Klarinet Archive - Posting 000190.txt from 1993/11

From: "Dan Leeson: LEESON@-----.EDU>
Subj: Indiana University
Date: Thu, 25 Nov 1993 15:27:32 -0500

At least two weeks ago I asked David at IU who the clarinet faculty
was and he was good enough to inform me that there were three teachers.
One is the current president of the Clarinet Society (though I have not
had the good fortune to meet him) whose reputation as a player is
awesome, and probably justifiably so.

But the other two, Jim Campbell and Eli Eban, I know.

I sent a note to David telling him what a pleasure it must be to have
such distinguished faculty with whom to study. In a more recent note
from David, and as a result of a question from me on a completely
different subject, I found out that he never received my original
submission.

I have been having problems with note submissions and this seems to
be just another case. If anybody of authority for the board is
reading this, be aware that (in the past at least) I was losing notes
and then getting upset under the assumption that I may have offended
the recipient by my direct approach. That seems not to have been the
case at all. Notes are getting lost (or at least mine are). I now
request the system to send me a copy of every note I submit to make
sure that it is getting distributed.

But back to Campbell and Eban. They are both such wonderful players
that it would be very hard to chose with whom to study. I recorded
the Mozart Gran Partitta with Campbell and members of the Toronto
symphony in the late 1970s and he was a joy to work with. Solid
intonation, sensitive playing, intelligent interpretations, and
smoooooooooooooooooth legatos.

Eban has been playing at a music festival here on the west coast
for several years but I think that he took over the spot as
1st clarinet at the Chatauqua Festival near Jamestown, NY on
the retirement of his predecessor Roger Hiller (formerly of the
Metropolitan Opera). But before he left this area, I had the
chance to hear him play the Mozart K. 581 and it was a pleasure to
hear such a well-trained and intelligent player.

I am only sorry that I have never heard the third teacher at IU,
but his reputation precedes him.

As I look around at the clarinet faculty of American Universities
and Conservatories from east to west, I think that we must have the
best clarinet teaching in the world at our disposal. How fortunate
we are to be in this position. It is rare for any other country.

If you live in France, for example, you must go to Paris to get the
best. In Russia, you have to go to Leningrad or, even better, Moscow.
In the smaller cities of Italy, Spain, England, etc., it is very
difficult to get superior teaching.

So David, please convey my best regards to both Jim Campbell and
Eli Eban. They will both remember me and tell them how much I
enjoy the beauty of their playing.

====================================
Dan Leeson, Los Altos, California
(leeson@-----.edu)
====================================