Klarinet Archive - Posting 000068.txt from 2009/05

From: Audrey Travis <clr91nt@-----.ca>
Subj: [kl] About Stanley! from the Wall Street Journal
Date: Tue, 26 May 2009 01:33:49 -0400

Enjoy!

Audrey

=95
CULTURAL CONVERSATION
=95 MAY 26, 2009
He's Performed With Them All
=95 Article

By BARBARA JEPSON
New York

Eighty-year-old Stanley Drucker, who retires next month as principal =20
clarinet of the New York Philharmonic after a record-setting 60-year =20
tenure, is part of an international orchestral elite of "star" section =20=

leaders -- players who flawlessly execute solo passages in symphonic =20
scores and shine in the concerto spotlight as well.

His name may not be familiar, but his fluid, aptly cheeky rendering of =20=

the famous glissando clarinet opening of Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" =20=

has been enjoyed by millions who saw the Woody Allen film "Manhattan." =20=

His recordings of concertos by Aaron Copland and John Corigliano with =20=

the Philharmonic won him Grammy nominations. And he is a living link =20
to such conducting giants as Bruno Walter, Dimitri Mitropoulos, =20
Leonard Bernstein, Leopold Stokowski and Charles Munch, who ascended =20
the Philharmonic's podium in leadership roles or as guest maestros.

Asking an orchestra member to name his favorite conductor has been =20
likened to quizzing a mouse about its favorite cat. But for Mr. =20
Drucker, ever the diplomat, the thrill of working with such titans =20
early in his Philharmonic career is still evident. "They were =20
amazing," he exclaims during an interview at Avery Fisher Hall. =20
Attired in gray slacks and a subtle gray tweed blazer, he looks a =20
decade younger than he is. "Stokowski was larger than life, the man =20
who shook hands with Mickey Mouse in 'Fantasia.' Mitropoulos was a =20
saintly man with an incredible memory," he adds, able to perform =20
complex 20th-century works without a score.

Mr. Drucker was hired by the formidable Bruno Walter, remembered for =20
the indefinable atmosphere he created. "There was something about him =20=

that transcended normal performing," says the blue-eyed clarinetist, =20
who gives his final concerto appearances (playing the Copland) with =20
the Philharmonic beginning next week under retiring music director =20
Lorin Maazel. "He exhibited a lot of internal feelings, especially =20
when conducting Mahler, because he had [worked] with Mahler. , Walter =20=

related to the players in a business-like manner. He would say, often, =20=

'Gentlemen, I'm not happy. Let's do it again.'" Whereas Stokowski, Mr. =20=

Drucker has said, did not deign to acknowledge players by name; in =20
imparting corrections he would simply point a long, accusatory finger =20=

at the guilty party and say, "You, sir. . ."

In those years, of course, the orchestra was all-male and mostly =20
European. "It was like a private club backstage," recalls the Brooklyn-=20=

born clarinetist of the years when the Philharmonic resided at =20
Carnegie Hall, "where chess and poker were played under a heavy cloud =20=

of cigar smoke and a lot of players were legendary in their time."

The season was then 28 weeks long, plus an unofficial six-week gig =20
each summer at the Lewisohn Stadium in upper Manhattan. The rest of =20
the year, orchestra members were unemployed, supplementing their =20
incomes with teaching or temporary work. After the Philharmonic moved =20=

to Lincoln Center in 1962, two significant developments occurred: A 52-=20=

week season was introduced ("It meant we could pay the bills," notes =20
Mr. Drucker) and the first woman was admitted to the orchestra. ("It =20
should have happened sooner," he told Philharmonic bassist Jon Deak =20
during a postperformance discussion last month.)

These changes took place during the music directorship of Leonard =20
Bernstein (1958-69), which Mr. Drucker characterizes as "Camelot," =20
even if that hyperextroverted maestro occasionally walked into a =20
rehearsal, tossed the music on the floor, and announced that "I've =20
totally rethought this score!" A third development, the unfortunate =20
decline in orchestral recording contracts, is more recent.

New York Philharmonic
Lincoln Center, Avery Fisher Hall: June 4, 6 and 9

New Jersey Performing Arts Center: June 5

According to Mr. Drucker, the best conductors have a "natural feel for =20=

motion" -- the music is expressed at the right speed -- "along with =20
joy and passion, which cannot be taught." His own playing is notable =20
for its seamless legato, heartfelt expressivity, tonguing precision =20
and clarity of sound. He has performed nearly 200 times as soloist, =20
and given the premieres of concertos by Mr. Corigliano and William =20
Bolcom, commissioned for him by the Philharmonic. An archival exhibit =20=

of memorabilia about the clarinetist is on display at Fisher Hall =20
through Aug. 15.

Mr. Drucker's musical odyssey began in 1939, when his parents gave him =20=

a $20 clarinet for his 10th birthday. Neither parent was a musician. =20
But it was the Big Band era; clarinetists Artie Shaw and Benny Goodman =20=

were cultural celebrities. Young Stanley made rapid progress, winning =20=

admission to the elite Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia at =20
the age of 15. He left after one year to become principal clarinet of =20=

the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.

Not content to rest on that considerable laurel, he auditioned in =20
quick succession for better-paying jobs with the Adolf Busch Chamber =20
Players and the Buffalo Philharmonic. The rising young instrumentalist =20=

was soon asked to audition for an opening at the New York =20
Philharmonic. Mr. Drucker says that when he got the letter offering =20
him the position of E-flat clarinet and assistant principal, it took =20
him "about five seconds" to sign the letter of agreement. (He was =20
appointed principal clarinet in 1960.)

Among his "time capsule" of special memories is an orchestra tour to =20
the Edinburgh Festival in 1951; the players sailed to Scotland on the =20=

original Queen Elizabeth and returned via the original Queen Mary. In =20=

the orchestral mishaps category was a 1948 concert in Chicago where =20
Stokowski gave the downbeat, and the strings started playing the =20
lyrical opening work on the program's second half while the brass and =20=

percussion mistakenly sounded the powerful beginning of another piece. =20=

Particularly meaningful was Mr. Drucker's inclusion in a specially =20
assembled, international orchestra that performed Beethoven's Ninth =20
Symphony in Berlin under Bernstein on Christmas Day of 1989, to =20
celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall less than two months earlier.

Now change looms in the Philharmonic's clarinet section, as Mr. =20
Drucker and 42-year-veteran bass clarinetist Stephen Freeman prepare =20
to step down. American orchestras do not have compulsory retirement =20
policies, and a few disgruntled musicians opined last winter on a =20
clarinet blog that Mr. Drucker should have retired sooner to give =20
younger players a shot at his coveted job. "I don't think that's =20
valid," he responds. "Everyone has to go at their own rate. My energy =20=

level and focus is the same as ever. . . . The thing is, I love it. I =20=

still love it."

So how might it feel the morning after his final performance with the =20=

Philharmonic? "I'm not sure," he says, digressing to discuss =20
retirement plans: seeing relatives, performing elsewhere, giving more =20=

master classes for young musicians, and continuing annual summer trips =20=

with his wife of 53 years, clarinetist Naomi Drucker, on their 30-foot =20=

cabin cruiser. Then he glances at the empty stage and turns away. =20
"It's like a water tap running at full capacity, and you turn it =20
quickly to stop it. That's what it's going to be like, I think. But =20
I'll tell you, It's been a great run."

=95 Ms. Jepson writes about classical music for the Journal.

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