Klarinet Archive - Posting 000325.txt from 1997/05

From: Josias Associates <josassoc@-----.com>
Subj: Re: 20thC
Date: Sat, 10 May 1997 03:55:10 -0400

Lori,

Gee, how could I be so far off? I was going to nominate Acker
Bilk as the most influential clarinetist of the 20th century; but then
I started seeing so many people mentioning Benny Goodman.

But, seriously.........Goodman has to be my choice. The
numerous replies to that effect correctly enumerated many of the
compositions that were commissioned by or written for Goodman. I'd like
to add two that I did not see in the various messages.

1) Although my edition of the sheet music to Poulenc's
"Sonata for Clarinet and Piano" contains no mention of Goodman (possibly
because it was printed posthumously without the composer being present to
attend to such details), Goodman did commission the piece and premiered
it with Leonard Bernstein in New York; and

2) Morton Gould wrote "Derivations for Clarinet and Jazz Band"
for Goodman, who was a close personal friend. A nifty and tuneful period
piece, "Derivations" is an important work and deserves to be heard more
often than it is. (Gould told me that he was especially proud of
"Derivations" and his "Eight Duos for Clarinet and String Bass," which he
also wrote for Goodman, but that he was depressed that those works, like
numerous superb pieces he wrote for concert band, were
performed so rarely.)

Connie

Conrad Josias
La Canada, California