who as a student ofjohann Sobek (1831-1914)
and belonged directly to the tradition of Carl Baermann, did
not only teach Klocker the techniques of playing the clarinet,
but he also introduced him at a very early stage to orchestral
music. Kroll directed an amateur orchestra which consisted
of former film musicians, and he soon made Dieter take part
in it. Moreover, Kroll organized Dieter's first public appear¬
ance. Together with his teacher and the clarinetist Herbert
Eisenach nine-year-old Dieter made his first appearance on
the occasion of a charity concert in a home for old people, Dieter Klocker
playing a trio by F. Thad. Blatt. The musicans' honorarium is pulled. The wooden mouthpiece used by Klocker has a
consisted of a plate of soup and a slice of bread. That was in bore that goes back to Kroll. (It is a little narrower than the
the year of 1945! At the age of twelve Klocker, accompanied much used American bores.) The fact that these almost one
by Kroll's orchestra, played C.M. von Weber's Concerto No. hundred-year-old instruments are in excellent condition is
1 for clarinet and orchestra, Klocker's first solo concert. The due to Klocker's careful maintenance work. (Any malfunc¬
fact that he made such good progress is also to be attributed tion of the instrument must be removed at once and atten¬
to Kroll's efficient methods of teaching. Kroll did not use a tion has to be paid to the fact that the instruments ought to
manual for the clarinet in his lessons; he wrote all the exercis¬ be cleaned every day in both directions.)
es himself, from the easiest duets up to the grand studies es¬ After having studied with Karl Kroll for ten years,
pecially designed for the various difficulties of clarinet play¬ Klocker attended, for a short period of time, the Academy of
ing- Music in Wuppertal where the clarinetist Wilhelm Andre
Kroll also incited in Klocker an interest in old and forgot¬ was teaching. In 1957 he went to Detmold to take lessons
ten music for wind instruments. Kroll had collected an ex¬ with Jost Michaels, the second influential musical personali¬
tensive archive of printed music which later he handed down ty during Klocker's period of apprenticeship.
to Klocker, who became his favorite student, especially after Jost Michaels was Germany's leading clarinet teacher
Kroll's son Oskar, himself an excellent clarinetist, had been after World War II. He had many new ideas, and he shaped
killed in action. (Oskar Kroll has become famous for his sig¬ a new wind instrument style. Klocker sometimes called him
nificant work Die Klarinette, which in the German-speaking the "restorer" of the clarinet. Klocker esteems him particu¬
countries has received the utmost attention and acclaim.) larly for his vast range of musical knowledge which goes far
Klocker was also very fortunate to have inherited Kroll's beyond his specific knowledge of the clarinet. (He also distin¬
excellent instruments on which he has played up to this day: guished himself as a pianist and as a conductor.) Klocker is
a B-flat clarinet by Ludwig Warschewsky, an Oskar Oehler indebted to him for important stimuli regarding the music
A clarinet, and another set of Oehler clarinets. These instru¬ for wind ensembles, to whose advancement Michaels greatly
ments were built, astonishingly enough, at the end of the contributed. The studies with Michaels meant to Klocker the
past century; but they were built in such a supreme way that continuation of what Kroll had taught him.
Klocker, after having tried new instruments, always re¬ Klocker's first recording took place during the time (in
turned to the old ones since they produced a particular sound 1958) in Detmold. His recording of Mozart's divertimenti
and played perfectly in tune even when the clarinet's barrel (KV 439b, No. 2 and 4) for two clarinets and bassoon was,

38 — The Clarinet
 by the way, one of the first stereo recordings. Klocker re¬
members very well that he was so nervous at the time that he
did not sleep much during the two nights preceding the re¬
cording. In contrast to today's recording methods, record¬
ings in 1958 took a long time. Klocker's recording was to be
done within eight days. One has to consider, however, that it
was hardly possible to cut the recordings, so that each time
something went wrong a whole set had to be taped again.
During his studies Klocker was active in a very different
musical field, too. In order to earn some money, he played
jazz and dance music. Even today he tells his students about
this very profitable experience: "A musician who is incapa¬
ble of playing a piece of jazz, e.g. a piece by Gershwin or
Copland, is not a good musician."
After having completed his studies with Michaels, Klocker
was employed by various "cultural orchestras" in Germany
as a clarinet soloist from 1962 until 1970. He remembers this
time with pleasure, and he calls it "very fortunate." He was
extremely enthusiastic about his occupation, especially since
he got to know the theatre of contemporary music in Gelsen-
kirchen. As a result, Hans Werner Henze, composer of Der
Pnnz von Hamburg (The Prince of Hamburg), changed the aria
originally written for the alto flute into an aria for the clari¬
net.
Besides his enthusiasm for the profession of the orchestral
musician, Klocker felt that his musical potential was not en¬
tirely taken up by his work. This is why Klocker, encouraged
at the coffee-table by some of his colleagues, made a decision
which resulted in what was to be Klocker's life work, the
"Consortium Classicum" (CC), an ensemble for chamber
music unparalleled in its instrumentation which, in the
course of a few years, became well known all over the world.
At first the CC limited itself to wind instruments. Today it
is a mixed string and wind ensemble which consists of the fol¬
lowing instruments: flute, two oboes, two clarinets (2nd clar¬
inet Waldemar Wandel), two bassoons, two French horns,
string quartet, double-bass, and piano. Most members have
played in the ensemble for years. They are either employed
as professors at music academies or as soloists in excellent or¬
chestras in Germany. This is certainly one of the reasons for
the ensemble's great success which, however, had to be
earned with a lot of hard work.
It was quite difficult at first to arrange the rehearsals, since
most members could join in only after their work in the or¬
chestra this meant the ensemble had to rehearse late at night.
In addition, performances were difficult to organize since
wind music was still somewhat resented in Germany and the
instrumentation very uncommon to concert organizers.
"We wrote one thousand letters and we received more than
nine hundred letters declining our proposals!" The honorar¬
ia the ensemble received for a performance often only cov¬
ered the expenses. But when the radio played recordings of
the ensemble and they began to produce records, their suc¬
cess and renown increased. Before engaging the CC, the ra¬
dio required them to pass a test. On the other hand the en¬
semble was greatly promoted by a radio producer, Horst
Hempel, who worked for the WDR (West German Radio).
Dieter Klocker remembers with gratitude that Horst Hem-
pel gave the young musicians important advice in stylistic
questions. Later he invited them for a new recording, for he
had realized immediately that it was well worthwhile sup¬
porting the young ensemble. In 1966 the record production
was begun, beginning with the recording of Ignaz Pleyel's
wind sextets. In 1969 the ensemble started its first world
tour; in 1972 they performed in Australia and in China
where TV cameras filmed their appearances. In 1974/75 the
CC was to be seen and heard in Portland and in Los Angel¬
es. Since then the ensemble has been invited almost every
year to various concerts and festivals abroad. For Klocker
these numerous travels are much more than just in compli¬
ance with an obligation assumed. Klocker regards music as a
language which is able to bring all human beings spontane¬
ously closer to one another, and he is happy when he sees
that people are happy because of his music. What he means
is demonstrated by a unique experience Klocker had once in
Minsk (USSR) where the audience did not applaud until the
intermission, but then it did so with an incredible intensity
and enthusiasm. After the concert, parts of the audience
gathered round the musicians and the conversation lasted
until 6 o'clock in the morning. This is one of those events
which belong to the most beautiful ones in the life of any mu¬
sician.
The CC does not, however, limit itself to concert tours;
record production takes up the rest of the ensemble's time, to
a much greater extent than with most other ensembles of this
kind. Klocker has about 80 to 90 performances a year, not
counting his activity as professor at the music academy in
Freiburg. By now he has made one hundred recordings,
some of which have received awards. The recordings, as well
as the concert programs, demonstrate the vast and varied re¬
pertoire of the CC, clearly revealing the influence of its
founder and conductor. It is self evident that its repertoire
comprises all the major works of chamber music. Most re¬
cordings are works by less known maestri or less known
Nationa
C arinet
Supp iers, Inc.
A offers
COUPONS for readers of this issue
CLIP & MAIL
for
GREAT PRICES
1240 W. Jarvis Suite 405
Chicago, IL 60626
312-262-2882
Vandoren Reeds Olivieri Reeds
Buy any 3 boxes 3 boxes or more
get FREE
Bb temp. $8.95
1 Vandoren Reedguard
+ Reg. $19.95
1 Vandoren Cork Grease
The Clarinet — 39
works by great maestri, thus actually containing rarities
which, as a result of Dieter Klocker's passionate research,
were brought to light. There is hardly a library that Klocker
has not searched for such compositions to suit his purpose,
i.e. compositions for clarinet or for ensemble. Consequently,
his own archive consists now of more than 15,000 titles. The
recordings of Haydn's wind music, which was practically
unknown until Klocker found it, and Mozart's religious ari¬
as with clarinet instrumentation show how beneficial Klock¬
er's research has been.
Moreover, Klocker rediscovered a great number of septets
which, written in the classic and early romantic period, are
well worth listening to, e.g. by Max Bruch, Ignaz Moschel-
es, Conradin Kreutzer, and Fnednch Witt. The revival of
the genre of the Sinfoma Concertante, which was very popular
during the classic period, is also interesting. Next to that,
one has to draw attention to the Sonata for Clarinet and Piano by
N. Ch. Bochsa, one of the small number of sonatas for the
clarinet in the classic period, is of an enormously high value.
When searching for such unknown works, Klocker pays
particular attention to the quality of composition, for it is as
important for the classical period as for any other period of
music to separate the better works from the mediocre ones.
The high standards of interpretation benefit the lesser known
works, for the ensemble studies these works with as much
commitment as it would the works by Mozart or Beethoven.
The fact that time and time again the recordings become
meaningful events is, above all, due to the delight the musi¬
cians take in making music, to their technical brilliance, and
to their excellent ensemble spirit.
It would be logical that, when playing works from the clas¬
sical period, the CC should use instruments of that time. But
40 — The Clarinet
Klocker, speaking at least for his instrument, does not think
that this would be justified since before the beginning of the
19th century most clarinetists used the technique of over¬
blowing. Thus, another ideal of sound prevailed which could
not be attained by using modern blowing techniques on old
instruments, even if the old touches were imitated. "Playing
an old instrument with our advanced mouthpiece is, and I
will use a harsh word, charlatanism, for using only few keys
is pure dazzling and fails to be an innovation of sound."
Klocker does, however, go back to the original sources of
classical music by using the old prints in order to come as
close as possible to the actual performance of the time as far
as articulation is concerned.
Klocker's cooperation with EMI, under the direction of
the ambitious producer Gerd Berg, started in 1973, and
proved to be particularly successful. Some interesting record
collections were thus produced, e.g. "Mozart — Original
und Falschung" (Mozart — Original and Counterfeit),
"Beethoven/Mozart/Haydn — seine Freunde und Schuler"
(Beethoven/Mozart/Haydn — his friends and students), as
well as the recording of the complete divertimenti and seren¬
ades for wind instruments by W. A. Mozart. In 1976, fol¬
lowing an initiative of Klocker's, the fruitful cooperation of
the ensemble with the internationally renowned chamber or¬
chestra Academy of St. Martin in the Fields started with the
recording of symphonies. The complete works for wind in¬
struments by Klocker's favorite composer, Haydn, were re¬
corded with Teldec and have received excellent critiques.
This outline of the CC's repertoire would be incomplete
unless Klocker's endeavors for contemporary music were
mentioned. For, although the ensemble calls itself "classi-
cum," it does not in any way limit itself to the classic and ro-
mantic periods. These periods are, and because of the instru¬
mentation quite naturally so, the periods from which the en¬
semble draws most of its repertoire. But Hindemith, Stra¬ OBERLIN
vinsky, Schonberg, and other modern composers are also in¬
cluded in it. Furthermore, Klocker is very active in distribut¬ It's important for a clarinetist to have the space to
ing orders to compose modern music. Along with many oth¬ grow. The Oberlin Conservatory offers its students
ers, the German composers Manfred Niehaus, Alexander the most enriching Kind of space.
Giirsching, Helge Jorns, and Christoph Redel have com¬ Musical Space. Musical groups and performing
posed pieces for the CC. opportunities abound from early music to jazz
ensembles, woodwind quintets to wind ensembles,
It is astonishing that Dieter Klocker, apart from his activi¬ chamber orchestras to full orchestras and student
ties for his ensemble, still has left some time for soloist activi¬ touring ensembles. There's room to grow in 182
ties, to which he dedicates himself increasingly in his record practice rooms, the extensive music library and the
productions. A very nice and representative selection of piec¬ finely-equipped electronic music studios.
es from his repertoire, which demonstrates his musical capa¬ Academic Space. The Conservatory shares a
city and versatility, is offered by his recital, (see The Clarinet, spacious campus with Oberlin College where
Vol. 10, No. 4, p. 43.) Following the complete works for students can take advantage of a full offering of
clarinet and piano by C. M. von Weber, a collection of liberal arts courses. A five-year double degree
program provides both the Bachelor of Arts and
works for the clarinet by J. Brahms has recently been pub¬ the Bachelor of Music degrees.
lished. Klocker has a special predilection for the interplay of
voice, clarinet, and piano. The following recordings are Personal Space: Campus life is rich and
varied, covering a wide range of extra-
planned in the near future: The Czechoslovakian wind con¬ curricula, housing and dining options.
certos and Mozart's clarinet concertos together with the "so-
Lawrence
listi di Veneti" under the direction of Claudio Scimone.
Some more discoveries are to be expected from Klocker, but McDonald
Professor of Clarinet
he does not yet want to give too much away about them. Student of Robert Mar-
Considering once again all of Klocker's activities: he is a cellus, Clark Brody,
clarinetist, conductor of an ensemble, teacher, researcher in Jerome Stowell. Solo &
music, and editor — one understands even better the phrase chamber music per¬
quoted at the beginning: "My life is my hobby." This is formances at the
why it is not surprising that Klocker has decided to put an Library of Congress,
Smithsonian Institu¬
end to his concert career at the age of 55. tion, Alice Tully Mall
"I have done everything in my life that can be done. I and Aston Magna.
have had all successes and I don't feel like continuing. It is Member, Oberlin Wood¬
by now the turn of the younger generation, they have to con¬ wind Quintet. Principal
tinue. I will support them, this is my task. I don't want to clarinet, Toledo Sym¬
phony Orchestra and
perform on stage as a skeleton. I want to publish all my find¬ Peninsula Festival Or¬
ings. I will write a book on wind music and prepare a cata¬ chestra. Recordings for
logue so that my discoveries can be utilized." Qasparo, Orion and
Until then — probably in 1991 — the clarinet players and Advance.
listeners will hopefully have been introduced to many an in¬ "A wonderful musician
teresting discovery. But already today it is certain that Dieter and master of his in¬
Klocker is one of the greatest clarinetists of our time who, strument" Richard
more than anyone else, has rendered invaluable services to Dyer, Boston Globe.
clarinet music as well as to the whole field of wind instrument V

Oberlin College J [
DIETER KLOCKER — DISCOGRAPHY Conservatory
(With thanks to James Sauers for his updated information. Ed.)
of Music
EMI 1C 187-30202/05; (4 LP) Beethoven, Seine Freunde und
Schiller.
EMI 1C 063-30205; Beethoven, Septett Es-Dur, Op. 20; (also DC
SAS 007 016).
Telefunken 6.42133 AW; Beethoven, Tdnze WoO 17, 6 deutsche THE SPACE TO GROW
Tdnze WoO 42, 6 landlerische Tdnze WoO 15 u. a.
EMI 1C 065-30 994; Beethoven, Trio, Op. 11 and Mozart, Trio, For more information about the Conservatory and
regional auditions write:
KV 498.
Acanta 4023 523, (3 LP); Brahms, Kammermusik fiir Bldser; Horn- Michael Manderen, Room 302, Oberlin College
trio, Op. 40, Klarinettensonaten, Op. 120, Klarinettentrio, Op. 114, Conservatory of Music, Oberlin, Ohio 44074
Klannettenquintett, Op. 115. (216) 775-8413 Please send Pictoral Catalogue.
Acanta RCA 40.23 144 AW; Franz Danzi, Concertante Sinfoniefur name
Klarinette und Fagott B-Dur. Street
EMI 1C065-46310; DvoMk, Serenade d-Moll; Franz Lachner, Ok- City State Zip
tett, Op. 156.

The Clarinet — 41
 EMI 1C 185-30 663/67 (4 LP); Joseph Haydn, Seine Freunde und * EMI 065-46 069 (also 2021967-4, BASF); Schubert, Oktett, Op.
Schiller. 166 (D. 803).
Telefunken 6.35 473 EX (4 LP); Sdmtliche Bldserdivertimenti, Vol. 1 * MPS 88014; Louis Spohr, Nonett, Oktett, Quintett, Op. 52, Septett.
(Haydn Edition XXVI). * Acanta RCA 40.23 140 AW; Johann Christian Vogel, Sinfonia
Telefunken 6.35550 EK (2 LP); Joseph Haydn, Divertimenti fur concertante fur Klarinette und Fagott, Klarinetten Quartett B-Dur.
Btiser, Vol. 2 (Haydn-Edition XXVII). Telefunken 6.35366 FX (3 LP); Weber, Kammermusik mit Bldsern.
da camera 92 714; Hindemith, Klarinettenquintett, Klarinettenquar- * Telefunken 6.42830 AP; Virtuose Kammermusik: Klarinette. Weber,
tett, Klarinettensonate. Grand Duo concertante Es-Dur, Thema und Variationen B-Dur, Introduk-
Acanta RCA 40.23139 AW; Conradin Kreutzer, Quintett; twn, Thema und Variation B-Dur fur Klarinette und Streichquartett.
Friedrich Witt, Quintett. * EMI 151-45 392/93 (2 LP); Klarinetten-Recital. Debussy, Bochsa,
MPS 25 21808-2 (Also Musical Heritage Society MHS 4327K,)* Lutoslawski, Reissiger, Barmann, Strawinsky.
Mendelssohn, Klarinettensonate, Konzertstiicke fur Klarinette, Bassett- * da camera 91015; Barockklarinettenkonzerte. Vivaldi, Molter, Tele-
horn und Klavier. mann.
da camera 92 805; Ignaz Moscheles, Sextett and Septett. Acanta RCA (19 LP); Bayerns Schldsser und Residenzen.
EMI 1C 183-30 168/70 (3 LP); Mozart, Original oder Fdlschung. * Telefunken 6.42171 AW; Erne Kleine Nachtmusique. Erzherzog
EMI 1C 187-28 836/39 (4 LP); Mozart, Seine Freunde und Schiller. Rudolph von Osterreich, Serenade fur Klarinette, Viola, Fagott und
Acanta RCA 40.22 459 DX (Also BASF K22459); Mozart, Bld¬ Gitarre B-Dur; Diabelli, Goepfart u. a.
serdivertimenti KV 439b Nr. 1-5. EK Telefunken 6.35334 (2 LP); Wiener Serenade. Hoffmeister,
TIS 6.42131 AW: Mozart, Klarinettenkonzert A-Dur KV 622; Sinfo- Haydn, Wranitzky, Beethoven, Mozart, Vanhal, Krommer.
nia concertante Es-Dur KV 297b. Teldec 642 416; Duos fur Bldser. Donizetti, Haydn, Beethoven,
EMI 1C 063-28 839; Mozart, Quintett KV 581; Quintettsatz B-Dur Devienne, Mozart.
KV 516c; Quintettsatz F-Dur KV 580b. * Acanta RCA 40.23 512 AW; Klarinette und Harfe. Backofen,
Intercord 120 809; Mozart, Klarinettenquintett KV 581; Weber, Bochsa, Lefevre, Muller, Schubert, P. Wolff.
Klarinettenquintett Op. 34. EMI 1 C 65 30992; Geisthche Anen fur Sopran, konzertierende Klari¬
MHS 3024: Ignaz Pleyel, Bldsersextette. nette und Orchester.
da camera 92 904 (also MHS 1521A); Max Reger, Klarinettenso- * Acanta RCA 40.23 508 DX; Der Hirt auf dem Felsen. Lieder fiir
naten. Op. 49, Nos. 1, 2. Sopran, Klarinette und Klavier von Schubert, Lachner und Kal-
liwoda.
Acanta RCA 40.23145; Freiherr von Schacht/Franz Anton Hoff-
meister, Klarinettenkonzerte. * ELECTROLA HMV-Studio 1C 039 1468431; Danzi, Sinfonia
Concertante for Flute, Clarinet, and Orchestra, (contains a Sinfonia
Concertante by Kozeluch, without clarinet)
* ELECTROLA HMV-Studio 1C 039 1468421; Hoffmeister, Sin¬
fonia Concertante in E-flat for Two Clarinets and String Orchestra;
RAYBURN Sinfonia Concertante in B-flat for Clarinet, Bassoon and Orchestra.
Musical Instrument Co. (Waldemar Wandel is the other clarinetist in the E-flat
Concertante.)
* EMI 1 C 151-30 736/39Q 4LP; Franz Schubert und seine
263 Huntington Avenue — Boston, MA 02115 Freund.
(617) 266-4727 Teldec 6.43046; Mozart, Clarinet Quartets (arr.), Op. 79, Nos.
Next to Symphony Hall Established 1939 1-3.
Emilio Lyons - Woodwind Specialists An updated supplement to this discography will appear in the
LARGEST SELECTION OF NEW & USED summer issue of The Clarinet.
Clarinets — Saxes — Flutes — Oboes — Bassoons * Records currently available.
Mouthpieces — Rentals — Accessories — Repairs
WORKS EDITED BY DIETER KLOCKER
Bochsa, Charles — Nicolas: Grande Sonate for clarinet and piano in
SELMER E-flat Major, Op. 52. Edition Kunzelmann (GM 287)
YAMAHA Fuchs, Georg Fr.: Duo for clarinet and horn, Op. 5. Edition Peters
ARMSTRONG
GEMEINHARDT (8314)
DEFORD Kalliwoda, Johann Wenzel: Introduktion and Variations for clarinet
LURIE and piano, Op. 128. Edition Kunzelmann (GM 233)
LINTON
LEBLANC Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus: Quartets for clarinet, violin, viola, and
RICO violoncello, Op. 79, Nos. 1 and 3 (B-flat Major, E-flat Major,
LAVOZ F-Major). Edition Kunzelmann.
OLIVIERI
BERG LARSEN Pleyel, Ignaz: Trio for two clarinets and bassoon. Edition Peters
BOBBY DUKOFF (8207)
OTTO LINK
BEECHLER Reissiger, Carl Gottlieb: Duo brilliant for clarinet and piano. Edition
VANDOREN Kunzelmann (GM 288)
MEYER Stadler, Anton: Duet for two clarinets. Universaledition Vienna
H. COUF
CLAUD LAKEY ^ ^ Weber, Carl Maria von: Concertino for oboe-solo, flute, four clari¬
nets, two bassoons, two horns, trumpet, trombone, double-bass.
Hundreds of Selmer - Yamaha • Buffet in Stock Edition Kunzelmann (18161)

42 — The Clarinet
Clarinet talk
By Arthur Henry Christmann
During my many years of institutional teaching, I have
written dozens, if not hundreds, of letters of recommenda¬
tion. I have read even more, and received almost as many
publicity brochures containing brief biographies of the can¬
didate, especially focused upon the teachers with whom he or
she has studied. I believe I am fairly accurate when I say that
the number of such teachers generally runs between three or
four and six or seven. I call the higher number "teacher
name dropping." It is meant to impress the reader with the
thoroughness of the candidate's study. Personally I find this
sort of thing counter-productive, and I always advise my stu¬
dents to avoid it. I tell them to remember which teacher had
the greatest influence on his or her playing or conception,
and to be sure to mention that person first. Then, if he or she
has had significant instruction from others, the total number
should be restricted to two or three. It is probably wise to
mention at least two teachers, or the impression may be
given that the applicant has a rather limited point of view.
Three may well be acceptable, but more than that will fail to
impress and will follow the law of diminishing returns.
The difficulty here can be clearly understood. Very often
the teacher who has had the greatest influence is an early
one, somebody without general reputation. To most persons
reading the brochure that person is merely a name. Notwith¬
standing this, some of the finest teachers in the land are in
this reputationless category, very likely doing an outstanding
job in some very small community, with no chance to
achieve a wider reputation. The candidate, in presenting his
or her qualifications, feels that somebody of national reputa¬
tion must be listed among his or her teachers. Usually this is
a "big name," first desk player in a ranking symphony or¬
chestra or an outstanding recitalist. An applicant, seeking a
position, cannot be blamed for this; it is the way of the
world...
However, let us analyze a bit further just what is involved.
It is very easy to say that celebrated players do not necessarily
make good teachers. The clue here is in the word "necessari¬
ly." I have heard it said categorically that great players do
not make good teachers. This is, of course, an over¬
simplification. Some celebrated players do make good teach¬
ers and some do not. There seems to be no direct relation¬
ship between success as a symphony player or outstanding
recitalist and skill in teaching. The general tendency, how¬
ever, is in the direction of a negative correlation. Many out¬
standing players have been gifted with a high degree of musi¬
cal and clarinetistic talent, and some can scarcely remember
the very earliest stages of their playing. Consequently, these
know little about the development of clarinet playing from
the earliest stages through the middle stages, to advanced
competence. Such players are only valuable as teachers for
the most advanced players, and their efforts must be classi¬
fied as coaching rather than general teaching. Added to this,
many of them are so busy that teaching is done only to bring
in a few more dollars or, if in a celebrated music school, a bit
more of prestige. Teaching turns out to be an activity in
which they have very little real interest.
The progression from teacher to teacher also has another
aspect. There is a type of student whom I call a "shopper."
This person proceeds from teacher to teacher (celebrated or
less so) to find out whether or not any new ideas can be
picked up. If one goes to a doctor who cannot cure him, it is
natural to seek out another doctor who just might have a new
idea which will work. Nobody can be blamed for this. How¬
ever, one who is with a doctor who does very well for him or
her and who is generally respected, seldom goes to another
doctor to see whether or not he can do even better. In music,
however, this does occur. A certain teacher may have built a
student into a really fine player, one who should take great
pride in his or her ability, but there is a thin sprinkling of
clarinet students who will then go to another teacher to see
whether he can offer something better or different. In my
own experience I have had very few students of this type, but
I can honestly say that I do not respect them. Although such
students may be sincerely in search of new ideas, a secondary
consideration is still the old one that contact with various
teachers will look good in the biography.
Unfortunately, clarinet ideas are, for the most part, em¬
pirical, not based upon sound scientific investigation. They
represent the ideas of various players, based, to be sure, on
life experience, but unfortuantely they are given out as abso¬
lute truth, scientifically proven. The hitch is, that as indivi¬
duals vary greatly, the life convictions of various individuals
will also vary. Consequently, several teachers will give the
student advice and information completely at variance with
what he or she has been previously taught. If one subjects
himself or herself to too many teachers, the result may well
be confusion.
Returning to the original emphasis of this article, I would
urge candidates for positions not to be "teacher name drop¬
pers." Two or three wisely chosen names in the "studied
with" category will usually make a more positive effect on
the potential employer than a long list of teachers whose
ideas and schools of clarinet playing may actually be in oppo¬
sition.
Of course, in all the foregoing discussion I am referring
only to the number of clarinet teachers mentioned. Listing
teachers in other branches of music, especially if prominent,
will be a distinct advantage providing, again, that the num¬
ber is kept within reason. For college teaching jobs especial¬
ly, employers are interested in candidates who seem to have
an all-round education in music and are not only clarinet
players. For symphony orchestras also, a broad training in
music in general is no disadvantage.
Tom Foolery
I don't care who commissioned it; I don't care
who wrote it; I don't care who is conducting it.
In my opinion, it's a black day in the history of
Carnegie Hall!
The Clarinet — 43
Swiss kaleidoscope
By Bngitte Fnck, A rlesheim, Switzerland
This kangaroo double clarinet concerto is a fanfare for two
colleagues who have gone to Australia to see what the clari¬
net world is doing down there. Pamela Weston, who is start¬
ing her world tour there, and Jennifer Adam, who has re¬
turned permanently to her homeland. At the same time it is a
musical message from an Australian colleague who would
very much like to do an exchange with someone in Europe,
the U.K. or U.S.A. He teaches clarinet and saxophone stu¬
dents to matriculation level. His employer is the South Aus¬
tralian Education Department. Anyone interested in further
details of this offer should write to me immediately, or direct¬
ly to:
Wouter Hagoort
10 Ell wood Avenue
Para Vista
South Australia 5093
Claria tries — keep Jit...
I'm hoping that these extracts translated from a paper on
"The Alexander Technique" by Thomas Fehr, a specialist
teacher living in Stafa near Zurich, will give you some new
ideas on posture and breathing. He is also a flautist, but
most of what he says can be related to the clarinet.
Asked how he practiced the art of Zen, a master replied,
"I've been trying not to get in the way of my breathing for
thirty years..." The point being that as soon as one starts to
think about how to breathe, the action becomes unnatural.
(There go our breathing techniques.)
■^3
Use brains, not strains!
From the muscular point of view, breathing is dependent
on the chest and diaphragm. The diaphragm, however, was
originally a throat muscle. During the evolution of vertebrates
it wandered down the way. The nerve center still lies be¬
tween the third and fifth vertebrae, the same as the throat.
Training one without the other is meaningless, if not harm¬
ful. The existence of such a hierarchy of interdependence
forms the basis of Alexander's theory, and his technique puts
this theory into practice.
Shock or excitement causes contractions to start in the
throat and spread from vertebra to vertebra right to the tips of
the toes and fingers. Expansion would take place by the same
route if we didn't get in its way — but that's just what we
mostly tend to do. We contract with worries, fears, and ten¬
sions the same way as for shock, so we look for security in
44 — The Clarinet
musical "technique" to have all situations "under control."
This leads to safe playing, but produces a hard tone without
life.
There is a symbiosis between the performer and his pub¬
lic, an exchange of energies which we call induction. Ten¬
sions are picked up, or feelings of joy and delight. Unfortu¬
nately, the powers of tension are stronger, as there is a gen¬
eral lack of the extending and expanding capabilities.
Wind players and singers influence their audiences in the
way they breathe. If they breathe freely, so will the audience.
(Now I understand why I get a sore throat listening to certain
singers — or out of breath listening to some of my students
play. I thought I had an over-vivid imagination.)
Our aim would be to become tension-free, both psychical¬
ly and physically. This freedom is interdependent. Usually
we get rid of old habits by substituting new stimuli.
Here are a few basic random examples of the Alexander
Technique.
1. We must recognize that a stimulus affects us, e.g. "the
desire/intention to play or practice the clarinet."
2. We must not follow this intention/impulse at once, be¬
cause it contains all the preconditioning and tensions we
have developed up to this point... the manner of sitting,
standing, finger position, embouchure, etc. We must
become completely calm and without intent, as if we
were never going to touch the instrument again! A diffi¬
cult concept to describe in words. The Alexander Tech¬
nique is 95 % based on this idea of STOPPING — giving
up, so to speak. STOPPING is breaking out of the old
way of doing things.
3. Having "stopped" our intentions, we can direct our¬
selves to let go and expand in movement. The old stimu¬
lus "play the clarinet" can be replaced with a new reac¬
tion.
There are problems which occur to make this technique
more difficult than it should be.
1. Our habits are ingrained, particularly after long years of
formal training.
2. "End-gaining" i.e. wanting to get a result soon — keep¬
ing the end in sight instead of the way to achieve it.
3. Our assessment of our sensory perceptions as deviating
from a standard accepted norm, instead of realizing we all
have our own personal norm to improve upon.
It is necessary in learning the Alexander Technique to find
a good teacher who can communicate a "living" concept of
quietness/peace. Exercises alone are not sufficient in the long
run. However, here are a few basic tips.
1. Lie on the back, knees bent, feet apart on the floor. The

The Clarinet Duo, David Smeyers and Beate Zelinsky.
arms should lie on the chest, head on some books. These
should be piled high enough so that the small of the back
can be flat on the floor. Spread the shoulders upward
and outward.
2. STOP — give up, do not try to control anything. Stay
"active" like this for 15-30 minutes (saying "yes" to the
passing of time, and the existence of gravity). When you
have learned to lie, the next stage will be to take the in¬
strument in your hand and play a few notes freely.
3. Eventually playing can be attempted in a standing posi¬
tion where the back will be noticeably freer and more
stretched — but only for the first few minutes. In order to
counteract habits which start to crowd in, it is necessary
to repeat the lying down process, then standing up again
to play.
The effects of lying down show in all parts of the body.
Fingers — The freer and more open the back, the better the
fingers. No cramped hand positions can be bettered without
freeing the back.
Tongue — It can only work lightly and quickly when inde¬
pendent of the lips and larynx. Embouchure and breathing
become less deliberate.
Recommended reading on the Alexander Technique is a
book called The Use of the Self.
Quite a few clarinetists have been visiting Switzerland
lately. One of them was David Smyers who came past for a
chat, having done a radio recording in Zurich. The first time
I met David at the Royal Academy in London, he said some¬
thing that stuck in my mind. "We have an obligation to enter¬
tain our audience." This may shock some of you purists who
get tied up with reeds, intonation and "what the composer
wanted." What the audience wants is also a possible factor to
consider. If they weren't interested in us they wouldn't come
in the first place, so we should avoid the idea of "educating"
them. Violinists don't usually do that. They put on a show,
they entertain, and still make musical sense (mostly), what¬
ever category of music they present.
David Smyers has been working in a Duo with Beate Ze¬
linsky (former student of Hans Deinzer) since 1980. Their
special interest is in avant-garde music which they try to
make enjoyable, particularly in children's concerts. The
children have no pre-conceived ideas of "what music is" so
they love it and drag their parents along with them.
Beate and David play the whole family of clarinets from
E-flat to bassset horn and contrabass. In 1982 they were
scholarship participants in the Stockhausen Project held in
The Hague. One of their future engagements will be the
"Swallow-Clown Duo" in the opera Thursday from Light by
Karlheinz Stockhausen in Covent Garden, London, starting
on the 16th of September 1985. As far as David knows, it is
the first time that a living composer has been given an open¬
ing night.
Here is an extract from the Rhein Zeitung... "The focal
point of the children's concert was Der kleine Harlekin by Karl¬
heinz Stockhausen... The two soloists have been working in
close contact with the composer for a few years now... David
Smyers played and danced, and it was not just the children
who were captivated." The Giessener Anzeiger says, "Clari¬
nets forge a trail in the silence... Exciting avant-garde con¬
cert... Avant-garde music sounds better and is easier to lis¬
ten to than its reputation would have us believe. The Clari¬
net Duo, Beate Zelinsky and David Smyers, both excellent
players, presented us with a kaleidoscope of modern sounds,
enchantingly and stimulatingly entertaining."
One of our composers here in Basel certainly knows how
to bring out the entertainment aspect in contemporary mu¬
sic. His name is Jiirg Wyttenbach, and I have never heard
anything of his yet that I have not thoroughly enjoyed. The
premiere of his work entitled Lamentoroso took place in the
Basle Music Academy on the 1st of February. It is a vocal
and instrumental jest (Badinerie) in the form of a grand dou¬
ble carillon (Glockenspiel) for one vocalist and six clarinets...
"en la et male.'' Clarinette en la, as you may know means clar¬
inet in A. However, we didn't only have a double carillon
but a double entendre as well, "en la et male" being also "in
female and male." The beautiful female vocalist was sur¬
rounded by six young male clarinetists. This work was com¬
missioned for Hans Rudolf Stalder's students with funds
from the State Music Credit Commission.
Just watching the procedures for setting up stage was fun.
Special boards were fixed to the music stands on which glas¬
ses containing various levels of liquid and other paraphernal¬
ia stood. A gong hung center-stage and a semi-transparent
The Clarinet — 45
white screen framed the back. Everything extraordinary that Hessischer Oberhessisches Museum GiefSen
can be done with a clarinet was done — including playing it. Rundfunk Horfunk Altes SchloB
hr 26.Januar 1985
It demanded great wit, split-second timing, and a sense of 17.oo Uhr
the theatrical from both players and singer. Swabs were
pulled through in unison, clarinets banged on chairs and the
most unusual interesting noises made, yet none of it de¬
scended into the trivial, but was a tightly-knit unit of move¬
ment and sound. Finally, the clarinets disappeared behind THE CLARINET DUO
the screen, leaving us with a shadow play and the singer sit¬ Beate Zelinsky
David Smeyers
ting in Buddhist-like meditation, sounding the gong faintly
and chanting. The audience (with a large contingent of clari¬
netists) was very enthusiastic. I should think it would also ap¬
peal immediately to non-clarinet playing audiences every¬ Karlheinz Stockhausen "Laub und Regen" aus "Herbstmusik" (197V82)
(geb.1928) ftlr Klarinette und Bassetthorn
where. Jiirg Wyttenbach's address is:
Richard Rodney Bennett Crosstalk (1966)
(geb.1936) flir zwei Klarinetten
Jiirg Wyttenbach
18 St. Alban-Vorstadt Giacinto Scelsi Ixor (1956)
CH-4052 Basel (geb.19o5) flir Klarinette solo
Switzerland Gerald Glynn Drei Mannheirner Duos
(geb.lW) fiir zwei Klarinettisten (1982/83)
P.S. Those who have not replied to Stefan Dappen after
receiving his music, please do so!!
Walter Zimmermann Filnfundzwanzig Karwamelodien aus "Lokale
(geb.19^9) Musik" fiir zwei Klarinetten (1979)
Hans-Joachim Hespos harry's musike 0972)
(geb.1938) fiir Ba&klarinette solo
Klaus Hinrich Stahmer Porcelain Music (1983)
(geb.19^1) fiir zwei Klarinettisten, Zuspieltonband
und Diaprojektion
Konservatorium fiir Musik
Montag, 12'. November 1984, 20.15 Uhr, Grosser Saal
Akademie-Konzerte
Musik-Akaderrve der Stadt Baser Grosser Saai
VORTRAGSUEBUNG
Freitag, 1. Februar 1985, 20.15 Uhr,
Studierende von Kurt Weber, Klarinette
KLAR INETTEN-KAMMERMUSIK
C. Saint-Saens Aus der Sonate op. 167 Meinrad Haller
fur Klarinette und Klavier
- Allegretto Wolfgang Anadeus Mozart Adagio F-Dur, KV 580a
- Allegro animate 1756-1791 fur Klarinette und drei Bassetthbrner
{erganzt von Raymond Meylan)
Stefan Dappen Drei kurze Tiergeschichten Stefan Dappen
- Katze und Maus Peter Sonderegger Tombeau per tre clarinetti (1984)
- Mausebussard *1960 (Klarinette, Bassetthorn,
- Elephantenspaziergang Bassklarinette)
Norbert Burgmiiller Duo op. 15 in Es-Dur Hans-Peter Mosimann
fiir Klarinette und Klavier Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Kanonisches Adagio F-Dur, KV 484d (410)
1756-1791 fiir drei Bassetthorner
Aus dem Konzert KV 622 Heinz Blattmann
in A-Dur Jacques Wildberger Kanons und Interludien
- 2. Adagio *1922
- 3. Rondo Allegro fiir vier Klarinettisten (1984)
kleine Klarinette/Klarinette
Igor Stravinsky 3 Stiicke fiir Klarinette solo Wenzel Grund Klarinette
Bassetthorn/Klarinette
Bassklarinette/Klarinette
Malcolm Arnold Sonatine Sandro De Luigi Urauf ftihrung
- Allegro con brio
- Andantino
- Furioso
Jiirg Wyttenbach Lamentoroso
*1935 Badinerie vocale et instrumentale
en forme d'un
Am Klavier: Rahel Inniger GRAND DOUBLE CARILLON ("Glockenspiel")
(Texte: Rabelais)
pour
Konzertfliigel Steinway & Sons, Vertreter Krompholz & Co. AG, Bern une cantatrice et six clarinettistes
(en la et male)
EINTRITT FREI KOLLEKTE AM AUSGANG Ur ff

Die Werke von Sonderegger, Wildberger und Wyttenbach wurden im Auftrag

der staatlichen Musikkreditkommission fiir die Klarinettenklasse
H.R. Stalder an der Musik-Akademie Basel komponiert.

46 — The Clarinet
Letters
In John P. New hill's letter that appeared on page 35 of the Fall,
1984 issue concerning additional works for the C clarinet (Theodore
Jahn, "Repertoire for the C Clarinet, " Spring, 1984, p. 20), the
works listed below were omitted. Ed.
B. Ensemble Literature
P. Bottesini Andante & Variations
(flute, clarinet in C and strings)
Devienne 9 Trios for flute, clarinet and bassoon
(I recently edited the Bottesini and three of
the Devienne Trios, but transposed the
clarinet parts to A and B-flat.)
Kiichler Quartets, Op. 1, Nos. 3, 4, 5
(clarinet and strings)
Mozart Quintet, K.V. 580b
(clarinet, basset horn and strings)
(An unfinished work recently completed
and published in two versions)
Rossini Quartet in F
(flute, clarinet, horn and bassoon)
C. Stamitz Quartets
Op. 4, No. 2 and Op. 8, No. 4
C. Selected Orchestral Music
Herold Zampa Overture
I. Hurnik Mouvements Musicales
(One of the most unusual parts I have had to play.
Both score and parts call for two basset-clarinets
in C, going down to written C-sharp. It is possible
that the A clarinet was intended, but passages are
typical of the C instrument — spiky with quick staccato)
Mendelssohn Elijah
Hymn of Praise
(Especially No. 8, Let all men praise the Lord
bars of semiquavers)
Fair Melusina Overture
(to play the main theme in G Major)
Smetana Bartered Bride
(Mr.Jahn mentions the overture, but
75% of the opera is scored for C clarinet.)
R. Strauss Alpine Symphony
(one player doubling C clarinet and bass)
London, February 15, 1985
Dear Jerry,
It seems that my timing (hopefully not my musical timing)
is off somewhat. Indeed, it would have been wonderful to be
here in London with you and many other friends and col¬
leagues during the International Clarinet Congress. How¬
ever, "Better late than never" as the old saying goes. So
here I am, with my wife Genny, on the first lap of a five-
month visit to Europe during my sabbatical year.
As could be expected in a musical world like London, I
just lived an unforgettable musical experience that has
stirred my clarinettist's heart; so the object of this letter is to
share that experience with you and perhaps, if you so wish,
with the other faithful readers of The Clarinet.
Because my research during this sabbatical year is to be
centered mainly in Belgium, France and Germany, I had not
planned on returning to Britain at all this year. But that was
before a smart travel agent changed my mind with an offer I
could not refuse: a much cheaper airline ticket via London.
The rest came as a breeze. "Since I must go to London,"
I thought, "I may as well remain there long enough to see a
few friends and colleagues, bring myself a little more up-to-
date at the British Library and, of course, enjoy a few con¬
certs."
The London Symphony Orchestra was advertising a spe¬
cial concert in Barbican Hall, a "Happy Birthday, Jack!"
concert. This aroused my interest immediately, plus the fact
that Mozart's Concerto K. 622 and Finzi's Clarinet Concerto
were both featured on the programme, not to mention
Strauss' Don Juan as the opening number and
Tschaikowsky's Fourth Symphony to end the concert. The solo¬
ist, the "Jack" whose birthday was being celebrated publicly
by the entire L.S.O., was none other than Jack Brymer.
Unsurprisingly, the large Barbican Hall was sold out days
before the event. Preparing ourselves mentally a few minutes
before the music began, we wondered if Jack Brymer's 70
years would show in his playing... We needed not have wor¬
ried. On he came sporting a white tuxedo empahsizing the
fact that he was both featured soloist and guest of honour
within his own orchestra. And with his typical and charming
manner of addressing the public as if he were speaking to
each person individually, he expressed surprise at seeing so
many people in the hall and thanked the audience warmly
for being there as friendly witnesses to his "coming of age."
After a stirring and luscious-sounding Don Juan convinc¬
ingly and expertly conducted by Norman Del Mar, Jack
Brymer was back on stage, this time wearing the usual dark
full-dress with tails, indicating subtly that the birthday
niceties were over and that only Mozart mattered now.
Then the magic began. Beautifully-proportioned, well-
balanced, deeply-felt Mozart! Jack Brymer's well-known
crystal clear tone had lost none of its lustre and was just as
penetrating as ever, alive with nuance and colour. Nor had
he lost his ease to sing out, project and perform musically
and convincingly without ever showing any apparent effort
or strain. Yes, the magic was still there.
Following the lyrical and, in my opinion, too unfrequently
heard Finzi Concerto, Mr. Brymer was presented with a
framed coloured photograph of the L.S.O. bearing the
signatures of all its members. And after being forced back on
to the stage several times by a roaring applause which simply
would not subside, Jack Brymer suddenly allowed the con¬
cert to continue by announcing that the fuss about his 70th
birthday was all very well, but definitely did not mean that
he was considering retirement. Humourously he then added
that since all the orchestras he has played with seem to per¬
form Tschaikowsky's 4th Symphony more often than any
other piece, he had often thought that on such an occasion,
he should somberly announce: "Dear friends, I will now
play my last Tschaikowsky's 4th!" — "But," he went on,
"due to the fact that I am not retiring today and, therefore,
since I am still an active member of the L.S.O., I am pleased
to invite you all to join me in my next Tschaikowsky's 4th."
And with that, he returned to the L.S.O.'s coveted Solo
Clarinet Chair he had occupied for so long and sat there
waiting for his friend, conductor Del Mar, to give the
downbeat...
What a man! What a pro! Happy Birthday, Jack!
Most cordially,
Armand Ferland
(Professor Ferland is on the faculty of Universite Lavel in Quebec and
has contributed articles to The Clarinet. Ed.)
The Clarinet — 47
Preparing for auditions: a study of symphonic repertoire

By Kalman Block

(EDITOR'S NOTE: We are honored to welcome Kalman Block, one of America's most distinguished clarinetists, to The Clarinet. Readers are
urged to write to Mr. Block regarding orchestral playing: auditions, literature, etc. His address: 3914 Franklin Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90027.
Future columns will be derived from readers' response.)

Having served on audition committees during my many years in the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the remarks constantly
heard from conductors (Solti, Mehta, Guilini), were these: "They play brilliantly, they get all the notes, but I am not moved."
"They play correctly with good tone and intonation but they do not give me the feeling that they are sensitive to the musical
demands of the phrase." "We must pick a clarinetist who by his style and musicianship will fit into the existing woodwind sec¬
tion of our orchestra." How can young clarinetists prepare themselves to satisfy these stringent musical demands? Where is one
to get this special musical quality that conductors are looking for which stands out among the finalists at orchestra auditions?
Much of this talent is inborn but still it can be acquired with proper background, training, and experience. It is difficult at pre¬
sent to obtain enough and the right kind of orchestra training. The colleges and music schools are crowded with clarinetists, so
that the entire repertoire can hardly be learned. (It was easier in my days, especially in New York City where I studied with that
great clarinetist Simeon Bellison, solo clarinet of the New York Philharmonic, and also played for many years in the National
Orchestral Association.)
A thorough research and study of the orchestra literature is an absolute requisite in preparing for auditions. Before you can
formulate your own ideas of each solo, it is necessary to have some knowledge of the style of the period in which the composer
lived and an awareness of the historical and traditional concepts of the repertoire. A study of the score and knowledge of the in¬
strumentation in the area around a particular excerpt is helpful. One's experience in having listened to the entire work, either at
concerts or through records, will assist in formulating the general character of each solo. For instance, how can one start in the
proper manner the solo that opens the Sibelius First Symphony without a knowledge of the symphony as a whole? The theme
which the clarinet introduces is played many times throughout the work, even in the last movement. It cannot start in a different
character than it is used later. You will soon come to the conclusion that the main character of that solo is in a declamatory style.

Symphony No. 1 in E minor, Op. 39 (1899)

By Jan Sibelius (1865-1957)
Clarinet in A
1st Movement
The entire introduction to this symphony is a clarinet solo with timpani accompaniment. It is a dramatic theme that should be
sung in a profound and intense manner. The beginning should have a declamatory character, as it has when it is repeated by the
full orchestra in the last movement. The conductor will probably not beat during this solo, although he may indicate the tempo
at rehearsals. The phrasings, which are those of Sibelius, should be clearly projected to bring out its points of tension and relax¬
ation. The tenutos should be emphasized and slightly broadened. From No. 1 to 2 there is a great increase in tension. It calls for a
cresc. and a slight accelerando to the climax, No. 2. In order to control the rhythm of the eighth notes in those bars, think counting
in four. The half-note triplet should be relaxed and broadened. Throughout the entire solo gauge your dynamics with care. The
conductor will start beating at the Allegro, using your last quarter note as an upbeat.

SYMPHONY No. 1

1st Movl An DA NTt^ ma NON TkoPPo

Express i ro
* i ' o o—«—d
1 1 +
m p
"f
a

^ o cr iJi\J rffT■ I
P morendo
Allegro

48 — The Clarinet
 You must acquire and be able to present an interpretation and phrasing that are in accord with the work as a whole. Solos
cannot be isolated and placed out of context as you see them in most orchestra study books. This knowledge and skill cannot be
achieved by a quick, superficial review of the excerpts just before audition time. Phrasing, in general, is not something to be im¬
provised at the time of performance. It has to be studied, as mentioned above, in relation to the whole and other parts. These
matters of design, balance, contrasts, expression, tonal nuance have to be pre-determined and played in a sensitive and convin¬
cing manner. They need constant repetition and critical listening. (The tape recorder offers valuable assistance in this matter,
for it gives you the chance of being objective in judging the overall and specific qualities of your performance.)
The excerpts could be divided into two main groups: (1) Statements of main themes, such as the opening of the Tschaikov-
sky 5th Symphony, 3rd movement of Brahms' 1st Symphony, 2nd movement of Brahms' 3rd Symphony, and (2) Solos in Sequence.
The first category, perhaps the more important and difficult, requires the player to know each theme's character and tempo.
Any miscalculation in either could reveal a lack of experience. The solos in sequence, usually short canons and fugue-like
figures, require matching and definition of phrasing in relation to the preceding material. You must be aware of the kind of ac¬
companiment or counterpoint in order to maintain good dynamic balance and rhythmic ensemble. It is also necessary to know
what follows your solo so that it connects or dovetails with other voices. The conductor is very aware of all of the above and he
wants to hear evidence that the player is knowledgeable of all those elements and it is shaping his playing accordingly.
The study of orchestral repertoire is not only of special value to those clarinetists whose aims are toward the symphony or¬
chestra, for they are also of great assistance to those students who wish to broaden the scope of their studies. Our solo and cham¬
ber music literature is very limited. Though highlighted by masterworks from Mozart, Weber and Brahms, it is lacking in the
output from other great composers, for example Wagner, Tschaikovsky, Strauss. Our present contemporary composers are tak¬
ing advantage of the clarinet's versatility by giving it a major role in their solo and chamber music writing. Using the orchestra
literature to enhance our knowledge of past musical styles should not be neglected in the study of the clarinet.
Simeon Bellison in his lessons stressed the study of orchestral excerpts, and he would cover the entire work of each composer
— the solos, ensemble passages, accompaniments, etc. These parts, as they are now, were available from the publisher. He
would analyze, phrase, "sing," and discuss all aspects of each solo. I still have his original phrasing marks for each solo in the
repertoire. It might be interesting and informative if a typical analysis (as I do in my forthcoming book1) were printed. You will
be able to examine and take note of the solos in the Beethoven 7th Symphony. The phrasing suggestions are a consensus that has
been derived from Bellison, my own, and, in general, from experience in playing and listening to symphonies over the past
many years.

Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92 (1817)

Clarinet in A By Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
1st Movement
This symphony, with its persistent rhythmic statements in each movement, was called by Wagner "the apotheosis of the
dance." The slow introduction starts with the oboe stating the theme, followed by two clarinets in unison. It is necessary to be
very sensitive to the tuning not only with the 2nd clarinet but with the oboe, whose note (concert E) you must match in the 3rd
bar. In general concert E is a crucial note throughout the introduction and into the Vivace.

Pocq sostenuto J = 6s

Am JifloW. ft*')

rcirroriT rcfiTurruprcaT Lgr'Ttgrf

Ob. I
5 ^
bctjIL- #" I "
r r w7-
cresc. _ -JT PfL 0 B
•>
At the Vivace the main theme is announced by the woodwinds. The flute and oboe start with the dotted rhythm so character¬
istic of Beethoven (scherzo of his 9th symphony, last movement of 5th piano concerto). This rhythm requires special attention
from the entire orchestra. Unless carefully subdivided, this rhythmic figure
+- * *
! H I
could slip into a 2/4 pattern like this:

The Clarinet — 49
Be sure that the first dotted eighth is long enough, and do not enter too soon with the sixteenth. Throughout the movement you
will notice many subito pianos (p). Some conductors wish a very slight gap (|) between the forte and the sudden piano. Watch the
conductor carefully at those places. The following are solos and important parts to be played in this first movement. The addi¬
tional phrasing and dynamic marks (not in the original) are grouped within parenthesis. The tenuto marks ( -) are indications
of expression. They do not necessarily mean elongate or accent. They infer a slight stress and warmth be placed on the note.

Vivace «l- = io4

mm o i _

f nf «f «f *f &
Solo

■hJ^lrrrr'
^ dolce u-a-J
D 6 1

tMtls I
/
Scl~0
m- m-mm
m 53 m
m m s
Jf xr ff f
(yd\p cresc.

J vp v|p
8 K
f ^ 'j? ' ' ' ' G. P. "

BOB ACKERMAN
THE MOUTHPIECE DI^

Personalized custom mouthpiece work Win slow

while you wait at the
Ligatures
1985 Conference of the
International Clarinet Society
I will be there with all my tools, supplies, and
horns. Many items will be at rock bottom prices.
SALE!! FROM ENGLAND!! The world's finest ligatures
S-80, mouthpieces I have a good selection for all saxophones & clarinets!
V. D. Reeds of Lawton Sax Mouthpieces.
New & Used Selmer Saxes Try the Peter Eaton Clarinet Winslow ligatures use individual, independent, cushioned con¬
New & Used Buffet Clarinets and his mouthpieces for R 13s tacts. They are changeable by the player for a choice of twelve con¬
tact positions. This allows maximum reed resonanse and also a vari¬
For more information write or call: ety of choices for different tonal results, jazz or symphonic. It is
twelve ligatures in one. More reeds are playable and it pays for
itself.
BOB ACKERMAN See your dealer, or contact us, for any special sales promotion or
5127 W. Amherst discount price. The list price is $76.50 each, any size. This includes a
special cap, a tube of spare parts, and an instruction sheet.
Dallas, Texas 75209
MADISON ENTERPRISES
(214) 357-6951
P. O. Box 8434 — Madison, WI 53708 — (608) 241-1124

50 — The Clarinet
 The sequence of woodwind solos after the holds [No. 1 j must be played in a uniform manner regarding dynamics, rhythm,
and phrasing as if one player performed each segment. Hopefully, in this case, the oboe will lengthen the dotted quarter note.
Since uniformity is required, it might be best to confer with your colleagues in cases like these:

-
Jp p •—p*- j 1—m—1 i./rrri iii
T / 1 T1 1 r t LJbU 1 1 f i < < ' "W r- —7
LU
/ _ /. ;/' v P^ y FM-
c

^ 't I r *< i r "j J i ■»"•]—i j

rMf—r m 4- M 4, rf-
?7TT r/fir 7
r 7
i ' 'i —7 | 1 i
& E'l rT'i ' /"/. ? ei-esc. puco a poco
yet
\>0J> U U'ia v ««?/.■:
- tl't:fit-'
f il am-mm Vw±mj_ cc nil mrrw-ww-r-mr/
N LLI

2nd Movement
The opening woodwind chord should have a slight pulsation, followed by a gradual diminuendo. It should sound like a sigh.
The middle section (subordinate theme) starts with the clarinet and bassoon playing a duet in octaves. The violins play a triplet
accompaniment to that theme. The opening G should start piano and grow immediately to a mf which should be the dynamic

The Clarinet — 51
level of this solo. Unless this motive is sung with intensity and sufficient volume it may not project over the strings. Pay par¬
ticular attention to the various cresc. -dim., and the breathing indications. The high C's are very important in this theme. All high
C's have to broadened and made more dense by opening up the mouth cavity. The segment with the C's should be played with
full tone. Play the triplets very broadly. Bonade has indicated an unusual breathing scheme in his book. Since there is dovetail¬
ing and doubling in this passage, they are good if done skillfully. The skill of breathing very quickly between phrases should be
developed. It is not the same as a big breath at the start of a solo; it is a sudden supply of a small amount of air that could take
place very quickly, almost unnoticed. The breathing marks in parenthesis are those of Bonade. The others are possibilities;
most of them to be eliminated depending on tempo.

At the Coda (letter H) there are solo duets for two clarinets; they are in octaves and fifths. The tuning, ensemble and attacks
are very sensitive. Generally the high C's have to be lowered. In the last chord, as in the first chord, place a gentle stress on the
attack.

52 — The Clarinet
 3rd Movement
This movement is beat one-to-the-measure. At No. 1, the rhythm must be accurately performed by the flutes and clarinets.
The strings have accents on the three previous bars; think of the rhythm before you enter. The half note and quarter must not
resemble a dotted rhythm:
r r

Subdivide and use the quarter as an upbeat to the half.

3rd Movement
Presto:
Presto. d » = 132.
p#- bi 13
vrrr.riT.r
r J J
i rv i / f _
3 h
1 ■■ zzt.
l i i I'^I " i Vi
P2 Ft- PP Jf

At the Trio (a controversial tempo, differing with each conductor), the eighth note must be heard after you make the swell.
Conductors like Bruno Walter were constantly seeing to it that the short notes did not disappear. In the middle section the
melody is played by woodwinds in unison. The group of three grace notes is played just before the beat.

The Clarinet — 53
 Allegro con brio
4th Movement
This very lively and rhythmic movement does not have solos of importance. (Below you will find some ensemble passages:)

Allegro con brio, d = 72.

7
0 f I* 1 1 »
p r r p I P > y P I p r ? p I P >» P I p » * p
ff ■/ »/ / !/•

• r ^i f a,/ ■ j/
!
k r km r-V- L)
Y ^! a.. p
(&f j 11 f- r f / / J / r *0 v y'lC
*> sf s V 11
■ k ' ■' s
j / / »/ /
1.

^ P m pTh r ^pTP ^Sff y-lTp S

54 — The Clarinet
Auditions:
The important section, as far as auditions are concerned, is the middle part of the second movement. The entire symphony is
a study in ensemble, rhythm, and intonation — which are basic skills of good musicianship.

Overture Leonore No. 3 — Beethoven (Introduction)

Adagio
Suggested 4) =80
Clarinet in C

The introduction to this overture is usually beat in a broad three. There will be occasional subdivisions. The solo at No. 1
which is part of an aria from the opera, is played with the second clarinet and two bassoons. It should be sung expressively; the
climax being the C at the third bar. Do not breathe during the second bar. The grace note in bar 2 is played like a 16th beat. If
the conductor is in three you should subdivide, so that the grace note will be on the fifth beat.

Overture "LEONORE No- 3"

Adagfio L. VAN BEETHOVEN, Op. 72 a
in G 3 &

This solo is written in a register that is frequently used by Beethoven. However a very weak note of the clarinet is exposed in this
theme — B-flat. To play it with its regular fingering without adding any keys for resonance would be unwise, for the note would
not have, in this particular place, enough solidity to project. Since it is impossible to play it with the side key, it is necessary to
add fingers to improve the quality of the note. The various fingerings that can be used are as follows: Pressing the regular B-flat
keys, add the following:

_C#/G#
Notice that the F/C key is common to each fingering. It adds resonance. This key
can be used as a resonance key for all throat notes.
F/C F/C F/C F/C C
Key

Depending on the clarinet and what you get used to, each one of the above fingerings, and you may find others, will improve
the quality and shape of the B-flat. Since there is more resistance involved, a slight tightening of the embouchure may be
necessary. Now the B-flat is a note that you can really blow into and properly shape.

About the writer...

Kalman Bloch, solo clarinetist (retired) of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, was appointed to that position by Otto
Klemperer in 1937. He has played under the following Music Directors: Barbirolli, Stokowski, Walter, Wallenstein, Van
Beinum, Solti, Mehta, and Guilini. He has frequently appeared as soloist with that orchestra and the Hollywood Bowl Or¬
chestra, and performed the west coast premiere of the Aaron Copland Clarinet Concerto. He was asked by Arnold Schonberg to
record Pierrot Lunaire. This was its first recording. He played solo clarinet in the Columbia Symphony Orchestra (west coast),
recording all of Bruno Walter's records and records of the music by Stravinsky. He is very active in chamber music and has ap¬
peared many times with the Roth Quartet and the Budapest Quartet. Mr. Bloch is on the faculty (Professor of Clarinet) at
Pomona College and California State University at Fullerton.

ENDNOTE
1. The Orchestral Clarinet, a study of symphonic repertoire, is to be published by Boston Music Company.

The Clarinet — 55
Announcements
Dates set for Italian clarinet competition
The Valentino Bucchi Musical Association, in collabora¬
tion with the Conservatorio di Musica Santa Cecilia in
Rome and under the sponsorship of the Italian Ministries of
Tourism and Entertainment, Foreign Affairs, Cultural Pro¬
perty and Environment, and Education, announces its an¬
nual international performance and composition composi¬
tion competition for young musicians. Prizes were first
awarded in 1978.
The eighth Valentino Bucchi competition will be held in
Rome in November 1985 and will be devoted to the clarinet.
There are two competitions:
a) clarinet performance
b) clarinet composition
Further competitions will be devoted to other instruments
and ensembles; 1986 will be dedicated to the double-bass and
to "music and nature" piano performance-composition
competition for childhood.
International competition for clarinet performance
Regulations...
1. The Valentino Bucchi Musical Association, in colla¬
boration with the Conservatorio di Musica Santa Cecilia
in Rome, announces an international competition for
clarinet performance, which will be held in Rome from
the 12th to the 21st of November 1985.
The competition is opened to clarinetists of every
country, who will not be over 35 by 31st December 1985.
MULTIPHONICS
and
OTHER CONTEMPORARY CLARINET TECHNIQUES
ENDORSED BY: F. Gerard Errante, Phillip Rehfeldt, William O. Smith,
Elta Lod»wig-Verdehr
by Gerald Farmer $14.95
CLARINET MASTER CLASS
with Allen Sigel
Master Lessons & Etudes Based on Six Solo Works by
MOZART, WEBER, SPOHR, BRAHMS
ENDORSED BY: Mitchell Lurie & Leon Russianoff
by Alien Siqel $12.00
TWO NEW COMPOSITIONS BY SMITH « ERRANTE
JAZZ SET for SOLO CLARINET
by William 0. Smith $7.50
SOUVENIRS DE NICE
for UNACC. CLARINETS & PIANO
(one performer)
by F. Gerard Errante $6.50
Please Include Check with Order and $1.50 for Mailing Expense
NY State Residents Include 7% Sales Tax
Send for FREE Extensive Brochure of More Books
& Music and over 60 RECORDINGS of Major
Clarinetists on 20 Different Record Labels
SHALL-u-mo publications
P.O. BOX 26824 ROCHESTER, NY 14626
56 — The Clarinet
2. The application must reach the following address:
Segreteria del Premio Valentino Bucchi
Associazione Musicale Valentino Bucchi
Via Ubaldino Peruzzi, 20 — 00139 Roma, Italia
by September 15th 1985
It should contain: the competitor's full name, nationality,
date and place of birth, home address.
There are no separate application forms.
International clarinet composition competition
Regulations...
1. The Valentino Bucchi Musical Association, in colla¬
boration with the Conservatorio di Musica Santa Cecilia
in Rome, announces an international clarinet composi¬
tion competition.
It is divided into four categories A, B, C and D junior-
es. Categories A, B and C are reserved for composers of
every country, who will be not more than 40 by 31st
December 1985. Category D juniores is for young com¬
posers, who will not be more than 27 by 31st December
1985. Each candidate can participate in one or more
categories.
Category A: composition for clarinet and orchestra
(length between 10 and 20 minutes). The composition
must be performed by a normal symphonic orchestra.
The employment of choruses, vocal and reciting solo¬
ists is not allowed.
Category B: chamber-music composition for clarinet
and other instruments, from a minimum of three to a to¬
tal of twelve instruments (length between 8 and 15 min¬
utes).
Category C:
C-l composition for clarinet solo;
C-2 composition for clarinet solo to be performed by
youngsters until the age of 15.
Category D juniores: composition for two clarinets or
for clarinet and another instrument.
2. The compositions for the four categories, signed and
sent in one original and seven copies, must reach the fol¬
lowing address:
Segreteria del Premio Valentino Bucchi
Associazione Musicale Valentino Bucchi
Via Ubaldino Peruzzi, 20 — 00139 Roma, Italia
by September 30th 1985
The following must be clearly indicated on the original
and on each copy: the candidate's full name, date and place
of birth, nationality, home address. The length of the com¬
position and the number of the performers must also be indi¬
cated. Each copy should have a statement, signed by the
author, that it conforms to the original. Recordings on rec¬
ords and tape-recorders will not be taken into consideration.
If the candidates have difficulties sending seven copies of
the composition with the original score, they can ask the As¬
sociazione Bucchi to make photocopies. The participant will
be charged Lit. 3,500 for every side of the composition (Lit.
500 x 7 copies), to be paid with the entrance fee.
The competition will be held within the month of Novem¬
ber 1985.
 The submitted compositions must be unpublished, must
have neither won a prize, nor been performed or broadcast MUSIC for the CLARINET by
by radio before the end of the competition.
MEYER

Walter W. Naumburg Foundation KUPFERMAN

and Atlantic Richfield Foundation
sponsor major clarinet competition
The Walter W. Naumburg Foundation in cooperation
with Atlantic Richfield Foundation will sponsor a major clar¬
inet competition from December 6 to 12th, 1985 in New
York City. This will be the first major clarinet competition
in the United States and is for Americans only. Competitors
may not be under 20 years of age or more than 33 years of
age. The first prize will be a cash award of $5000, two fully
subsidized recitals in Alice Tully Hall, a number of orches¬
tral and recital appearances and a recording with Musical
Heritage Records. The prize will also include two works to
be commissioned for the winner. William Schuman has been
commissioned to write a chamber music work and Joan
Tower the concerto. Both of these works will be premiered
by the winner. The second prize will be $2500, donated by UNACCOMPANIED CLARINET SONGS
Buffet Crampon. The third prize is $1000. Moonflowers, Baby! The Conceptual Wheel (1968)*
(1983) Jazz Essay (Sop., Clar., & Pno.) cycle of 3
For information call: Lucy Rowan Mann, (212) 874-1150. Five Little Infinities (1981)* Adjustable Tears (1977)
Infinities #33 (1982) (Sop., Clar., & D Bass) Jazz Cycle
Four Flicks (1980)* Sixth Sonnet (1981)
Five Singles (1968)* (Sop., Clar. & Cello) aria
ClariNetwork International Inc.
CLARINET & PIANO CLARINET, FLUTE & OBOE
announces 1985 ClarFest Sound Objects #4 (1978) A Spring Trio (1981)
Four on a Row (1965)* Windspells (1982)
at Duquesne University (also Picc., Alto Fl., Eng. Hrn.,
CLARINET & FLUTE & E-flat Clarinet)
Four Constellations (1970)*
ClariNetwork International Inc. proudly announces the Four Charades (1959)* CLARINET & STRING TRIO
1985 ClarFest which will be held at the Duquesne University Poetics #5 (1983)
School of Music June 22-25, 1985. CLARINET & PICCOLO
Short Shrift (1970)* TWO CLARINETS & PIANO
Some of the highlights of the convention include: Infinities #31 (1981)
CLARINET & BASSOON
• Performances by Larry Combs and the Chicago Sym¬ Duo Divertimento (1947)* MIXED TRIOS
Tunnels of Love (1970)
phony Clarinet Section, Charles Neidig, Elsa Ludewig- CLARINET & CELLO a jazz concerto
Verdehr, jazz clarinetist Bob Wilber, William McColl, The Good Friends Duo (1972) (Clar., Bass & Drums)
Air Phantoms (1981) Torchwine (1982)
Lawrence McDonald, F. Gerald Errante, Phillip Reh- a secular cantata
feldt, and many others. CLARINET & GUITAR (Basset Horn, Sop. & Piano)
Premeditation (1975) Sound Objects #8 (1978)
• Master Classes by Leon Russianoff, Larry Combs, Elsa (Clar., Viola & Bass)
CLARINET & SOPRANO Trio Concertante (1948)
Ludewig-Verdehr, Earl Bates, Louis Paul, and others. Miickenschwarm (1982) (Clar., Flute & Violin)
Three Blake Songs (1971) Poetics #6 (1983)
• Showcase presentations by Selmer, Leblanc, Buffet, and (Clar., Viola & Piano)
CLARINET & TAPE
Yamaha. Soundspells #6 (1982) MIXED QUARTETS
The Red King's Throw (1977)
For further details, contact Debbie Adams, Duquesne TWO CLARINETS (Clar., Cello, Pno. & Perc.)
University School of Music, Pittsburgh, PA 15282. Four Double Features (1970)* Soundspells Four (1982)
(Clar., Oboe, Cello & Piano)
Pre-registration forms will be available in the spring issue CLARINET & OBOE
of Clarinetwork magazine. Infinities 32 (1981) NEW WORKS
Clarinet Concerto (1984)
CLARINET & VIOLIN (Clar. and Orch.)
The Garden of My Father's House Image (1984)
(1972)* (Clar. and Viola)
MAJOR RECORD COLLECTION Three Foe Two (1970)* Five Flings (1984)
(Clar. and Piano)
Richard Gilbert's huge collection can be had for the
price of a lesson (on tape). Cassette dupes for study Those pieces marked with an (*) are available through:
Boston Music Co.
purposes of virtually all repertoire available. Airport Drive, Hopedale, MA 01747 (617) 478-4813
$35.00 for C60 — $45.00 for C90 prepaid All other works may be ordered by writing or phoning
Send inquiries I requests to: MEYER KUPFERMAN
86 Livingston St., Rhinebeck, NY 12572
RICHARD GILBERT (914) 876-6295 or (212) 724-5357
142-25 Pershing Crescent (2F) — Kew Gardens, NY 11435 Upon request tape or disc recordings can be made available for most of these works.
(718) 526-0546 Composer's reprints may be obtained if any works are out of print.

The Clarinet — 57
Record rumbles
By Jim Sauers
It wasn't long ago that imported records were difficult to
buy in the United States. There were a few imported record
specialists here and there, but a serious record buyer needed
sources in the U.K., France, Germany, and other countries.
However, during the last few years, the record import
business has boomed. In fact, it may have reached a peak,
and some importers, distributors, and mail order houses are
having their troubles.
This is reflected in the length of time it takes some of these
import specialists to fill orders, even though they publish
large catalogs and special lists, it may take months for them
to fill an order. Apparently, maintaining a complete inven¬
tory is impossible, and, for various reasons, it is taking them
much longer to obtain records from other countries.
I am dwelling on this point since several readers have said
they are having problems with sources that have been very
reliable in the past. Therefore, I will suggest a few sources
that are providing good service at this time.
One of the best is Records International, P. O. Box
1140, Goleta, California 93116-1140. They publish a
small monthly catalog which lists 30 to 50 imported records,
and they do have these in stock for immediate shipment. In
the U.S., established customers receive their orders in about
a week. They have records from all over the world. Their last
catalog lists records from Yugoslavia, U.S.S.R., France,
Denmark, Hong Kong, Portugal, Belgium, Sweden, Brazil,
Japan, Spain, and many other countries. They do ship to
Canada and other countries. Write them to get on their mail¬
ing list.
Andre Perrault International, P. O. Box 8310, Virgin¬
ia Beach, Virginia 23450 uses a different system. About
once a month, they send out a 25-40 page catalog listing im¬
ported records. Each such catalog lists several labels and usu¬
ally features the entire catalog of one import label. However,
they make no pretense of stocking these records, as some
mail order houses do. They specify deadline dates for order¬
ing and tell you that delivery will be six to eight weeks after
that deadline date. The records must be paid for when they
are ordered, and there is always some discount. I can see
why they do it this way — they do not get a lot of money tied
up in a large record stock.
For U.S. domestic labels, I order from Rose Records, 214
South Wabash Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60604. They are
reliable and give good service. Sometimes when I send them
an order, I include a list of imports or records I have had
trouble obtaining and occasionally they surprise me by hav¬
ing some of them. They offer a discount and their periodic
flyers have some great bargains. They do ship to other coun¬
tries; I have heard mixed reports on such service, but it is
worth a try for readers outside the U.S.
Of course, compact discs are complicating life for all those
connected with the record business, so that is part of the
problem also.
Two recent releases on the Lyrinx label are LYR 016 with
Beethoven's Trio in B-flat, Op. 11 and Brahms' Trio in A,
Op. 114, and LYR 040, which contains Rossini's Introduc¬
tion, Theme and Variations and his Variations for Clarinet and Or¬
chestra as well as Bellini's Concerto for Clarinet. Michel Lethiec
is clarinetist on both these records.
Tudor 73041 has Reger's Clarinet Sonata in B-flat Major,
Op. 107 and also his Albumblatt and Tarantella. Eduard Brun-
ner is the clarinetist.
58 — The Clarinet
Pavane ADW 7152, titled Three Centuries of Woodwind
Quintets, features the Belgian Woodwind Quintet. The clari¬
netist is Hedwig Swimberghe; the music includes Six Baga¬
telles by Ligeti, Arnold's Three Shanties, an arrangement of the
Golden Age Polka, Zemlinsky's Humoreske, Cambini's Wind
Quintet No. 3, and Sweelinck's (arr. Lubin) Mein junges leben
hat ein End.
The Netherlands Wind Ensemble has made a very nice
record on DENON OF-7115 ND. It features highlights from
Mozart's opera, The Marriage of Figaro, and also has Iman
Soeteman's overture, Sho Jo Ji, Matyas Seiber's Serenade, and
Dvorak's Slavonic Dance, Op. 72, No. 1. The clarinetists are
Ab Vos and Hens Otter.
CRI (Composers Recordings, Incorporated), 170 West
74th Street, New York, NY 10023 has two new records
that may be of interest — SD 507 has a short work played by
Richard Stoltzman, For One, by William Thomas McKinley;
the other pieces (no clarinet) are Paintings VII by McKinley
and Ramon Zupko's Noosphere. SD 509 has Shulamit Ran's
Apprehensions for soprano, clarinet and piano and Ralph
Shapey's Three for Six for flute, clarinet, percussion, piano,
violin, and cello. Laura Flax is the clarinetist in both pieces.
Record International's February catalog listed Panton
8110 0289, with music of Rudolf Kubin (1909-1973). On
one side is his Clarinet Concerto, with Valter Vitek, clarinet.
The other side has his Cello Concerto. Also in that catalog is
Jugoton LSY-66186, a Yugoslavian record. This is devoted
to music of Karl Georg Wisner von Morgenstern (1783-
1855) and includes his Variations brilliantes et favorites for clarinet
and orchestra, Quatuor bnllant for clarinet and strings, Concertante
Solo for violin and string quartet, and his Andante con espressione for
string quintet. The clarinetist is Andelko Ramuscak. I am not
familiar with this composer, but do recommend this record
— nice music, excellent clarinet playing and a good record¬
ing. And their March catalog lists two more Yugoslavian
records. The first is a two-record set with music of Aleksan-
dar Obradovic (b. 1927). This contains his Clarinet Concerto,
played by Milenko Stefanovic. The record number is RTB
3130061. The rest of the set includes his Cello Concerto and his
Symphonies No. 2, No. 3 and No. 5 The second record (number
RTB 2130556) has a Clarinet Concerto by Stjepan Sulek (b.
1914) and Mozart's Clarinet Concerto. The clarinetist is Ernst
Ackun.
TELDEC 6.43046 is a recording I have really enjoyed. It
has three quartets with clarinet and strings. These are listed
as Quartets, Op. 79, No. 1 (from Violin Sonata KV317 d). Op.
79, No. 2 (from Violin Sonata KV 374 f), and Op. 79, No. 3
(from Piano Trio KV 496f). According to the jacket, "This
recording is based on a set of parts printed in 1799 byjohann
Andre, the enterprising publisher —." The performers are
Dieter Klocker and the Eder Quartet. If you cannot locate
this record, it can be obtained from PROARTE, 14025
23rd Ave. N., Minneapolis, MN 55441.
I have mentioned some of the new recorders that are on
the market, and some that are being developed. One new
system demonstrated recently provides recording on com¬
pact discs. This system is in the prototype stage, but may be
available in a year or two.
And finally, as if all that were not enough, digital audio
tape recorders are on the horizon; one of the main problems
is trying to get the process standardized so that there is only
one format — that is, for tape speed, sampling rates, either
fixed or rotating heads, and so on. I am all for that!!!
 Making & Adjusting Clarinet Reeds

MAKING
ADJUSTING
CLARINET
REEDS

B* trlmn H. Bowe*. A. Mm. I).

PL AK-LITE
REED-PAK

REED BOOK
REED SHAPER

REED-GAGE

REED-PLAK

REED KNIFE

REED-PAK Patented double hinged reed case. Holds (12) reeds.

Black polypropylene. ($11.50 & $2.25 S&H)

♦ REED BOOK Illustrated book by Glenn Bowen ($4.95 &$2.25 S&H)

♦ PLAK-LITE Adjust reeds with light. ($25 & $3.00 S&H)

♦ REED-GAGE For measurement of reed thickness. ($85 & $5.00 S&H)

♦ REED SHAPER, plane and blade sharpening jig. ($110.00 $6.00 S&H)

♦ REED-PLAK clamps reed to Lexan table. ($9.50 & $2.25 S&H)

♦ REED KNIFE Best available. Rounded tip. ($25 & $3.00 S&H)

New
SOUNDS OF brochure
WOOD WINDS on request

Box 91 Hancock, MA' 01237

woodwind accebbokieb

The Clarinet — 59
Record reviews
By Rosario Mazzeo
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), Serenade No. 10 in
B-flat Major, KV 361 (170a) ("Gran Partita") for 2 oboes, 2
clarinets, 2 basset horns, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, and contra¬
bass. Weiner Mozart-Blaser conducted by Nikolaus Har-
noncourt. Teldec-Digital — direct metal mastering Teldec
#6.42981-AZ (LC 3706). If not available at your nearest rec¬
ord store, this record can be ordered from Proarte, 14025
23rd Ave. North, Minneapolis, MN 55441.
The clarinetists, playing Oehler-type clarinets, are Alois
Brandhofer and Wilfried Gottwald; the bassethornists, both
playing Boehm instruments, are Hans Rudolph Stalder and
Elmar Schmidt. A mighty quartet!
Run, do not walk to your nearest record store! Here at last
is the full exuberance of the great period of wind band music
in a superb recording. All of these players were brought to¬
gether with the clear idea of reviving those musical elements
present in the Vienna of the Mozart period when the classic
wind-band had its heyday. Particular emphasis was given to
finding oboists and hornists who had instruments and played
in the wanted Viennese manner. All players were chosen be¬
cause of their especial interest and aptitudes for the project.
And Harnoncourt has succeeded most admirably. If you are
interested in the clarinet you must have this record. If also
you are interested in basset horns you must have this record.
If you are interested in Mozart and the unification of the to¬
tal sound which comes into being when the string bass is used
(as indicated by the score), well, you simply must hear this.
It is the apex of wind-band quality.
It is bouncy, with wonderful buoyant rhythmic delinea-
CLARINET
SOLO & ENSEMBLES
Roger Marsh
ANOTHER SILLY LOVE SONG
(soprano, clarinet, & piano) 9.00
Richard Rodney Bennett
CONCERTO FOR WIND QUINTET
score: 12.25 parts: 27.50
SONATINA (solo) 2.75
David Blake
ARIAS (solo) 8.25
QUINTET FOR CLARINET & STRINGS
(A clarinet & string quartet)
score: 13.75 parts: 13.75
Arnold Cooke
CONCERTO FOR CLARINET & STRING
ORCHESTRA (piano red.) 17.75
SONATA (clarinet & piano) 13.75
Joseph Horovitz
SONATINA (clarinet & piano) 11.00
Wilfred Josephs
CLARINET CONCERTO
(A clarinet & small orch.—score) 15.00
Write Dept. 2CL for FREE instrumental music catalog. Prices of im¬
ported editions may change without notice.
THEODORE PRESSER COMPANY
BRYN MAWR, PA. 19010
60 — The Clarinet
tion, beautiful sounds from all choirs, and a great healthy vi¬
tality. There is none of the preciousness which so many con¬
ductors try to get from certain of Mozart's music. There is
resiliency and vigor. There is outdoors. The phrasing is su¬
perb and the basset horns give an indescribably wonderful
colouring which serves as a cohesive force for all of the sonor¬
ities. At the heart of the whole matter is the superb resonance
of the string bass which resounds and gives a resonance and
roundness such as is impossible with a contrabassoon with its
more abrupt starts and stops. The string bass makes a magic
carpet for all of the wonderful sounds above it.
It is quibling to question any of the interpretation. Har¬
noncourt has given us an honest and absolutely beautiful
performance of a very great work. There are those who will
say that perhaps the tempo of the first Menuetto is too fast, but
they have only to hear the second one; the proportions and
relations all fall into place. Conceivably one might do a little
nitpicking here or there, but who has the urge for anything
like that when such healthy, lovely music so admirably
played fills the room?
Heinrich Hofmann (1842-1902), Octet, Op. 80, for flute,
clarinet, horn, bassoon, and string quartet; Serenade, Op. 65,
for flute and string quintet. The Bronx Arts Ensemble, Wil¬
liam Scribner, Artistic Director. Musical Heritage Society
4925M. The recording was made in 1982 at the American
Academy of Arts and Letters in New York. Available from
MHS, 1710 Highway 35, Ocean, NJ 07712. The clarinettist
is Paul Gallo, a player unknown to this reviewer, a very cap¬
able and artistic performer.
Heinrich Hofmann enjoyed considerable popularity in his
lifetime, wrote in many forms, and had many honors and
decorations bestowed on him. The jacket's notes tell us that
his Hungarian Suite had over 100 performances in one season,
and his Frithjof-Symphony had some 70 performances in Eur¬
ope and America. This reviewer is grateful that the Musical
Heritage Society had the initiative to publish this disc.
The Bronx Arts Ensemble is a group in residence at Ford-
ham University where it offers concerts, workshops, broad¬
casts, etc. They have substantial yearly schedules with some¬
thing like 90 concerts in each season and, judging by the re¬
pertoire on this disc, they search in all directions to find in¬
teresting material for their ensemble. Since all of the players
are very active in many of the orchestras giving concerts in
the New York area, it would appear that this group under¬
taking is a real labor of love for its members, giving each the
kind of reward which only chamber music can offer. And we
are the beneficiaries.
The Octet has the curious distinction of being probably the
only original piece for this specific combination of instru¬
ments: flute, clarinet, horn, bassoon, two violins, viola, and
cello. This is curious, since all are among the most called for
in chamber music combinations. It is the same instrumenta¬
tion as the Schubert Octet, plus a flute at the top and minus a
contrabass at the bottom, a very agreeable and mellow
sounding grouping.
The performance is very good indeed, with all voices
equally eloquent. Gallo, the clarinetist, turns phrases very
neatly and with fine spirit. The music itself is warmly melo¬
dic with moments of real interest, but on the whole its princi¬
pal virtue is the offering of a change from the mainstays in
this particular department of octets and septets, Schubert
and Beethoven. And of course it makes us appreciate those
two all the more. Yet it is not fair to dismiss Hotrnann mere¬
ly because he is neither Schubert or Beethoven, nor even
their equal (who is?). Hofmann's music includes various fla¬
vors of the period, sometimes a whiff of Schumann, has ex¬
cellent scoring for the instruments, and for the chamber
music afficianadi it is a disc well worth owning. It rounds out
our feeling for the period. By knowing these "lesser lights"
we can more fully appreciate that era.
The Serenade is also for a somewhat unusual combination,
flute and string quintet. Though there are any number of
pieces for flute with strings, most are of soloistic intent for
the flute. This one is truly a sextet and has the same
agreeable qualities as heard in the Octet.
By William E. Grim, St. Andrews Presbyterian College
A Clarinet Concert. Jules Semler-Collery: Fantasie et Danse en
jorme de gigue; Lied et Final; Reverie et Scherzo; Etudes de concert
pour clannette et piano; and Amand Semler-Collery: Cantabile et
Allegro. Hedwig Swimberghe, clarinet, and Dana Protopo-
pescu, piano. Pavanne Records ADW 7162 © 1984.
Hedwig Swimberghe, a Flemish clarinetist, is a professor
at the Brussels Conservatory. He is a sensitive musician and
produces a very nice tone on the clarinet, especially in the al-
tissimo register. Swimberghe's stylish and energetic manner
of performance is ideally suited to the choice of compositions
included in this album. Jules (b. 1902) and Amand (1902-
1975) Semler-Collery were twin brothers, both composers of
wind music. Amand's sole composition in this recording the
Cantabile et Allegro, is a pleasant but pedestrian work which
clearly reveals the composer's preoccupation with commer¬
cial music. Jules, however, displays a greater idiomatic un¬
derstanding of the clarinet although he seldom transcends
the superficial virtuosity of the solo de concours. The Fantasie et
Danse en forme de gigue is a particularly fine composition, styl¬
istically akin (but musically superior) to the Lamento et Taran-
telle of Gabriel Grovlez. The Reverie et Scherzo is an exciting
encore piece well worth the price of the album. All in all, this
recording is a pleasant listening experience. The reviewer
hopes that before long more offerings of Swimberghe's vitali¬
ty and inspired musicianship will be available on recordings
of the more traditional repertoire.
ing one to believe that perhaps there are limitations to the
adaptability of Bach's music. The Klingman Quintet is an un¬
interesting and uninspired composition whose first move¬
ment is a mere succession of contrapuntal devices. Marshall
Bialosky and Frank Campo, on the other hand, contribute
excellent works for this album; both are clever and succinct,
and take good advantage of the strengths of each instrument.
Mozart Wind Serenades. Mozart: Serenade in E-flat Major, K.
375, and Serenade in C minor, K. 388. Los Angeles Chamber
Orchestra Winds: David Shifrin and Gary Gray, clarinets.
Nonesuch Digital 79073 © and © 1984.
This is simply a superb recording of two of Mozart's best
known Harmonic octets. The Los Angeles Chamber Orches¬
tra Winds perform brilliantly and those who are familiar
with their earlier recording of Jana^ek's Mladi will not be
surprised at the technical precision, the flawless intonation,
and the overwhelming musicality of their more recent effort.
Although it would seem gratuitous to provide a lengthy comp-
te rendu of these two Serenades, several stylistic features of this
recording are worthy of attention.
First, the ensemble emphasizes short motives rather than
long flowing melodic lines. This is a minor point, but it is
more representative of instrumental music than the singlend
quality of so much vocal music; after all, these serenades
were original instrumental compositions and not opera
transcriptions. Second, dissonances stand out in greater re¬
lief than in previous recordings and help to provide an impe¬
tus to the harmonic rhythm. Finally, grand pauses and ex-

Philharmonic Wind Quintet. Bryon Cantrell, arr.: Four Eliza¬

bethan Pieces; J.C. Bach/Roger Stevens: Fugue in G minor; Dan
Klingman: Quintet for Winds; Marshall Bialosky: Suite for
Flute, Oboe and Clarinet; and Frank Campo: Five Pieces for Five
Winds. Kalman Bloch, clarinet; Roland Moritz, flute; Don¬
ald Muggeridge, oboe; Alan Goodman, bassoon; and Rob¬
ert Watt, French horn. WIM Records WIMR-9 Stereo
(available from Crystal Records). Hand-Woven
This is an interesting album of transcriptions and contem¬
porary compositions for woodwind quintet. The clarinetist of STRING LIGATURES
the quintet, Kalman Bloch, hardly needs introduction here.
All of the members of the ensemble are outstanding musi¬ Press-Fit
cians; their performances (especially their rhythmic preci¬ Enhance flexibility and warmth of tone.
sion) are quite exceptional. The Four Elizabethan Pieces is a
very successful set of transcriptions (no mean feat indeed) INDIVIDUALLY HAND-WOVEN BY:
which permits the performers to display their technical prow¬ Kyle M. Peterson
ess, particularly in the fourth movement which is a version of
313 Summer St., Buffalo, NY 14222 (716) 885-5968
"The Queen's Command" of Orland Gibbons. The trans¬
cription of the Bach f ugue, however, is rather pedantic, lead¬

The Clarinet — 61
tended rests are used to great rhetorical effect and bring
about many of the more dramatic points of the perfor¬
mances. In sum, Shifrin, Gray, and the other members of
the octet deserv e the highest praise for this recording.
By Jerry Pierce
David Wright, clarinet; Paul Tardif, piano. Side one: Peregi
Verbunk, Op. 40 (5:54), Leo Weiner; Humoresque (2:29),
Chalmers Clifton (1927); Sonata (10:00), Ezra Laderman
(1957). Side two: Phantasiestucke, Op. 73 (10:32), Robert
Schumann; Petite Piece (1:25), Claude Debussy (1910); Hill-
andale Waltzes (10:27), Victor Babin (1947). Digital Arts
Classical, ME 53084. Digital Arts Recordings, Music En¬
deavors, 15631 Lexington Circle, Minnetonka, Minnesota
55345. $8.95 (plus 1.05 postage and handling).
This is an excellent record with a fine program of varied
repertoire played in a convincing style. Currently Dr.
Wright is Professor of Music at the University of Evansville
in Indiana. His teachers include Thomas Ayers and Robert
Marcellus; he holds a DMA in clarinet performance from
the University of Iowa. Special mention should be made of
the fine piano accompaniment of Paul Tardif, and after the
initial listening of Side One I re-read the jacket notes to see if
there were other albums by these two that perhaps I had
IN^cIStCrdcISS with Mitchell Lurie
missed. If one wants to be picky, one will have to be content
with the misspelling of "Peregi" on the jacket because this is
about all that could detract from the record.
The Leo Weiner Opus 40 is one fine showpiece for clari¬
net, a great opener. I was particularly glad to see the inclu¬
sion on this recording of the Chalmers Clifton Humoresque.
One can't help but notice, however, the absence of the Inter¬
lude which is published with the Humoresque and, by itself, is
approximately three minutes in duration. These two Ameri¬
can pieces are not well known and sadly are out of print. In
the first edition of Cobbett's Cyclopedic Survey of Chamber Music
(1929) Burnett Tuthill described them as "Very fine indeed.
Good for public performance." Today they are still excellent
works and deserve to be performed and recorded. Dr.
Wright's special research into Ezra Laderman is certainly re¬
flected in his performance of the Sonata.
With so many recordings of the Schumann Fantasy Pieces, I
would have preferred this version as Robert Schumann com¬
posed it without Clara's edition. In the winter of 1953 in
Jimmy Collis' The Clarinet, Eric Simon wrote a definitive ar¬
ticle about the contents of the original manuscript. It seems
everyone uses the published editions rather than the manu¬
script (which is in the Paris Conservatory). A new recording
based on Dr. Simon's research would be unique.
The final selection on the recording, the Babin Hillandale
Waltzes, is the icing on the cake, as it is exemplary of con¬
trolled technique and musical showmanship.
"Playing the clarinet like an artist requires the
use of the powerful muscles of the lower abdomen.
Good breath support is the foundation of all good
playing. You simply cannot have fully developed
tonal resonance, consistent response or depend¬
able technique without steady, firm and continu¬
ous support of the wind column from the lower
abdominal muscles. Taking a breath should fill
out the lower abdomen considerably—then the
diaphragm muscles are used to push the air col¬
umn with even-pressured consistency. This gives
support to the tone whether pp or ff. It helps dis¬
courage the instinct to pinch in all registers and in
soft attacks."
Professionals, teachers and students find the use of
a quality reed with consistent strength and reso¬
nance as indispensable to the clarinetist's success
as good breath support. To achieve such high qual¬
ity reeds, Mr. Lurie personally supervises the pro¬
duction and testing of both the original reed and
the newer Mitchell Lurie Premium reed with the
filed cut for added response.
Mitchell Lurie— The clarinet reed to use when you're
striving for perfection.
©1984 La Voz
By John W. Kuehn, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Soni Ventorum Wind Quintet. Danzi: Four Wind Quintets,
Op. 56, Nos. 1 and 2; Op. 67, Nos. 1 and 2. William Mc-
Coll, clarinet. Musical Heritage Society, MRS 4621.
The Soni Ventorum Wind Quintet was formed in 1961
when Pablo Casals invited its members to become the wood¬
wind faculty of his newly founded Conservatory of Music of
Puerto Rico. Since that time this ensemble has enjoyed a
long-standing reputation for excellence in performance.
Unfortunately, this particular recording is marred by
some rather obvious intonation problems. William McColl,
clarinetist with Soni Ventorum since its inception, handles
all of the technical demands of these Danzi quintets with
ease, and his warm tone quality is particularly attractive.
By Keith M. Lemmons, The University of New Mexico
The York Winds: ERA Digital 105, available from ERA Rec¬
ords, Suite 330, 144 Front St. West, Toronto, Ont., M5J
2L7. Side one: Ferenc Farkas, Ancient Hungarian Dances; J.S.
Bach (arr. Nakagawa), Prelude and Fugue XII, from Well-
Tempered Clavier, Bk. I; Christopher Weait, The Jolly Rafts¬
men. Side two: Jacques Ibert, , Trois pieces breves; Charles
Lefebvre, Suite, Op. 57.
This recording of the York Winds of woodwind quintet
music is absolutely superb. The choice and variety of music
are very appealing and endearing. This all-Canadian ensem¬
ble has been together a little more than ten years and has,
during that time, toured extensively throughout the world.
York Winds brings forth a very polished and professional
sound. Not only are the interpretations fresh but invigorat¬
ing and quite exciting. The clarinetist in this quintet is Paul
Grice. He has an interesting concept of playing illustrating
vibrato coupled with a large, bright sound. His playing,
however, does blend and conform to the quintet.
The Farkas Ancient Hungarian Dances is a five-movement
work of traditional dance and folk melodies. It is delightfully
performed. The Bach Prelude and FugueXXH is also successful
as they accentuate all the individual voices of both the Chor¬
ale Prelude and the five-part Fugue. Within the Weait The
Jolly Raftsmen they bring a particularly distinctive French Ca¬
nadian flair to this most humorous and highly spirited work.
The Ibert Trois pieces breves are brilliantly executed with in¬
sight and understanding with regard to instrumental color
and virtuosity. Lastly, the Lefebvre Suite, Op. 57 perfor¬
mance is a fine example of the traditional viewpoint of style,
texture, and musicianship.
The performances are indeed all one could ask for an in¬
terpretive understanding, technical finish, and perfect blend.
The dynamics and intonaf n are impeccable. The York
Winds perform the music with brilliance and conviction
which yields an elegant spirit.
This is an engaging recording with something for every¬
one. The quality of sound of this digital recording is first-rate
and the fidelity gives the quintet excellent presence. They
have done their homework and given us a most enchanting
recording. With the exhilarating performances and variety
of music covered on the disc, it makes this recording a
tremendous value and one that I highly recommend.
By Frank Ell, Michigan State University
Jana£ek: Mladi ("Youth") for Wind Sextet / Idyll for String Or¬
chestra, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Gerard Schwarz,
conductor; David Shostac, flute; Allan Vogel, oboe; David
Shifrin, clarinet; Gary Gray, bass clarinet; Kenneth Mun-
day, bassoon; Robin Graham, French horn. Nonesuch
D-79033 (digital recording).
A thoroughly enjoyable and satisfying performance! Abso¬
lutely beautiful chamber-music playing by each and every
one of the members of the ensemble. Their conception of
Mladi is transparent, buoyant, and full of intensity.
Mladi is full of pitfalls; the performers are to be all the
more congratulated for their success. The lucidity of the re¬
cording suggests that it was conducted by Mr. Schwarz.
Each movement is filled with many changes of tempo and
mood. The transitions between these sections are difficult to
negotiate. For example, toward the end of the first move¬
ment there is a quick accelerando to the final section that is
all off-beats, and passed between instruments at that. The al¬
most constant state of flux sounded natural and elastic in this
performance. It became one of the strengths rather than, as
is often the case, one of the weaknesses.
The unity of instrumental concept also had a great bearing
on the success of this recording. All of the performers seem to
^Noxtfi c/fmeiLccin
c^CLxo/ifions Lance
THE NORTH AMERICAN SAXOPHONE ALLIANCE is
comprised of musicians, educators, and others who
share in common their enthusiasm for the saxophone.
The Alliance places great importance on the need to
disseminate information which concerns the saxophone
and to provide opportunities for music making by both
student and professional saxophonists.
The organization, under its present structure, provides
the findings of scholarly research and keeps its
members updated on new music, new products, and
new techniques. To accomplish its goals, the North
American Saxophone Alliance publishes a quarterly
magazine. The Saxophone Symposium, presents
meetings and conferences at the state, regional, and
national levels, and informs its members of saxophone
news from around the world.
Both Full and Subscription memberships are available
to prospective members. Full membership entitles a
member to receive The Saxophone Symposium,
entrance into meetings and events, and special rates for
any materials the orgainzation publishes. Subscription
members receive The Saxophone Symposium maga¬
zine. Only non-saxophonist music educators and
libraries are eligible for Subscription membershps.
Annual Dues:
Full Membership:
Professional $12.50
College Student $7.50
High School Student $5.50
Subscription Membership:
Library $7.50
Music Educator $5.50
For membership, contact:
Michael Jacobson
No. American Saxophone Alliance
Mansfield State College
Mansfield, Pa. 16933
The Clarinet — 63

have focused, refined tones on their respective instruments.
Because of this the blending and the passing of melodic and
rhythmic motifs were all smooth, producing a kaleidoscope
of colors. Unison pairings such as soprano clarinet and oboe
and bass clarinet and French horn resulted in unique tim¬
bres. I believe that this type of tone quality lends itself to
cleaner intonation; the group's sound was most lucid, in
part, because of their good intonation.
Their musical approach also showed an underlying unity.
The playing of solo passages seemed to be within a pre¬
scribed framework agreed upon by all the members. This
kind of chamber-music playing in which nuances are passed
from player to player and individual notes are similarly
shaped comes only after arriving at a synthesis of musical
thought.
Congratulations, of course, to Mr. Shifrin and Mr. Gray
for their contributions. Their playing is all of the above and
more. It goes without saying that such a performance could
be given only by players of the first rank. This is a recording
I look forward to enjoying many times.
Dobree recordings...
Georgina Dobree's recordings on the Chantry label are
available in North America from the following sources: Ser¬
enade Record Shop, 1713 G Street N.W., Washington,
D.C. 20006; Allegro Imports, 3217 N.E. 15th Avenue, Port¬
land, Oregon 97212; and L'Ateleir Grigorian, 312 Lake-
shore Road East, Units 1 and 2, Oakville, Ontario L6J 1J2
Canada.
Recordings
BRAHMS TWO SONATAS FOR CLARINET 6 PIANO: S301
Mitchell Lurie, clarinet; Leona Lurie, piano. "Solid perfot'-
mances of some of the most glorious music ever composed. "
— Music Journal.
JAMES CAMPBELL, CLARINET —
S331 : Poulenc Sonata, Jeanjean Carnival of Venice, Berg
Four Pieces, Vaughan Williams Studies in English Folksong,
Schumann Fantasy Pieces, with John York, piano.
S333: Weber Seven Variations, Lefevre Sonata §7, Arnold
Sonatina, Martinu Sonatina. w/John York, piano, "musical
sensitivity & maturity" — The Clarinet (Jack Snavely)
S336: Lutoslawski Five Dance Preludes, Bozza Aria, Gade
Four Fantasy Pieces, Pierne Canzonetta, Debussy Petite Piece,
Premiere Rapsodie."! can recommend James Campbell's playing
without reservation" — Aaron Copland.
MELVIN WARNER, CLARINET: S332. Weber Grand Duo Con-
certant, Spohr Six German Songs (w/Diane Ragains, soprano)
William O. Smith Five Pieces (for clarinet alone). "One of the
finest clarinet recordings I have yet to hear.- Audio Magazine
MENDELSSOHN Clarinet Sonata; RECER Clarinet Sonata, opus
49, nr. 2: S334. John Russo, clarinet; Lydia Walton Ignacio,
piano, "handsome performances, well recorded". San Francisco
Chronicle, "polished performances" — The New Records
DAVID HARMAN, CLARINET: S337. Donald Francis Tovey
Sonata op. 16, Burgmuller Duo in Eb, Milhaud Duo Concertant,
op. 351. "Instinctive musicianship" — New York Times
MAX BRUCH Eight Pieces for Clarinet, Viola, 6 Piano: S643.
Empire Trio (Ethan Sloane, Alan Iglitzin, Paul Posnak). "Bruch
composed beautifully and simply for this odd trio; here they
return the favor" — Newsweek
HALSEY STEVENS Clarinet Concerto; LUKAS FOSS Oboe Con¬
certo: S851. Mitchell Lurie, clarinet; Bert Gassman , oboe.
Crystal Chamber Orchestra, Akira Endo conducting. "Clarinet
playing of power, eloquence, £ assurance" — Saturday Review
Send $9.98 each plus $1/order. Free record with each purchase
of three: for each 4 ordered, pay for only 3 (mention this ad).
SEND FOR FREE CATALOG
CRYSTAL RECORDS, 2235 Willida Ln, Sedro Woolley, WA 98284
64 — The Clarinet
New music reviews
By John Scott, North Texas State University
Vaclav Vodi^ka. Premiere Sonate in Si-flat Majeur. Transatlanti-
que #1635 (U.S. Agent: Theodore Presser), 1981, 11 min¬
utes, $8.75.
Vaclav Vodi£ka was born in 1720 and died in 1774. The
work is in three movements; Largo, Allegro non troppo, and Al¬
legro Vivo. Another of the formula pieces of the era, the sonata
is rampant with scales and arpeggios in varied articulations.
There are enough musical and technical challenges to pro¬
vide interest and to make the work worth study. The sonata
appears in the Jacques Lancelot collection.
Jacques Lancelot. Gammes et Exercises pour Clarinette, Transat-
lantique #1657 (U.S. Agent: Theodore Presser), 1982, $10.
This scale and exercise book is a healthy cross breeding of
the Albert Scales and the Eugene Gay Methode with just a
touch of Baermann Part III. Lancelot presents a routine of all
major and minor keys consisting of scales, thirds, arpeggios,
major-minor sevenths, and chromatic patterns. Whole tones,
fourths, fifths, sixths, and octaves complete the cycle. It could
be used as a source of ideas for basic technique building. In
the space of twenty-seven pages the writer establishes techni¬
cal skills of the utmost importance. A fine scale book.
Leonard Stack. Sonata for Clarinet and Piano. Southern Music
Company, 1983, 12 minutes, $7.50.
This recent publication has been re-issued form a 1979
Jena Music release. The sonata, well-written for the instru¬
ment, is characterized by essentially conjunct scalar patterns.
Although not rhythmically difficult it features sufficient
rhythmic variety and is a musically satisfying piece in which
melody and harmony are quite traditional. The work would
be well-suited in the training of the advanced high school and
early college-age student.
By Dan Sparks, Lawrence University
Hollos Mate, Trio for Clarinets. Editio Musica Budapest,
score and parts. $6.75.
This trio (Budapest 1979) by Hollos Mate is "based on the
simplest melodic line, on the so called cambriata and an arc
of dynamics during long notes. The Finnish word tuuli
means wind which suggests that the melodic lines accompan¬
ied by 'duli' imitate the blowing of the wind."1
This short work of 88 bars is gentle, atmospheric, smooth,
and flowing. The three clarinet parts are of equal interest
and the written range is limited to small E upward to C3.
Other than small glissandi, no special effects are called for.
The second B-flat clarinet is required to switch to alto saxo¬
phone in bar 32 returning to the clarinet in bar 59. The ne¬
cessity for this is questionable since neither the range nor the
melodic material is of significant contrast. The third part is
scored for bass clarinet in B-flat.
Good atmosphere is created here through very simple
means. Concert B-flat and E-flat are the main tonal areas
and there is much exchange among the instruments of sus¬
tained pitches.
H enri Martelli, Sonate pour Clarinette en Sib & Piano. Editions
Max Eschig, 16 min., score and parts. $26.25.
 Corsican born Henri Martelli (1895) who has given us
quality opera, piano, orchestra, and chamber music since
the 1920s, including a suite for four clarinets (1936), com¬
pleted the Sonata for Clarinet and Piano, Op. Ill, in 1980. The
Radio France broadcast took place on May 27, 1980. Guy
Dangain, to whom the four-movement work is dedicated,
was assisted by pianist Josetta Morata in that performance.
The work is tonal, contrapuntally conceived, and interest¬
ing rhythmically with good contrapuntal interplay between
the instruments. The writing is conventional harmonically
and formally although somewhat academic. The clarinet
writing is idiomatic and the range practical (nothing above
G3). Martelli makes no use of flutter tonguing,
multiphonics, or awkward leaps or tongued passages.
The Sonata possesses the expected French elegance, craft,
and refinement. This is a tasteful and appealing work which
can be programmed by advanced students or an artist per¬
former; an important new work by a composer of stature.
Jacques Bondon, Concerto D'Octobrepour Clannette et Orchestra a
Cordes. Editions Max Eschig, 23 min., piano reduction and
clarinet score. $46.50.
A lull-blown concerto for clarinet and string orchestra by
Jacques Bondon has just been published by Editions Max
Eschig (1984).
Not well known in the U.S.A., Bondon has been produc¬
tive in all genre since the mid-sixties. Recent works include:
1330, an opera in four acts (1975)
Concerto pour un Ballet for flute and orchestra, 1981
3 Images Concertantes for bassoon and orchestra, 1982
Concerto D'Octobre (1977) is not for "little girls in boarding
school." It is rhythmically complex with many changing
time signatures and is technically difficult. Physical endur¬
ance demands are considerable in the Adagio movement, and
the Finale requires both agile fingers and tongue. The three
movements are well contrasted in mood. The Adagio is espe¬
cially appealing. Each movement has an overall tonal
scheme, and the music is propelled by driving rhythmic pat¬
terns. Much is made of short ostinato-like repetitions of
rhythmic and melodic groupings. The texture is sparce and
well spiced with biting dissonances.
Alexandre Tansman, Musique pour Clarinette (Sfi) et Quatour a
Cordes. Editions Max Eschig, 20 min., score $10.75, set of
parts $24.50.
Polish composer Alexandre Tansman (b. 1897) was com¬
missioned in 1982 by the International Clarinet Society to
write a significant new work for clarinet and strings. Mr.
Tansman accepted the commission and produced Music for
Clarinet and String Quartet in time for a performance by Jerry
Pierce and the Nuovo Quartet at the International Clarinet
Congress at the University of Denver in August of 1983. The
three-movement work is dedicated to ICS President, Jerry
Pierce.
Like the new Martelli work, Tansman's piece is from the
hand of a composer of international importance and was
written in the composer's mid-eighties. Many important
clarinet works have come late in their composer's creative
output. A tew which come to mind immediately are
Mozart's Concerto, the Brahms Sonatas, Reger's Quintet, the
Poulenc Sonata, and, unfortunately, the Duet-Concertino for
clarinet and bassoon by Richard Strauss.
Tansman's new work is reflective, highly distilled, and
closes with a regrettably brief Notturno Finale of only 23 bars.
The clarinet writing is manageable though not thoroughly
idiomatic. The Scherzo (II) features a brief cadenza for the
clarinet and offers the quartet some opportunity for ensem¬
ble performance. Throughout the work the strings tend to
serve as an accompanying body to enhance the more soloistic
clarinet.
ENDNOTE
1. From introductory notes in printed score.
Classified advertising
All ads submitted for The Clarinet should be:
1. Typewritten, double spaced
2. As concisely worded as possible
3. Non-commercial in nature and limited to the sale and trade of
personally owned instruments, music, accessories, etc.
4. Submitted to the Editor by the deadlines given on the ICS offi¬
cers page 2.
5. Placed by members of the I. C. S. only.
Each ad will run only one issue unless the Editor is otherwise
advised.
WANTED...
A copy of Suite for clarinet and piano by Percy Sherwood
(1866-1939); and the score or parts to the Richard H. Walthew
Quintet for Clarinet and String Quartet. Contact:
Michael Bryant
61 Oakhill
Surbiton, Surrey KT6 6DY
England
WANTED...
Selmer Series 10, Model 15M B-flat clarinet, with 17 keys, 5 rings,
plateau thumb key, and Mazzeo B-flat mechanism. Must be excel¬
lent condition.
Craig Stopka
51 Featherbed Lane
Bran ford, CN 06405
(203) 488-7732
WANTED...
A copy of the Lovreglio/Simeon Bellison Grand Concert duet, on themes
from SIMON BOCCANEGRA by Verdi for flute, clarinet and piano,
published by Ricordi of New York.
Also, a copy of the first clarinet part to Sentimental Journey for clarinet
quartet, arranged by Jerry Sears and published by Leeds music. (I
have the other three parts.)
Finally, a copy of the first clarinet part to 3 Clarinet Duets by Bous-
quet (no opus number but very old. Published by Gambaro of
Paris.) I have only the second clarinet part.
Any information about these works or copies of them would be
greatly appreciated. Please contact:
Jerry Pierce
4611 Mounds Road
Anderson, Indiana 46013
FOR SALE:
Pair of Herbert Wurlitzer Reform Boehm clarinets (1963). Photo in
The Clarinet Vol. 9 No. 2, 1982. Any realistic offer considered. En¬
quiries to:
Alan Gold
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
P. O. Box 11440
Manners Street
Wellington, New Zealand

The Clarinet — 65
By Phillip Rehfeldt, University of Redlands
Manuel de Falla, Two Pieces from El Amor Brujo arranged for
clarinet and piano by Charles Schiff. Chester Music, copy¬
right 1983, ca. 4 min., $5.25.
Igor Stravinsky, March, Waltz and Polka arranged for clarinet
and piano by Ray Jackdendoff. Chester Music copyright
1983, ca. 4 min., $5.25.
Falla's El Amor Brujo (Love, the Magician) is an interesting
"ballet with songs" in one act, written and first performed
in Madrid in 1915. The two pieces here adapted, Pantomima
(Pantomime) and Cancion del amor dolido (Song of Love's Sor¬
row), are popular Spanish (Flamenco) in style. They work
well in this arrangement for clarinet and piano. Experienced
players will not find them difficult and certain present-day
audiences will likely find them entertaining.
The Stravinsky work is arranged from the 1919 Three Easy
Pieces for Piano Duo, with reference also to the composer's
more familiar arrangement for chamber orchestra: Suite No.
2 (1925). With the present arrangement the March and the
Polka are perhaps slightly more attractive than the Waltz, al¬
though the Waltz is certainly workable. Anyone planning a
performance from this edition should be advised that the
penultimate note in the clarinet part of the Polka should be a
written C-natural, not C-sharp, an error which the publisher
plans to remedy in subsequent printings.
Franz Tischhauser (b. 1921), The Beggar's Concerto fiir Klari-
nette und Streichorchester (1975/76). Edition Amadeus (U.S.A:
David Glazer Editions
L. Spohr: Fantasy & Variations, Op. 81
For Clarinet and Piano
(Also with band accompaniment)
SOUTHERN MUSIC CO.
G. Rossini: Introduction, Theme & Variations
For Clarinet and Piano
Also with band accompaniment
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
W.A. Mozart: Divertimento K. 439B (K.A. 229)
For Oboe, Clarinet and Bassoon
Originally for two clarinets and bassoon)
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
I. Pleyel: Duets for 2 Clarinets
Elementary Level — Books 1 and 2
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
G.F. Handel: Sonata Op. 1, No. 8 in C minor
For Clarinet (Oboe) and Piano
ASSOCIATED MUSIC PUBLISHERS
(G. Schirmer)
These editions may be ordered and purchased
through your local music store or music dealer.
DfiVID GLfiZER
25 Central Park West #18R, New York, NY 10023 (212) 757-1029
66 — The Clarinet
305 Bloomfield Ave., Nutley, NT 07001), copyright 1983,
ca. 24 min., $33.60.
Caspar Diethelm (b. 1926), Quartet fiir Klarinette, zwei Violen
und Violoncello, Op. 167 (1980). Edition Amadeus, copyright
1983, ca. 20 min., $40.
Here are two substantial, as well as handsomely printed,
works by Swiss composers Franz Tischhauser and Caspar
Diethelm. Standing in similar relationship with today's mu¬
sic as John Gay's Beggars' Opera to the early eighteenth cen¬
tury (or Kurt Weill's Dreigroschenoper to the early twentieth
century), Tischhauser's The Beggar's Concerto, in movements
Job und Hobbies, Nostalgie, and Fitness-Parcours, is an elabor¬
ate, light-hearted, often satirical, cadenza-filled and
modulation-ridden melange-type treatment of popular-
sounding tunes. Even though the material may be from the
cabaret, the compositional style is not trite, and the writing
for clarinet provides the possibility for virtuoso displays of
the utmost formidability. The piano reduction by the com¬
poser works well. The piece is fun; I recommend it.
Although more conservative, the Diethelm Quartet is
equally successful. Written for the unusual but good-sound¬
ing combination of clarinet, two violas and cello, there are
four traditional movements: Allegro melancolerico, Adagio espres-
sivo, Scherzo (with Trio), and Rondo. With experienced play¬
ers the piece goes together pleasantly from the performer's
standpoint as well as, predictibly, that of the audience. In
places the style is not unlike Hindemith. This, incidentally,
is the first that the present writer has seen the use of Haupt-
stimme and Nebenstimme symbols in a non-serial context. Both
works should be placed in the "major contributions" cate¬
gory of the present repertory.
By Keith Lemmons, University of New Mexico
Walter Skolnik, Serenade in F ior Two Clarinets. Tenuto Pub¬
lications (U.S. Agent: Theodore Presser), copyright 1984,
6'20", $5.50.
This duet incorporates five contrasting movements of
varying speed, meter, difficulty, and effect. Two scores are
provided. The format and printing are excellent. This is a
very pleasant and colorful piece, yet not overly difficult or
demanding for the performers. Recommended as a good
training piece for sight-reading practice. The range is to C2.
Not really worth the price.
Henri Lazarof, Adieu for Bass Clarinet/B-flat Soprano Clari¬
net, and Piano. Merion Music, Inc. (U.S. Agent: Theodore
Presser), copyright 1976, 12 min., $2.95.
For those of you looking for a bass clarinet/B-flat soprano
clarinet work incorporating contemporary notations and nu¬
ances, this piece is for you. It is indeed a captivating and
challenging work involving solid technical ability. It shifts
tempos and time frames continually, in addition to ever-
changing dynamics and moods, and is structured to give the
performer ample room for individual aspirations. This is
suitable for recital performance: stimulating, colorful and
enchanting. Recommended.
Jacques Lancelot, L'ecole Du Mechanisme pour Clarinette,
Book One, Billaudot (U.S. Agent: Theodore Presser), copy¬
right 1983, $8.25.
 As clarinet players go I am interested in technic just as
much as everyone else is. Lancelot has given to us another fin¬
ger mechanism compilation and study designed to give us
strength, dexterity, and independence. Book One of a two
volume set, the print is clear, with large readable notations
for the ever-important major and relative minor key passag¬
es. The reviewer is continually overwhelmed by additions to
the already bursting assortment of material evoking the ne¬
cessary evils of technical development. The appreciation of
such dedication and discipline is evident throughout Lance¬
lot's method. Each is logical and thorough, yet this reviewer
feels he has seen and played them all before many, many
times. If, however, you are an individual who must have the
newest edition expounding technical virtue and prowess, this
book is for you. If you feel as I do, however, continue with
the Klose, Baermann, Jettel, Stark, Starer, Verdehr exer¬
cises. ..
Adone Zecchi, Engagement for the B-flat Clarinet and Piano,
Berber edition (U.S. Agent: Theodore Presser), copyright
1982, $7.50.
The writing of this work is conventional and technically
interesting. It starts out with an Allegro non troppo with the
clarinet unaccompanied for the first seven bars in undulating
sixteenth and eighth notes. Included throughout this piece
are changing meters, brief glissandos, and a cadenza which
is rather dull and includes one brief episode of multiphonics.
The work ends calmly and quite unassumingly. It is not an
especially compelling work and doesn't seem to generate
enough interest to make it worthwhile. The score and parts
include no rehearsal numbers and the parts, although read¬
able, appear to be copies of the original manuscript.
By Charles West, University of Arizona
Raoul Barthalay, Cinq Petits Duos (two B-flat clarinets), Edi¬
tions Robert Martin, 1984, $6.75.
These five duos are well within the grasp of high school
and young college students. Even though the notation, dans le
style Second Empire, only appears on the first two duets (Baga¬
telles), the harmonic language of late eighteenth-century
France prevails throughout the five as, in a loose sense, also
does the style. Each duet is laid out on facing pages, the edit¬
ing is ample, and the ranges are conservative. They are en¬
tertaining and at times cute, yet not so overpriced as to pro¬
hibit their inclusion on one's duet shelf.
Franz Anton Hoffmeister (ed. Hermann Miiller, piano re¬
duction by D. Forster), Doppelkonzert B-Dur (cl, bn, pf), Edi¬
tion Kunzelmann, 305 Bloomfield Ave., Nutley, NJ 07110,
copyright 1983, $20.
After the inevitable brush (or perhaps scrape) with the
works of Glinka, Villa-Lobos, Strauss, and perhaps Mendel¬
ssohn, one's search for literature for bassoon, clarinet, and
piano leads eventually to works of K. Stamitz, C.P.E. Bach,
and F.A. Hoffmeister. After the first doubletake (the open¬
ing is strikingly similar to the opening of one of the
Beethoven Duos), we find music of sufficient craftsmanship
to understandably be confused with that of J. Haydn.
Although I found the second and third movements to be
more interesting than the first, the whole work is tuneful and
pleasant, and not without its challenges.
A prefactory notes leads one to believe that the orchestra
parts are not easily obtained. Unfortunate, then, that we
seem bound to the piece's performance with piano: the part
looks, sounds, and plays like a reduction. Especially discon¬
certing are the many obvious wrong notes and discrepancies
between score and parts. Another curious problem is the
inconsistency of articulation. One presumes an identical pas¬
sage in a rondo to be a candidate for a similar articulation. I
found errors in accidentals, notes, articulation, and even
measure numbering.
Of special interest is the cadenza in the first movement
written by the composer. Though somewhat longer than one
would expect of a solo cadenza of the period, the adherence
to style makes it a welcome contrast to many add-on caden¬
zas found in editions of late eighteenth-century concerti.
J^rgen Bentzon, Sonatina, Op. 7 (flute, clarinet, bassoon),
Skandinavisk Musikforlog, Copenhagen (U.S. Agent:
Magnamusic-Baton), copyright 1948.
Danish composer J^rgen Bentzon (1897-1951) was a cous¬
in of Niels Viggo Bentzon and a student of Carl Nielsen.
This piece, dating from 1924, is superbly crafted, displaying
the logical sense of form and development undoubtedly in¬
spired by his distinguished teacher. Compositionally his
technique skillfully straddles a polytonal-quartal fence, with
fourths used melodically and polytonality manifested ver¬
tically. Formally the first movement follows a sonata design
right down to the exposition repeat, the second movement is
a three-part form (A-B-A1), and the finale is a lively rondo.
From the performer's point of view, the Sonatina is chal¬
lenging, but by no means unapproachable; its difficulty level
Clarinet (Tlusic
our stock is
vast...
varied...
our stock is
unsurpassed
We invite your inquiry of hard-to-find repertoire for
clarinet (solo and ensemble), and would delight in
making recommendations for your particular needs.
fTlastercard/Visa credit cards accepted.
(Please supply complete account number and expiration date)
4318 ITIain Street
Kansas City, fTlO 64111
The Clarinet — 67
is at some point between the Ibert and Canteloube trios (with instrument for which there are no parts?
oboe). With the exception of a few 5/8 passages in the last I heartily recommend this to an accomplished ensemble. It
movement, the meters are even and unmixed, and the is fairly certain that it is not a very viable candidate for
marked tempi would make the outer movements fly right doubling into a clarinet choir type performance. Total dura¬
along. No more unconventional performance techniques are tion of the four movements is about eleven minutes.
required than a two-measure fluttertongue for the flutist.
The work is a pleasure to perform, and, I think, also to New publications for future review:
hear. Its length is sensible, sufficient to express and develop
his ideas without overstaying his welcome. I recommend it Scott Joplin (arr. Dieter Forster), 6 Ragtimes for B-flat clari¬
with zest and gusto. net, flute, or bassoon and piano, Books I — IV (6 in each
book). Edition Kunzelmann — U.S.A., $20 each.
Florent Schmitt, Sextuor, Op. 128 (E-flat, two soprano clari¬ T.J. Anderson, Intermezzo for B-flat clarinet, E-flat alto saxo¬
nets in A and B-flat, alto clarinet or basset horn, bass, phone, and piano. Bote & Bock (U.S. Agent: G. Schirmer,
contralto or contrabass clarinets), Billaudot (U.S. Agent: Inc.), $9.95.
Theodore Presser), 1984. David Colwell, First Light for solo clarinet. From composer,
Here is a challenging work for six mature clarinetists 462 Humphrey Street, Apt. 1, New Haven, CT 06511,
which will more than repay the effort demanded. Its difficul¬ bound score $3., unbound (performance) $2.
ties are obvious from the outset: the three lower parts are C.M. von Weber (rev. Lancelot), Variations Concertantes, Op.
printed in bass clef, tonal centers change frequently, and the 33 for B-flat clarinet and piano. Billaudot (U.S. Agent: The¬
meters and tempi vary endlessly. Once one overcomes these odore Presser), $5.50.
technical obstacles, however, a colorful romantic texture is
unveiled with higher-numbered chords marking the har¬ Marga Richter, Sonora for two clarinets and piano. G. Schir¬
monic approach in early twentieth-century France. Except mer, $5.80.
for the lack of a soloist, the work reminds one more of his Leonard Rosenman, Chamber Music V(1980) for piano, flute,
Lied et Scherzo than, for example, the saxophone quartet or B-flat clarinet, two percussion, violin, and cello. G. Schir¬
the Sonatine en trio. mer, score $21.50.
The marketplace as it is, the fact that this requires six ac¬
complished clarinetists probably explains the considerable Salvatore Martirano, Octet for flute, B-flat bass clarinet,
length of time between the Sextuor's composition and its pub¬ E-flat contralto clarinet, celesta, marimba, violin, cello, con¬
lication. I'm happy to see a work of this sophistication ap¬ trabass. G. Schirmer, score $8.
pear regardless of the hiatus, and I'm especially pleased to
see a basset horn part provided. If as clarinetists we ever
hope to convince the world of the basset horn's superiority to End Reed Problems
the alto clarinet, we must first encourage publishers to Forever!!!
provide parts for the instrument. Who would buy an
Use
"PerfectaReed"
Index of Advertisers An ingenious device that takes the
Bob Ackerman .' 50 guesswork out of reed measuring and
adjusting . . . assures perfectly
W.T. Armstrong Company 5 playable reeds everytime.
Bamber 36
Boosey & Hawkes Buffet Crampon . . . inside front cover
The Clarinet & Saxophone Society of Great Britain ... 4 Perfect A Reed
Crystal Records 64 A Scientific Method
Richard Gilbert 57 for Reed Adjusting
David Glazer 66 In simple but graphic language that any
Meyer Kupferman 57 musician can understand, the author, Ben
La Voz 62 Armato of the Metropolitan Opera, uses
dozens of illustrations to show you and tell
Leblanc Corporation inside back cover you how to SELECT and PERFECT a reed.
Luyben 27, 67 "Highly Recommended", Clarinet Magazine
Madison Enterprises 50
National Clarinet Suppliers, Inc 39 PerfectaReed — Measuring Device
North American Saxophone Alliance 63 $75.00
Oberlin College Conservatory of Music 41 Perfect A Reed — Book
Olathe Band Instrument 25 $5.00
PerfectaReed 68 Prices include postage and handling (N.Y. residents add sales tax)
Kyle M. Peterson 61 School and dealer inquiries invited.
Leblanc inside back cover
Rayburn Musical Instrument Co 42 Name (please print)
Selmer back cover Address
SHALL-u-mo 56
Sounds of Woodwinds 59
Theodore Presser Company 60 Mail to: PerfectaReed, Box 594, Ardsley, NY 10502-0594

68 — I he Clarinet
 •w

Pi pin' hot

Pete Fountain
plays it hot,
His clarinet...Leblanc.
Experience the heat
of a pipin' hot
Pete Fountain. Now
offered in four Leblanc
artist and three Vito student
models. For details, write
to G. Leblanc Corporation,
7019 Thirtieth Avenue, Kenosha,
Wisconsin 53141.
© G. Leblanc Corporation 1985. AM rights reserved.

LeIdIanc @
 Reprise.

The Series 10G. The Selmer (Paris) Clarinet designed under the auspices of Anthony
Gigliotti. The clarinet that deserves the serious consideration of every professional
clarinetist and serious student. The instrument that encom¬
The Selmer
passes the supple beauty of the French sound and the dark¬
Company
ness of the German sound to create a distinctive tonal color. Elkhart. Indiana
Available again at your Selmer Dealer.