Klarinet Archive - Posting 000220.txt from 1998/09

From: "MARY A. VINQUIST" <kenshaw@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] Stoltzman barrel
Date: Mon, 7 Sep 1998 09:28:16 -0400

Don Gross asked:

>I have a question for those who know [Richard Stoltzman], or have gotten=

close enough
>to see his clarinet "up close and personal." The B/W photo in the LA Tim=
es
>shows him with his clarinet which is sporting a "white" barrel. Anyone
know
>what the barrel material is and who made it?

The barrel was made by Kalmen Opperman, who was Stoltzman's teacher. Kal=

also made the mouthpiece and did extensive tuning and voicing work on the=

instrument. He does losts of experimenting with barrels of various woods=
,
and also plastics and ceramics. I have played what he says is the best
barrel he ever made, cut from soft pine -- really remarkable. =

Unfortunately, it plays that way for only a couple of minutes, before wat=
er
soaks into it and it swells so much that it becomes unplayable. He uses
mostly rosewood (which I play), but told me he made Stoltzman's barrel fr=
om
boxwood. Box plays wonderfully, but warps in unpredictable and non-linea=
r
ways. Kal has to touch it up frequently. This works for Stoltzman, who =
is
Kal's star student, but it's obviously impractical for the rest of us.

Regards.

Ken Shaw

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