Klarinet Archive - Posting 001015.txt from 1995/10

From: "Lorne G. Buick" <mcheramy@-----.CA>
Subj: Re: Professional Level [Rossi] Clarinets
Date: Fri, 27 Oct 1995 20:13:59 -0400

Hi all- having played Rossi clarinets for a little over 5 years now, I
would say they are definitely worth the price. They are built to at least
as high a standard as any of the big-name clarinets (Buffet, Leblanc etc.)
and are hand made and personally inspected by Rossi. It would be perhaps
more appropriate to compare them (price-wise) to other hand-made
instruments such as the Wurlitzers, which cost about $10,000 a pair in 1991
(from an article in the Clarinet mag.).

The only thing that surprises me about the story below (apart from the fact
that anyone would steal clarinets at a convention) is that his production
is still so small- I thought he had expanded a bit more. I guess I should
write to him and get up-to-date...

>John Baetens asks if $3100 is a correct price quote for a Rossi clarinet. I
>saw them and tried them at the ICA convention in Arizona this past Summer.
>$3100 is about right (heck, my Buffet R-13 Prestige A set me back
>$2900). They really are remarkable instruments, as are the Howarths.
>
>I remember there being a theft during the convention (Andrew Simon,
>Principal of the Korean Phil, had his instruments stolen the night before
>his recital, I believe). He desperately needed to borrow an instrument
>for his performance. The story he related to me was that he talked to
>Rossi, who agreed to allow him to borrow one of his custom hand-made
>instruments for the performance, but that he would have to return it
>immediately afterward. He took one of the Rossi clarinets into his room
>(with Rossi present - and this was not one of the demo models, but was a
>special carefully seasoned and hand-crafted instrument) and tested it for
>a few minutes. Mr. Simon was so completely blown away by the instrument,
>he offered Rossi $5000 for it on the spot. Rossi turned him down,
>saying that the instrument was technically already sold - that he only
>made around 20 of them per year and had back-orders to last him for many
>years to come.