Klarinet Archive - Posting 000364.txt from 1997/05

From: Neil Leupold <nleupold@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: 20thC
Date: Sun, 11 May 1997 11:49:58 -0400

On Sun, 11 May 1997, Fred Jacobowitz wrote:

> Lori,
> What presumption!

Presumption my ear! Lori's stimulating question was as valid and
enlightening as anybody could have offered to the list. She didn't
ask about the inspiring clarinetist for a specific 20th-century com-
poser because that was not the feedback in which she was interested.
Was Drucker the catalyst for Corigliano's concerto? Sure. Is Laura
Flax the object of Ran's clarinet & cello works (among others)? Yes,
she is (Ran told me so about a month ago, in fact).

The fact that Goodman has come out, by majority consensus, to be the
greatest influence on the creation of solo clarinet music in the 20th
century is both surprising and logical. Surprising because, technically
speaking, he wasn't a great classical player. When he took his first look
at Copland's clarinet part, his reaction was, "I can't play this!" to which
Copland responded, "Fake it." And fake it he did, as can be heard on his
recording of it.

Because Stadler and Muhlfeld were acknowledged virtuosi in their days,
one would expect that an analogous figure in the 20th century would also
be a standard-bearer of technical sophistication -- as well as a represent-
ative of this century's contribution to the genre of classical clarinet
style. But despite the dedications he garnered from so many major 20th-
century composers, it's irrefutable that Goodman's primary niche -- for
musicians and non-musicians alike -- was in the jazz idiom. For Copland,
it may have been this very fact which motivated him to write his concerto
the way he did (I don't know the whole story). It's a well-known fact
that among Les Six, Milhaud was the one most interested in jazz rhythms
and style. This comes out in his clarinet music.

Were we to discuss the most representative 20th-century clarinetists of
classical clarinet style and interpretation, Goodman probably wouldn't
show up among the candidates. Instead, we'd get such polished players
as Leister and Meyer from the Germans, Combs/Shifrin/Neidich/Drucker/
etc. etc. etc. from the Americans, and so many more world wide -- all
of whom are specialists in the classical style of clarinet playing and
deserve recognition on that level. There are so many, in fact, that it
would take forever to enumerate them all. This in itself affords the
singling-out of Goodman as the primary influence on this century's
composers for clarinet that much greater an impact. It's remarkable,
and clearly validates the manner and "intelligence" with which Lori
posed her provocative question. Brava Lori!

Neil

   
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