Klarinet Archive - Posting 000417.txt from 1995/04

From: Bill Tomczak <btomczak@-----.NET>
Subj: Re: Marcellus (was Older clarinets)
Date: Mon, 24 Apr 1995 11:08:11 -0400

>Steve Fowler wrote:
>
>What I believe
>changes is a player's concept of what a clarinet _should_ be. Whether it be
>resistance, projection, sound quality, timbre, or whatever, we, like all
>living creatures, _change_ over a period of time more than an instrument
>does. Look at the difference in concepts of symphony clarinetists between
>the 70's with Marcellus et al, and the sound of symphony players today. The
>concept of the clarinet player is changing, and with it what we want out of
>our instruments.

I hope this is not going to sound like too naive of a question, but here goes.

Would someone mind characterising these changes in the classical clarinet
sound? I'm especially interested in the reference to Marcellus, since I was
a freshman at Northwestern University the first year he came on board there
and had a chance to study a bit with him. (and that's a whole other story!).

Since then I've almost completely lost touch with the classical world and
who are considered the latest clarinet "stars". My own concept of "the"
clarinet sound has undergone RADICAL changes since my Marcellus days. I
started listening to some pretty funky jazz clarinettists (Edmund Hall is my
current favorite) and passed through Eastern European, Klezmer, middle
eastern, Turkish and Greek clarinet styles to settle on my own bizarre New
England, jazz-influenced folk clarinet style. (Confused? Me too!)

Anyway - who are the current classical "greats"? How would you describe the
"ideal" sound for a classical clarinettist (past and present)?

My own $.02 on the "blown out clarinet thing: On one level, who really cares
if an instrument actually gets "blown out". It seems to me that if you are
no longer comfortable or completely happy playing the instrument you have
(whether because it really is blown out or just because of a change in your
head), you aren't generally going to make the best music. You'll be wasting
some amount of energy having an argument with your instrument. Sell it to
someone who will appreciate it and find one you love. Clarinets deserve to
be loved.

Bill Tomczak