Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2004-02-26 19:48
David -
According to the Locked in the Vault site, the Russian record was recorded in 1958. I first heard it when I went to Oberlin in 1961, so I'm pretty sure the date is right.
I have read (probably in The Clarinet) that Szell once asked Marcellus, "Do you *really* think you sound better on the crystal mouthpiece?" Marcellus took the hint and switched. As I recall, Marcellus repeated the story during a master class at the Clarinet Congress at Oberlin maybe 20 years ago.
I heard the Cleveland Orchestra live many times from 1961 through 1965. By that time, Marcellus was playing his Kaspar, and he sounded exactly the same as on the Russian record.
As to playing "straight," I don't think Szell left much room for expression, other than what he dictated. I saw Marcellus play the Mozart Concerto live at Severance Hall, and Szell conducted every note, including the little cadenza in the slow movement. IMHO, a freer player in that chair -- Stoltzman, say, or de Peyer -- would either have gotten perfectly in step or have left pretty quickly.
The solos and cadenzas on the Russian record are some of the biggest in the repertoire, so it's hard to compare them to briefer orchestral solos. Can you be more specific about what you hear during the O'Brien period, but miss later?
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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