Klarinet Archive - Posting 000073.txt from 2004/01

From: "Steve Hartman" <sdh902@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] NY Philharmonic concert/clarinetists slighted
Date: Sat, 3 Jan 2004 10:12:06 -0500

I didn't see the broadcast but the name of the Associate Principal Clarinetist of the NY
Philharmonic is Mark Nuccio. The Principal Oboist is Joseph Robinson. Ray Still is the retired
Principal Oboe of the Chicago Symphony.
I attended a concert a couple of weeks ago and the orchestra was not using risers, which may account
for the difficulty in getting close-ups of the clarinet section.
Happy New Year to all.
Steve Hartman
NYC

> I watched the NYPhil New Year's Eve concert the other night, and I have a
> gripe! Is it just me, or am I the only one who is burned that the announcer, the
> usually professional Martin Bookspan, named all of the principal players as
> they had solos, EXCEPT the clarinetist who is Drucker's replacement?
>
> The orchestra played the Offenbach Orpheus in the Underworld with its
> clarinet cadenza (made famous by Dan Leeson in that Instrumentalist article as the
> worst cadenza ever!), and the announcer never mentioned it or said the guy's
> name. He named Ray Still, the oboist, Carter Bray, the cellist (who I LOVED),
> the concertmaster Glenn Dichterow(sp), and even the bassoonist, who he
> acknowledged had the tiniest of solos. Yet the clarinetist, who had the FIRST solo, a
> substantial one, and who played beautifully enough to make the conductor just
> beam, did not get a mention.
>
> And that reminds me: those dratted cameramen can never seem to find the
> clarinetist when he is playing, like they don't know which instrument makes that
> sound....have you ever noticed that? They ALWAYS show the flutes, even when
> they aren't playing, and the oboes are seen because they're sitting right next to
> the flutes. The bassoons get shown by accident because they stick up so
> high, but the clarinets are hidden back there, unless the cameraman happens to
> screw up when he is trying to show the flutes, and whoops, oh look, what is that
> instrument back there? During the clarinet cadenza in Orpheus, the camera did
> eventually find him, but then left again, to show the harpist sitting there
> with her hands on her instrument, not playing. Then the camera went back to
> the clarinet at the very last note, and while he was holding it still, went to
> the oboe, who wasn't playing yet, and then back again. I just hate that!
>
> Elise Curran
> Orlando

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