Klarinet Archive - Posting 000095.txt from 2000/11

From: AnneLenoir@-----.net (Anne Lenoir)
Subj: [kl] Re: Jon Manasse's recording of the Mozart Clarinet Quintet
Date: Thu, 2 Nov 2000 09:47:14 -0500

I heard Jon Manasse perform for the first time at Colorado College about
4 years ago and was amazed with his beautiful performances at the annual
Colorado College Music Festival. I purchased his CD, "3 Centuries of
Music" which included Mozart's Clarinet Quintet. He played parts of the
2nd movement with the softest "pianissimo" I have ever heard anywhere. I
also found out that he is a student of David Weber, my teacher from 30
years ago. I was wondering if anybody else likes Jon's recording of the
Mozart Quintet?
I was wondering if anybody has ever studied with Mr. Weber? He is a
rather unique individual, to put it mildly. I loved the way he taught me
to play the clarinet, but I never have been able to comprehend his
personality. He is so narcissistic and critical, yet I still have fond
memories of him as a teacher. One time back in 1980, my clarinets were
stolen, and he helped me replace them for practically nothing. I had
thought he was probably dead, but as it turns out, he is about to turn
87 and he has 15 students in NY. I really think that he is too ornary &
contankerous (is that how you spell it?) to die.
I listened to Jon Manasse practice, outside of his teaching studio
at Colorado College, for about 30 minutes, and he was practicing the
same sequence of long tones that Mr. Weber taught me when I was 12 back
in 1959. He would have me attack a low E, crescendo and swell &
decrescendo while gently hitting the register key, then continue to
decrescendo into nothing. Then repeat the process on low F, F#, G
moving up chromatically to thumb F. I can't really describe it very
well. You had to be there.
I asked Mr. Weber last week where he learned that sequence of long
tones, and he said he learned them as a young student from his teacher
in Detroit, and that they are in the Eugene Gay Clarinet Method, which I
just ordered from EBLE for $40. I love it's slow, detailed approach to
learning the clarinet and will definitely incorporate it into my
hand-written sheets that I make for my students every week. ANNIE

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