Klarinet Archive - Posting 000055.txt from 1996/01

From: Josias Associates <josassoc@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: Reginald Kell (fwd)
Date: Wed, 3 Jan 1996 18:47:32 -0500

I sent the following message to the list for the first time a few
minutes ago, only to receive a note from the BITNET List Server telling
me that the message was not processed because it had already been sent
previously. Considering that I had actually only sent the message once, I
can only guess at what might have happened to cause such an unauthorized
transmission.

I was disconnected yesterday by my server, during which the
message had only been partially drafted. If the server had inadvertantly
transmitted an incomplete message, I apologize for the inconvenience. The
forwarded message is complete -- and I hope it does not duplicate in
whole or in part anything you've already received from me.

Conrad (Connie ) Josias

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 3 Jan 1996 15:19:43 -0800 (PST)
From: Josias Associates <josassoc@-----.com>
To: Klarinet - Clarinettist's Network
<KLARINET%VCCSCENT.BITNET@-----.EDU>
Cc: Multiple recipients of list KLARINET <KLARINET@-----.BITNET>
Subject: Re: Piotr Michalowski asks about Reginald Kell

I thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated the many thoughtful comments
about Reginald Kell's playing from several list members, especially the
comments from Dan Leeson, Stan Geidel, and Don Yungkurth.

During my early years as a clarinet student, beside being influenced
by one of my clarinet teachers whose playing I admired greatly, I was
also influenced by two recorded artists. I liked Kell because of his
musicality, an important aspect of which was his combined use of elastic
rubatos and dynamic contrasts. The other player I admired was Ralph McLane
because of the purity and focus of his sound.

As mentioned by others, Kell's performance of Debussy's
"Premiere Rhapsodie" is superb, and, in my opinion, is unsurpassed by any
others I have heard. The performance by Kell to which I refer is with piano
accompaniment.

Another performance of Kell's that influenced me was a recording
of Alec Templeton's "Pocket-Sized Sonata No. 1," which I quickly added
to my performance repertoire.

Whenever I hear mention of Kell, I am reminded of an incident
having no great importance other than that it reflected well on
the man. In the late 1950s, I took a one-week skiing vacation in Aspen,
Colorado, where I stayed at an unpretentious inn called the Blue Spruce.
Each evening, after coming down from the mountain, I rested briefly on my
bed before preparing for dinner, and during that period -- like clockwork
each day -- somebody at the Inn piped in music to each room.

That event by itself wouldn't have been remarkable, except for
the fact that the recording contained a 20-to-30-minute segment of
gorgeous, unaccompanied clarinet music -- tunes that I had never heard
before. None of the Inn staff, save the owner, knew anything about the
recording, and it took a better part of the week to link up with the man.

He told me that the segment was by a clarinetist named Reginald
Kell, and he seemed surprised that I knew who Kell was. When I asked how
I might purchase the recording, he said it wasn't available commercially
and that he owned the only pressing in existence.

Kell had moved to Aspen somewhat earlier and had become friendly
with the Innkeeper after having taken up temporary residence there. He
cut the recording on his own in his home as a personal gift to the
Innkeeper on his birthday. Kell was described as being a super friend by
the Innkeeper, who seemed not totally aware of the value of the little
treasure he had in his possession.

My last comment has to do with the subject of vibrato, the component
of Kell's playing with which he seemed even more identified to less
discerning listeners than with his remarkable rubatos and dynamic contrasts.
About a year ago there was a lively discussion on Klarinet about the use of
vibrato in clarinet playing. And probably what made the discussion so
lively was an early assertion to the effect that the use of vibrato with
the clarinet was an abomination and had no place in clarinet performances.

I seem to recall that Reginald Kell's playing was cited as a prime
example of why vibrato was inappropriate to clarinet playing, and, some
contributors who candidly attributed the source of their opinions to their
teachers added that Kell's playing represented everything that was wrong
with vibrato usage. A large number of rebuttals to the anti-vibrato messages
were posted, including two by yours truly. However, the single most important
submission on the subject was made by Jonathan Cohler on February 7, 1995
and should be read by all list members who have not yet seen it -- even
if they are in agreement with Cohler.

The message was not only scholarly, but damned interesting,
and contained much in the way of historical information that was new to
me. I was aware and had previously written, for example, that there was good
evidence that clarinetist Richard Muhlfeld, who was so influential with
Brahms, played with a substantial vibrato -- and had done so long before
Kell had revived the practice. What I didn't know, and what Jonathan
explained, was why Muhlfeld used vibrato when none of his contemporaries
did.

According to Cohler, Anton Stadler probably used vibrato, and he
believes that Mozart and Brahms loved the use of vibrato in the clarinet.
On that basis, Mozart and Brahms would probably have loved Kell's
playing.

At the time Jonathan's message was posted, I was preparing
program notes for a March 12th recital, which included the Brahms Eb
Sonata. Some of his unique observations were so relevant that I shamelessly
plagiarized them by incorporating some of his material into my
notes. Thanks again, Jonathan.

Connie

Conrad Josias
La Canada, California