The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Ray Swing
Date: 1999-11-07 16:26
I was very fortunate to be able to see Richard Stoltzman rehearse the Mozart with the Indian Hill Symphony last Saturday. After the rehearsal, he talked with a group of about 40 of us answering any and all questions. He is a marvelous musician. He is a very articulate, polite gentleman who was very comfortable while kneeling down to answer questions from a 7 year old and then answering questions in detail from all age range of students and their parents. I was very impressed with both the Clarinetist and the person!
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Author: Rebecca
Date: 1999-11-08 03:32
Ray,
you are SOOOOO lucky!!! I would give anything to meet Richard in person! I know he is a very nice guy because he responded to my letters 3 times, and I'm just a student. Personally, I think he is one of the best clarinetists these days not only because of his virtuosity but also because he is a wonderful person who is truly kind, caring and genuine.
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Author: William
Date: 1999-11-08 13:32
I have only seen RS once in person where he was doing an artist-in -the-schools presentation for local high school. At this event he seemed bored, acted aloof, tryed unsuccessfully to be a jazz artist and played with a thin,weak tone and was quite out of tune with the band room piano. (His personal accompanist was excellant, but could not salvage the day) I'm certain that RS was probably having a "bad day" as all of us do from time-to-time, but for a "pro" to play as poorly as he did on that day , I thought was unacceptable. It is good to hear that he has since done better, but too bad for our students for that one off day.
Signed William--not a fan of RS
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Author: paul
Date: 1999-11-08 17:27
I've only heard his recordings on classical radio. But making a simple statement like this doesn't tell the whole story. So, let's play a simple game of logic to understand what this simple sentence really says.
With a small group and a decent budget, studios will let you do "retakes" and will help you edit the product. But, studio time is extremely expensive. You had better know what you are doing and get it right the first time. In a nutshell, it takes a lot of skill and just plain fortitude to perform as a virtuoso soloist on some of the most demanding technical work around. RS does it on a fairly regular basis on the clarinet. Just the fact that he does it at all puts him in the "world class" category. The fact that he is in high demand for this work tells me that he is one of the very best clarinetists of our time. I'm not judging his skill. His clarinet peers and competitors in the business are the judges instead. That's the toughest audience to please.
I look forward to hearing another RS recorded solo very soon.
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