Klarinet Archive - Posting 000650.txt from 1996/03

From: "Dan Leeson: LEESON@-----.EDU>
Subj: Gino Cioffi
Date: Mon, 25 Mar 1996 18:49:55 -0500

Cioffi is definitely dead. However, his former colleague, Rosario
Mazzeo, is still alive and can comment intelligently about his
playing set up. I, for one, do not believe that Cioffi played
reed up when he was with the Met or, later, with the BSO. He may
have begun playing that way, but he did not in his later professional
years.

If the party who made the inquiry wants to contact Mazzeo, drop
me a private e-mail note. He lives nearby.

The NY repairperson, Herb Kleeman, told the story of how Mazzeo
dropped by to get one of his instrument's repaired. He accidentally
gave the top of the B-flat and the bottom of the A to Kleeman
and then went off to play Tristan & Isolde (which he always called
"Trist" as in "I'm gotta play Trist."). When he got to the house,
he put what he had together and it did not work. So he borrowed
someone's horn and played it that way. Later, when asked if he
borrowed and A or a B-flat, he indicated that it did not matter.
He could have transposed either part either way.

Mazzeo told me that he and Cioffi were playing a work in 15-3/4
time. That is 15 and 3/4 beats in measure. Mazzeo leaned over
to Cioffi and asked how he was doing since complex meters were
not his forte. Cioffi said, "No problem. It's my collar size."

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