Klarinet Archive - Posting 000790.txt from 1996/04

From: Mike Cyzewski <MCYZEWSKI@-----.COM>
Subj: Marcellus/Bonade Legacy
Date: Fri, 26 Apr 1996 23:36:14 -0400

For those interested in hearing the orchestral playing of Robert Marcellus
which is not available in used record outlets or CD stores, the Cleveland
Orchestra's Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Compact Disc Edition can be purchased
directly from the Cleveland Orchestra.
Severance Hall
1101 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44106
(216) 231-7300

I purchased the 10 CD package two years ago for about $200, a steep price
indeed but, I feel, well worth it. The set is made up of selected recordings
and live braodcasts of the Cleveland Orchestra from 1928-1992.

The live broadcast recordings on which Mr. Marcellus plays are:

Symphony #2 - Sibelius
Siegfried Idyll - Wagner
Concertstuck for Piano and Orchestra - Schumann
Der Burgerals Edelman - Strauss
Le Tombeau de Couperin - Ravel
Das Lied von der Erde - Mahler
Seythian Suite - Prokofiev
Classical Symphony - Prokofiev
Chant du Rossignol - Stravinsky
Oiseaux Exotiques - Messiaen
Manfred Symphony - Tchaikovsky

Also included in the set are two recordings of the Cleveland Orchestra
conducted by Arthur Rodzinski.

Symphony #1 - Shostakovich (1941 recording)
Scheherazade - Rimsky Korsakov (1939 recording)

I believe the Principal Clarinet at that time was one of Mr. Marcellus's most
influential teachers, Daniel Bonade. I was very impressed with Bonade's
playing on these discs. Having read much of his writings and having been
trained by Joseph Gigliotti (Anthony's father) who was also a Bonade student,
his reputation as a teacher was foremost in my mind. How enlightening it is
to appreciate and recognize him as a fine performer as well. He shouldn't be
overlooked as one of the important contributors to the American style of
orchestral clarinet playing.

>From my perspective, Robert Marcellus, under the stimulus of George Szell,
elevated the level of orchestral clarinet playing to a new standard by which
all should be measured.

As we lament the passing of arguably the greatest orchestral clarinetist to
date, I find myself treasuring the legacy of memorable broadcasts and
recordings he left behind.

Michael Cyzewski
North Carolina Symphony

One more thing! Does anyone know who the second clarinetist on the Rodzinski
recordings was? He sounds terrific also.