Klarinet Archive - Posting 000541.txt from 1998/01

From: "Lorne G. Buick" <lgbuick@-----.net>
Subj: Re: Player ratings
Date: Sun, 11 Jan 1998 00:22:14 -0500

Dear fellow klarinettists - I'm going to stick my neck out here and
actually respond to GTG's thoughts instead of lambasting him for daring to
express negative opinions of respected professionals.

[snip] Jonathan Cohler and Charles Neidich tied for first. I
> have heard both many times live and have nearly all their recordings.
[snip] [Neidich] is exactly what
> a firey soloist (IMHO) should be. These two performers should be talked of
> more. We have much to learn from them.

I think it's obvious that you were rating all six players _as soloists_,
which imho is different from rating them as clarinetists. And it's equally
obvious that you equate fiery soloist with good soloist - that's fine, it's
your list and your opinions. Personally I would rate Neidich slightly lower
for tone, I prefer Paul Meyer in that department. TEHO (to each his own)
>
> Stolzman was rated third. Stolzman is a great performer, but his technique
> and tone are wild at times - he will be the first to admit his shortcomings.
> This does not effect his star, though. He is an enigma in the clarinet
>world.
> There hasn't been a clarinetist this century who has generated such
>popularity
> among the general public.

A couple of people have already mentioned Benny Goodman adn I'll second
that - I would guess that in his heyday he was heard by a much greater
percentage of the listening public, and even today I'm sure more people
know his name than Stolzman's. Goodman, as has been mentioned previously,
was also tremendously important in terms of the compositions he inspired
and/or commissioned.
>
> Paul Meyer came in fourth, just short of Stolzman. Meyer has extremely clean
> technique and has built a vast repetoire. He is not very expressive, though.
> His tone is ok - albeit air leaky - but the dynamics are small, like an
> orchestral player. I can't see him improving on musicianship or sound in the
> future.

Unless you know the guy personally, this last statement is so unsupportable
as to amount to flamebait - he's quite young isn't he? Unless you've heard
him live it's a little unfair to comment on his dynamic range as it could
be compressed in the recording. And I wouldn't generalize about orchestral
players' dynamics - I've heard orchestral players who could split your
eardrums with one lung tied behind their backs.
>
> Shiffrin was fifth. I have a few of his recordings and find them passable.
> Not too expressive and a little stiff. His tone is nice but as Meyer, no
> dynamic range. His technique doesn't seem to be up to par with Meyer, but
> beats Stolzmans. I rate him as an average player.

Average? I assume you mean average among well-known professional
soloists... or do you really mean to include me and the second clarinetist
of the Podunk Philharmonic in your sample? I've only heard a couple of his
recordings but they are gorgeous (imho).
>
> Leister was sixth and thrown in just for comparison. It is great that he
>made
> such a lengthy career playing clarinet. He does have a nice, in tune,
>focused
> tone and ample technique. Maybe that's the only requirement in the Berlin
> Phil, I don't know. I believe he is as close to a synthesized robot as the
> clarinet world has ever seen. I personally do not like electronic music and
> feel MIDI is for computers, not people.

Pardon my saying so but to phrase your opinion in such an extreme way
invites flames rather than intelligent responses. Personally though, I
agree that Leister's concerto and chamber recordings are relatively boring
and predictable. I would have given him a lower rating in the tone dept.
too, because although I admire the smoothness and consistency of his sound,
I find it too colourless. As for expression, I think you may have missed a
lot of subtle but very musical phrasing... I won't tell you to listen to it
again, but there you are.

You mentioned at the beginning that we have a lot to learn from Cohler and
Neidich - I wonder what exactly you have in mind? Do you think all
clarinetists should play like they do? If you're saying that when playing
fiery virtuosic music we should play like fiery virtuosi, I certainly
agree. If you're saying no-one should be allowed to release a CD unless
they're a fiery virtuoso, I might have a bit of a problem with that.
>
> Thank you all for listening to my diatribe.

Hey - nothin' like a good diatribe, I always say.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
LGB Lorne G Buick currently On the Road
lgbuick@-----.net somewhere in the western USA