Klarinet Archive - Posting 000617.txt from 1998/12

From: "Benjamin A. Maas" <bmaas@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Stoltzman and a new work
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1998 18:16:46 -0500

>Today's New York Times (West Coast Edition) reported Richard Stoltzman's
>first performance of a clarinet concerto by Carter Penn, doctoral
>candidate at the Univ. of Michigan. The work is entitled "Rags to
>Richard" and consists of a pair of dance movements based on ragtime,
>the first a slow drag, the second a two step, said by the reviewer
>to be full of the kind of virtuosic writing that Stoltzman revels in.
>(Those are the reviewer's words, not mine.)
>

What orchestra did the premiere?

Carter, assuming this is the person I think it is, was a colleague of mine
at Eastman several years ago. He was a senior and I was a freshman. I
remeber hearing performances of some of his music and I was quite impressed.
His whole class was quite good and several of them have continued to win big
prizes.

>Both the work and the performer got excellent reviews by NY Times
>reviewer Anthony Tommasini. Stoltzman also played the Prokofiev
>flute sonata in D in stranscription for clarinet and orchestra
>by Kent Kennan.

Sounds like a great concert. I really like Kennan's orchestration of such a
great sonata.

>
>While I am mentioning Stoltzman, let me share with you how he learns
>a work: he copies out the clarinet part by hand, and he may also
>copy out the entire orchestral part too. It's a good idea. You
>certainly much touch every note when you do that. I only found that
>out when we were on a flight together and I asked him what he was
>doing.
>
>

It is amazing what a little dedication can do for a performer.... I wish I
had dedication like that.

--Ben
Benjamin Maas
Clarinetist and Digital Recording Engineer
Student, University of Southern California
Executive Director, Digital Renaissance Consort
bmaas@-----.net
bmaas@-----.edu

-------------------------------------------------------------------------