Klarinet Archive - Posting 000280.txt from 2000/08

From: rgarrett@-----.edu
Subj: Re: [kl] Shifrin & Brymer...
Date: Sat, 12 Aug 2000 05:48:49 -0400

At 08:23 PM 08/11/2000 -0600, you wrote:
>The only equipment determinations I can make by looking at my CDs is that
>he uses a Bay lig...however, I do recall reading some time ago that his
>BASSET clarinet is a hybrid of sorts. The CD liner of my Mostly Mozart
>recording says that the instrument was built by Leonard Gullotta.
>Nevertheless, I distinctly recall reading that the basset was actually a
>standard top joint, and the bottom joint was custom. Perhaps his standard
>clarinets are Buffets, and the top joint of his basset is a Selmer?

His basset clarinet is his top joint of the A clarinet with a lower joint
that was made for him. Yes, he does use a Bay ligature. I used to also -
but the darn things break on me! I use one on bass, but I now use a Bonade
inverted for Soprano playing - more sturdy.

David used to work for Selmer as a Selmer artist in the 70's and early
80's. The design of the 10G was changed, and then there were some other
things with regard to his contract with Selmer that led to his return to
full-time use of the Buffet. I was in his office at Michigan when he was
on the phone with his attorney once....it was enlightening.

I always found it humorous that he played all the local recitals on the
Buffet during the time he was promoting Selmer.

About two years ago I read an interview with David that had been printed on
the web. Here is an excerpt - a direct quote:

What make of instrument do you play? Do clarinets last very long?
DS: Certainly not anything like string
instruments, which
last for centuries. The mechanics break down,
the bore
eventually wears out and they don't improve
with age. If
you maintain them well they can last for a
generation. My
clarinet -- a Buffet -- is 15 or 20 years old
and I like it so
I have it refurbished. Even as we speak one
of my
clarinets is in Philadelphia having new keys
put on. It's like
getting new suspension on a car, or brand new
shocks.

Hope this helps!

Sincerely,
Roger Garrett

Roger Garrett
Professor of Clarinet
Director, Symphonic Winds
Advisor, IWU Recording Services
Illinois Wesleyan University
School of Music
Bloomington, IL 61702-2900
(309) 556-3268

A Clarinetist's Revenge is sometimes personified by the following excerpt
from the London Daily News, circa 1926:

"The saxophone is a long metal instrument bent at both ends. It is alleged
to be musical. As regards markings, the creature has a series of tiny taps
stuck upon it, apparently at random. These taps are very sensitive: when
touched they cause the instrument to utter miserable sounds suggesting
untold agony. Sometimes it bursts into tears. At either end there is a
hole. People, sometimes for no reason at all, blow down the small end of
the saxophone which then shrieks and moans."

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