Klarinet Archive - Posting 000466.txt from 2005/06

From: "dnleeson" <dnleeson@-----.net>
Subj: RE: [kl] metal clarinets
Date: Fri, 24 Jun 2005 12:48:31 -0400

Margaret Thornhill's comments are a strong reinforcement of the
constant assertion by myself and many others, that the medium of
which the instrument is made is irrelevant to the character and
beauty of the sound.

In the proper hands (and even in some improper ones), a metal
clarinet can be a thing of great beauty.

Dan Leeson
DNLeeson@-----.net

Rosario Mazzeo got his place in the Boston Symphony not long
after the
mandatory retirement of his then-teacher,
Gaston Hamelin, one of the great virtuosi of the early part of
the 20th
century. Mazzeo told the story this way:
One day in rehearsal Koussevitsy was full of compliments for his
solo
clarinetist. Over and over again he praised the lovely tone, the
beautiful
phrasing, the elegant technique, the flawless intonation, the
beautiful
tone...
Unable to stand it any longer, Hamelin modestly stood up and
protested
(showing his new instrument): Mais, Monsieur--c'est ne pas moi,
c'est ma
clarinette en metail!
Whereupon, Koussevitsky threw a fit (Metal clarinet? Not in my
orchestra!)
and fired M. Hamelin, refusing to see the illogic of this action.

Margaret Thornhill
Los Angeles

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