Klarinet Archive - Posting 000003.txt from 2005/07
From: Adam Michlin <amichlin@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] Alan Shulman's "Rendezvous for Clarinet and Strings"
Date: Fri, 01 Jul 2005 11:28:07 -0400
Dear List,
It is quite fascinating the things one can run into when researching what
seems to be an entirely unrelated subject. The latest reference to this
piece I can find on the Klarinet Archives (aside from listing it on an
Artie Shaw LP) is 1999, so perhaps this information will be useful to
someone. The story goes (from the CD liner notes of the below linked CD):
---
Benny Goodman had invited the Stuyvesant String Quartet to be "Homecoming
Stars," a weekly feature of his summer radio program. Goodman wanted to
perform a movement of the Mozart Clarinet Quintet. The Quartet had appeared
on a program at Carnegie Hall on March 29, 1941 for Anglo-Soviet relief on
which they played the American premiere of the Shostakovich Piano Quintet,
Op. 57 with pianist Vivian Rivkin. Also on the program were singer, actor
and humanitarian Paul Robeson, and Benny Goodman. Alan did not want to make
the long trip from Maine to play five minutes of Mozart on the air. He
proposed instead that he write a short work for clarinet and string quartet
for the broadcast. Goodman agreed and on July 29, 1946 Alan completed a new
work which he titled "Rendezvous with Benny" in honor of the occasion. The
premiere was aired on Monday, August 19, 1946 with Benny introducing the
Stuyvesant String Quartet to his national audience. Ironically, Goodman
never played the piece again. By the time, Bregman, Vocco & Conn published
it in 1947 its title had become "Rendezvous for Clarinet and Strings".
Artie Shaw recorded in May 31, 1949 with the New Music Quartet for Columbia
Records. Alan added a string bass part and Alfred Gallodoro, who had been
the NBC Symphony's bass clarinetist from 1942-1944, played it at a
"Symphony Concert for Youth" at Carnegie Hall on December 30, 1946 with
violinist Saauel Antek (1909-1958) conducting 50 members of the NBC
Symphony. The concert was not broadcast.
----
There is now another recording (with Al Gallodoro as soloist, presumably
from the 1946 concert) available for this piece as well as many of Alan
Shulman's other compositions (on CD):
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00006CJM5/qid=1120229771/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/104-3434258-6024715?v=glance&s=classical
The music can be directly ordered from Jay Shulman, Alan Shulman's son:
http://www.capital.net/com/ggjj/shulman/works.htm
Jay has helped me quite a bit over the years with my own research and has
been a wonderful person to do business with. Highly recommended.
-Adam
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