 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: babiej2000
Date: 2004-12-06 06:58
Does anyone know who the principal clarinet player was in the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1968 (right before H. Wright?)??
Thanks...
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Author: GBK
Date: 2004-12-06 07:15
Clarinet Section of the Boston Symphony Orchestra (1968)
1 - Gino Cioffi
2 - Pasquale Cardillo
Eb - Peter Hadcock
Bass - Felix Viscuglia
...GBK
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Author: babiej2000
Date: 2004-12-06 15:33
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I have been looking seemingly everywhere--do you know a good place to find this sort of information out (other than just knowing)? 
Best--
LMJ
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2004-12-06 15:40
I have the Cleveland wind section info (kindly given to me by the Cleveland Orchestra Librarian via Greg Smith of the Chicago Symphony orchestra) but I haven't yet put it into a reasonable database format (it's in excel format and not normalized in any way).
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Author: GBK
Date: 2004-12-06 15:43
babiej2000 wrote:
> Thank you, thank you, thank you!
> I have been looking seemingly everywhere--
> do you know a good place to find this sort of
> information out (other than just knowing)?
Having a memory of trivial and (mostly) useless information helps ![[wink]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie3.gif) ...GBK
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Author: Ed
Date: 2004-12-06 15:52
There was an issue of the Clarinet magazine a number of years ago that featured the BSO clarinet section and gave the members of the section going all of the way back. If you have access to back issues you can look this up there. It is interesting reading. I have it buried at home. It would have been an issue from probably the late 80's as Wright and Hadcock were still in the section and Tom Martin was playing second at the time.
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Author: D Dow
Date: 2004-12-06 18:57
I am quite certain that Cioffi lasted right up to the 69 season until his personal health became an issue...I am not sure what happened to him but I believe he developed heart problems and high blood pressure...as to where he went and when he died maybe it would be nice if a former Cioffi student spoke up.
I studied with Wright ...Mr. Wright said he admired Cioffi a great deal.
David Dow
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Author: GBK
Date: 2004-12-06 19:12
Attachment: Boston Symphony.jpg (34k)
Here is a 1960 Selmer promotional poster, listing the BSO section at that time, which was Gino Cioffi- 1st Bb Clarinet, Manuel Valerio- 2nd Bb Clarinet, Pasquale Cardillo- Eb Clarinet, and Rosario Mazzeo- Bass Clarinet)...GBK
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2004-12-06 21:12
Gino Cioffi was a remarkable player. Difficulties simply didn't exist for him, and he could play with perfect control at a whisper or at wall-shaking volume.
I went to a master class with him many years ago. His instruments were only nominally Selmer CTs, though that was how they were labeled. In fact, they were hand-made (by Selmer). He read out a letter from Selmer detailing the customizations they had made.
Also, he played semi-full Boehm -- all the keys, but no low Eb.
He said that his crystal mouthpiece was "given to me by my poor dead father," so it probably wasn't a Selmer. However, he sold Selmer reproductions in crystal to his students.
He said that when he came to the U.S. he first played Eb and wowed everyone. He learned to play with the reed on top and preferred that, but found that he couldn't get work unless he put the reed on the bottom.
He played all over the place -- the Metropolitan Opera, Chicago, the NBC Symphony -- before settling in Boston.
I have a number of his records, including what is IMHO the best version ever of the Strauss Serenade in Eb, op. 7. He also recorded the Brahms Sonata # 2, but it had some bad intonation problems. However, the Tchaikovsky 5th (under Monteux) has perfect intonation in the opening solo. You literally can't tell that it's not a single player.
I'm not surprised Cioffi's health deteriorated. He weighed well over 300 lb.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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Author: GBK
Date: 2004-12-06 21:35
Cioffi's mouthpiece choice, which certainly may have changed during his career, was often surmised to be either an old O'Brien or a glass Selmer HS*.
However, as Ken noted, if it was given to him by his father - perhaps an old Pomarico?
I also agree that the recording of the Op.7 Strauss Serenade with Cioffi and Cardillo (along with Dwyer, Gomberg, Sherman Walt and others) is the benchmark ...GBK
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