 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2005-09-14 23:14
Anyone else from the board gonna be there? Might be fun to meet someone in person, and maybe you'll allow me to struggle along in a duet or something. If so, feel free to email me.
Alexi
PS - What's customary to wear to a function like this? Jeans, sneakers, and a polo or T-shirt ok?
US Army Japan Band
Post Edited (2005-09-14 23:46)
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Author: claclaws
Date: 2005-09-15 00:50
Congratulations. Have fun.
BTW, is this another Clarinetfest-like event, or a smaller, local gathering ?
Lucy Lee Jang
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2005-09-15 01:08
Smaller, local gathering. But it'd be great to be surrounded by other clarinet geeks for once. Cause that means for once, I'll feel like I'm not 'abnormal'!!! (hence another reason I love this board!)
US Army Japan Band
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2005-09-15 01:58
And once again (just so I don't look the fool),
Can I just wear what I feel comfortable in (which will probably be jeans and a T-shirt or maybe a slightly nicer shirt), or is it 'customary' to dress a little nicer (khakis? Slacks? Pengiun suit? Birthday suit?!?!) while attending this?
US Army Japan Band
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2005-09-15 07:04
I'd wear plain pants (khakis or the like) and a polo shirt. When combined with a suitable blazer and weejuns, you'll blend in everywhere. Not too stiff, but not downdressed either.
--
Ben
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2005-09-15 08:03
I'd wear T-shirt and jeans, but I wore a T-shirt and jeans when I played in a quintet with the other four wearing all black (and I didn't mind), so my advice on this can't be too helpful (I don't even mind if the philharmic would wear jeans and T-shirts).
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Author: larryb
Date: 2005-09-15 11:33
you'd look out of place with t shirt and jeans.
in order to blend with the crowd, you should wear a three quarter purple velvet waistcoat with yellow ruffled cuff cotton shirt, matching knee britches and white tights, and two inch healed shoes with minimum five inch brass buckle.
Oh, don't forget your best magenta powdered wig - although there is a wig store down the block from Mannes that is usually open on Sundays.
The name of the store is "Peruecke and Things"
Post Edited (2005-09-15 20:47)
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2005-09-15 14:26
I'll be there -- t-shirt, jeans, legal pad and pen.
Ken Shaw
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Author: claclaws
Date: 2005-09-15 14:51
Thanks, Mark, for indicating the calendar. Never had a thought about clicking that part of this site. What a treasure trove for clarinet lovers. I wish I lived somewhere near the place any of the events takes place.
Lucy Lee Jang
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2005-09-15 20:44
I'm going to a wedding this weekend or I would be there.
I saw the original posting just 2 days after accepting the invitation! (or I wouldn't have gone to the wedding).
So much for seeing it on the "calendar" - too much like work to remember to check it.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2005-09-15 21:08
DavidBlumberg wrote:
> So much for seeing it on the "calendar" - too much like work
> to remember to check it.
So hard to move that cursor over to the pink squares and letting the title pop up ...
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2005-09-15 23:28
It's remembering to look that's the thing.
That and getting past the ads for the colleges that always have assistant openings, etc........
Why don't they drop?
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2005-09-15 23:33
DavidBlumberg wrote:
> It's remembering to look that's the thing.
It's that hard? Damn - you've got some problems ...
> That and getting past the ads for the colleges that always have
> assistant openings, etc........
>
> Why don't they drop?
Why should they? They're just as entitled as anyone else, and considering you have to scroll PAST the dated ones to get to the undated ones ...
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Author: Kevin
Date: 2005-09-16 00:19
Does anybody know how the masterclass schedule goes? or is that something that we'll just have to wait until the day of the event to find out? I'm a Mannes Preparatory division student and would have just completed a really long day of classes there the day before (sat the 17th) and am expecting to be pretty tired on Sunday, along with homework and college apps to work on. Therefore, I'm likely not going to be there the entire time, but just the evening recital and probably also the Nuccio masterclass.
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Author: vin
Date: 2005-09-16 05:45
Kevin-
Who teaches at Mannes Prep. these days?
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Author: Bob A
Date: 2005-09-16 15:26
Claclaws asked: "BTW, is this another Clarinetfest-like event, or a smaller, local gathering ?". I don't know but maybe it the long awaited one where they stack up old R-13's and then dance around the bon-fire.
Bob A
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2005-09-16 17:20
Kevin -
Each master class runs 90 minutes. At the previous Clarinet Day, each teacher took 3 students, at 30 minutes each. The classes included a fair amount of lecturing concerning particular topics that the student's plaing revealed, so each student, played perhaps 10 minutes. For more, see my posting on the previous workshop at http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=101441&t=101441.
No matter how tired you are, please make every effort to be there all the way through. It's absolutely inspiring, and you'll learn as much there as you learn in weeks of classes.
Ken Shaw
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2005-09-16 20:53
Since my ,eyboard is screwed up and certain letters aren't wor,ing, I've replaced them with the character ",". It's the letters in this sequence. "abcdefghi,,lmnop". Methin,s it's time for a new ,eyboard . . . .
Quote:
you'd look out of place with t shirt and jeans.
in order to blend with the crowd, you should wear a three quarter purple velvet waistcoat with yellow ruffled cuff cotton shirt, matching knee britches and white tights, and two inch healed shoes with minimum five inch brass buckle. Boy was I WAY off. Than,s for the advice. I woulda felt li,e a fool with my T-shirt!!!!Quote:
I'll be there -- t-shirt, jeans, legal pad and pen.
Ken Shaw . . . hey . . . wait a second . . . ![[huh]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie11.gif)
lol
Allright. I'll commit to jeans, snea,ers, and a shirt with Wile E. Coyote above the breast poc,et. So you all will see and be able to recognize that "Alexi" fool from the internet. Feel free to introduce yourselves and point out my shortcomings so I can wor, on them (although hopefully not too harshly)
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2005-09-16 20:57
>>>>
Since my ,eyboard is screwed up and certain letters aren't wor,ing
<<<<
Before getting a new keyboard, check if any keys are bent or if some pads are loose. ;-)
--
Ben
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Author: Kevin
Date: 2005-09-16 21:07
David Sapadin and Larry Guy were the two teachers that were there this past year. Bonnie Sholl was also on the roster officially, but none of the kids studied with her.
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Author: Robyn0915
Date: 2005-09-17 22:43
I would really appreciate if you anyone could give us an update on the masterclass.
Thank you!
Robyn
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Author: Aures22
Date: 2005-09-20 00:28
I was at the Mannes Clarinet Day for the Nuccio and Neidich master classes. What struck me somewhat about them was that while the classes were very high in quality the students seemed to be very very tense and not have a lot of confidence in their vision or thought about the music. Having somebody to look up to is great, but the development of self-ideals and a stronger personality I believe is just as important to the development of a versatile and creative musician. I learned a lot from the classes myself, but I felt that there was too much coaching in certain areas that I felt was more up the the individual to decide, discover or find out. The students were excellent technically, although there were mistakes made.
Post Edited (2005-09-20 10:00)
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2005-09-20 03:56
NOTE:My keyboard is still messed up, however the "K" is back. As for the letter that precedes it, it is a hit or miss. If it works while I'm typing, I'll use it. However in case it stops again, I'll have to substitute some sort of symbol until I pick up a new keyboard tomorrow. For example, "abcdefghi;lmnop". Sorry (I picked a semicolon because it's very similar to a lowercase "j")
NOTE 2:I attended the Clarinet Day there, and I didn't bring a notebook as I wanted to simply enjoy the experience (at least for my first full 'clarinet day'), so I'll try to go over the master classes from memory. I did however meet our much admired and wise Ken Shaw (once again, a pleasure to meet you, and unfortunate that I was too reserved and just plain shy to ask to play a duet or something with you as I would've loved the memory of playing with someone who's knowledge and advice about playing I admired and followed so much). Hopefully he'll join in with what he gained from the day.
David Krakauer
Student 1
The first student played the Brahms Sonata with Colette Valentine on the piano. His name was "Jordan" if memory serves me correctly. He played his piece (I thought pretty well), and then Mr. K came up to critique his playing and offer his advice (sans clarinet). A few things he said that stuck out at me were how the playing didn't seem to have much "character". That the person was playing the notes, however didn't seem to be getting the feeling of the music through to the listening audience.
Another point he made to mention was that the player didn't communicate much with the pianist. He remarked on how (paraphrasing) this person had the chance to play with one of the best pianists in the world, and that she simply is remarkable on how she can accompany someone and be able to follow almost anyone, but how he would have liked to see more communication. He said he only saw the student look at her once or twice throughout the piece, and simply play while she was watching and following him.
He said that it was supposed to be a piano piece with a clarinet "obligato". And that he should make the clarinet sing.
Student 2
Played a piece I never heard of before. Without accompaniment. Mr. K hadn't heard of it either, however followed along with another copy. This student (IMO) had excellent technique and a very good sound. He had driven all the way from Richmond, VA to attend this day![[whoa]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie10.gif) ! After playing his piece (which was pretty flashy), Mr. K went up and said that it was very nice. I myself was stunned at how well it was played.
Then Mr. K pointed out that it seemed like it should be a little jazzier. Apparently there was a section written in swing style (my guess from their conversation was that it was in triplets, playing the first and third of each group) He pointed out an area marked swing, and said that it should really swing more. He then did a bit of scat singing to demonstrate how one of the beautiful things about swing and jazz is how the accents don't always line up with a beat or not, and that sometimes the unpredictable accent, or fading in and out with dynamics can make it more beautiful. As the student tried the swing section again, I could tell that he was definitely trying to incorporate Mr K's advice, however to my ears, the rhythm seemed more jazzy, but the dynamics still seemed to be predictable and he seemed to be slightly accenting each downbeat. Maybe he just needed more time than a masterclass to be able to get it on the money as Mr. K would have wanted it.
Mr. K liked the piece, and liked how it would transition from the swing style jazz to a straight run which he said should have been played evenly and in tempo. And then to go back to that jazzy style.
Mark Nuccio
Unfortunately I missed the first student he was with. However the second student he was with was from Poland and played with a lot of vibrato. Mr. N commented on this, stating that he was not a fan of excessive vibrato, however how it can be used delicately to enhance a sound (stating an example from the horn player in the NY Phil and how he can make the most delicate vibrato sound gorgeous). The student played a few excerpts, one of which was from Beethoven's 6th. But that was second.
Firstly, he performes some excerpt which had a nice slow part. One thing I noticed was this student had (IMO) some very excessive movement, at times bringing his clarinet parallel to the floor while playing. However when asked about it from an audience member, Mr. N stated that he didn't think much of it and felt that it was slow and in tone with the music and he wouldn't have taken points off at an audition due to motions. Mr. N ALSO brought up a point about putting character into the music (this seemed to be a point that all the teachers of the classes hit upon). To be honest, I can't remember much of that first excerpt so I'll continue on to the 6th.
Later in this part of the masterclass, the student played an excerpt from Beethoven's 6th. Some staccato notes and arpeggiated. Hopefully you know the part I mean. Mr. N remarked that he felt the student was playing the staccato notes too short, and to give them a little more body when playing them. Instead of cutting them off right away, to allow them to ring for about half the note value instead of ;ust clipping it. He also made sure to note (I think more to us) that throughout this excerpt, the beat is an eight note off. Meaning that the "pickup" eight note into a bar is really the start of each phrase. And to make sure to make sure that the fourth beat is less emphasized, and that the pickup into the next bar is really the start of the next phrase.
As the student played, Mr. N kept telling him to bend the "D" up in pitch. He then talked about how there are certain times when you should play a pitch in tune, however in this case, it actually made more sense for the D to be a little sharp. His reasonings were twofold. You have to remember where the note is coming FROM. I'm not TOO sure what he meant (hopefully someone else who was there can clarify that part for me). However another interesting point he made was that the human ear, as a pitch gets higher and higher, almost WANTS to hear it sharper. He said that if he were to play his Eb clarinet "in tune" with the tuner at A440, it would sound horribly flat within the rest of the orchestra. And so he advised the student either to pay conscious attention to this note and keeping it sharper, or to even try adding a vent to make it sharper (it seemed to work very well when he played the altissimo D at the end of the run with the Eb key). As it got softer I guess the student had a little trouble playing the C to altissimo D, and Mr. N suggested a very nice alternative fingering for that transition (which he demonstrated as working well in softer dynamics, but isn't a good choice for louder dynamics. It's as follows . . .
Play the C like this . . . TRooo|xxx and when you transition to the D, it should be smoother by lifting the two fingers on your right hand while simultaneously placing the two on your left hand. A "normal" altissimo D . . . TRoxx|xoo'
Charles Neidich
Student 1
His first student was from China and played a rather freeform (IMO) piece, unaccompanied. Apparently (I think I picked it up right from discussion), this piece had been written for Mr. N and he had gone through several rough drafts before having the finalized version (which the student played). So he was very familiar with it. Mr. N went over and pointed out that the piece was really in groups of "three". Whether they overlapped, or intertwined, the student should keep thinking, "1, 2, 3, . . . 1, 2, . . . 3, 1, . . . . 2, 3, 1, . . . etc."
He also pointed out that for this piece the student has to realize that it is really TWO different characters in the music (once again with the characters!). One was sweet and melodious, and the other would be the one that interjected. At times as the student played it, it was hard to hear which character was which. It was suggested that he do a VERY dramatic mood and dynamic change from one to the other in order to differentiate between the two. Mr. N constantly told him to slow down, and that the groups of "five" (or really 'two groups of three, with the middle note being the overlapping part'), didn't need to be rushed. That it wasn't meant to be played so quickly.
Student 2
She was from montreal, CA. French accent and all. She played for us Stravinsky's three pieces. And I think she did an excellent job with them. Mr. N started out with a bit of history about those pieces. I'm going to pass up the history part though, simply because (A) history bores me and (B) I don't want to misconstrue or remember incorrectly some important fact about it.
To be honest, I'm very sorry everyone, but my brain is fried after a very long day and a long time typing, and I can't remember much more. I'll be back tomorrow to sum up the concert as I remember it (in an additional post), and my third post will be about how I enjoyed it and what happened to ME personally while testing out instruments, mouthpieces, and talking with whatever fellow clarinetists I did.
Goodnight,
Alexi
PS - Mr. Shaw, feel free to correct/clarify anything I've written (I saw you with your legal pad and pen!!!), and GBK/Mark, I give you guys free reign to edit anything you see here, including (and suggesting), moving my post BEHIND any other which has a more complete summary of the masterclasses (including the titles of the pieces) so that my post will make more sense if it's read AFTER a clearer summary.
US Army Japan Band
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Author: claclaws
Date: 2005-09-20 08:29
Thanks a lot for the masterclass summary. I waited for it, and it's so well written I feel like I was there^^.
The students must have tremendous guts (and talent) to be able to perform in front of people and great clarinetists like Messr. K and N.
Lucy Lee Jang
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2005-09-21 00:01
Thanks for the link larryb.
Here's what I thought of the concert . . . (at least which parts I can remember because they struck me more than others)
Mark Nuccio
On the program, he played "Studio Primo" by Gaetano Donizetti, "Andante" by Guiseppe Verdi (arr. Ben Armato), and the Artie Shaw Concerto.
The only thing I remember about the first two pieces was that he played very well, and made one or two slight mistakes. While I know it may not be "kosher" to pick on mistakes in a live performance (and "kosher" was intentially used as a pun for the next performer), it was just so refreshing to see that although he is a master at the instrument, he is still human. And humans make mistakes. Basically, when I make a mistake rehearsing or playing in a local band, I can think back to this performance and say, "No big deal. It happens to the big boys too."
While playing the Artie Shaw concerto, I feel that he played (and we've argued over this before) a little too "classical" in style. I distinctly remember some very nice pops of the instrument here or there, and a little bit of that jazzy style here and there, but overall, it was very even, very smooth, very refined. And IMO, it made this piece less exciting than hearing Artie play it, or even my high school band teacher (who, while not technically as wonderful as Mark Nuccio, certainly was able to draw some more soul out of the pages). However the ending gliss (which is such a great ending to the piece!) was played PHENOMINALLY. And it was a hell of a way to end his section of the concert.
David Krakauer
He played "Cantilene" by Louis Cahuzac, and a Klezmer Suite (consisting of "Doina", "Der Gasn Nign", a solo piece entitled "Synagogue Wail", and "Der Heyser Bulgar").
In "Cantilene", I feel he did a very nice job conveying a mood of the piece. As he was playing it, I found myself envisioning birds chirping on a background of green trees in an open wheat field. It sounded great, and he played very well. He also had a very nice sound while playing. That song seems "normal" as to what'd you expect to hear. I'm not saying it was MIND BLOWING FANTASTIC, because it wasn't THAT memorable, but it was very nice and pleasing.
Then came . . . . (dum dum dum . . . ) a transformation that I didn't see coming, and completely blindsided me. He stepped offstage (I presume to get the rest of his trio out on stage), and his sound changed VERY dramatically from a sweet classical tone, to this wavery, klezmer tone. I don't know if he changed any equipment to do so, but I highly doubt he changed clarinets, and it really struck me how the same instrument can produce such a VAST difference of sound. And you could tell throughout this suite that this is music that he LOVES to play. Eyes closed, parts memorized, and clarinet bell flying left and right, holding the clarinet parallel to the floor, using (if I saw correctly), very unusual fingerings in order to waver, or quarter-tone notes. (Example . . . he would play a chalemeau D, and then simultanously roll his first finger over the A and G# keys to add vents to create interesting - to say the least - sounds and jumps in the music).
For his solo piece, he pretty much went what I would call the equivalent of "ballistic" and I have to say that I really enjoyed it. I was never quite a fan of klezmer, and to be honest, I'm still not, but just seeing him "in his element" and the energy that he brought to the music really made me glad to be there and hearing him go.
Another thing that stuck in my mind (albeit a very small detail), was how whenever he was playing a Clarion D and trilling down to a C or B, he would not only use his left pinky, but would also (after releasing it), use his right pinky. In effect, doubling the speed of the trill by alternating fingers on levers that operated the same tonehole. I've played around with it myself, but never thought I'd see it used in a professional setting.
His last piece was quite a zinger to go out on. Walking bass lines, great accordian playing, and overall a very fun piece. I found myself BARELY keeping my seat. I QUITE LITERALLY was hoping that someone would start clapping or even dancing in the aisles. I would've been RIGHT there to join in either activity. But I'm not the type of person to start it . . . . only to support it!
Charles Neidich
I've always loved any recording of his that I heard, and he did NOT dissapoint playing live. He played the Sain-Saens Sonota, a piece that he himself composed (in remembrance of the victims of the Tsunami) entitled "Threnos for Solo Clarinet", and "Andante et Allegro" by Ernest Chausson.
Saint-Saens
Absolutely gorgeous. Beautiful tempo, the sound was wonderful. No air that I could hear. It took me a bit to realize that as he was playing, he was circular breathing. It was the first time I'd ever seen it used. And it was amazing. I didn't know that not only could he circular breathe, but he was able to maintain, or even fluctuate the dynamic while doing so (I was always under the impression that circular breathing was easiest done while "maintaining" a certain dynamic, however he would increase or decrease his dynamic according to the music while circular breathing. I was amazed.)
The slow movement (I'm not sure which one that was), really moved me. He was able to play so softly, yet project so much that I thought it nearly paradoxical. The room was utterly quiet, and you could hear every nuance. As a matter of fact, as I was listening, he was playing so softly and so well, that even now I'm not sure if he was phrasing small notes here and there, or whether my mind was tricking me into believing certain phrases. I found myself thinking, "I love how he just ever so slightly brought out that sustained note on beats three and four and faded back in . . . or did I just HEAR it that way and he really kept it at the same volume?" In either case, his playing was unbelievable, and the slow movement showed me that not only can he command the speed and technique which I knew him for, but play at the softest ppp and literally make that clarinet whisper a song.
One small detail I noticed in this slow piece, is that whenever it called for a chalemeau "B natural" to be played, he played the fork fingering. I wondered why. Possible reasons that came to mind were that he came off of a C# and as the C# is notorious for being fuzzy he didn't want to make the B natural sound different so chose a slightly fuzzy fingering to make the transition sound homogenous. Another reason I thought about was maybe it was just in better tune for the piece. Another reason I pondered was that since it was at such a soft dynamic, maybe he felt he could control that fingering for B natural at a softer dynamic moreso than the middle finger. Whatever the reason, it just seemed to stick out to me.
To be honest, I can't really remember the "Andante et Allegro", suffice to say that I'm sure it was as excellent as the rest of his pieces.
After exiting the stage and bowing, he decided to come back for an encore. And I decided, "Eh . . . I guess I won't complain . . ." ![[wink]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie3.gif) He played a short one or one and a half minute piece. Extremely fast, and unbelievably technical. The perfect "encore" piece to keep the audience's adrenaline flowing. As he played it, I noticed that no matter HOW fast he was tonguing (double tongue? Try sextuplet tongue . . . MAYBE . . . ), but however fast he was tonguing, his embouchure and head was completely locked. No jaw movement whatsoever. I wouldn't even have been able to tell that he was tonguing as fast as he was if I hadn't heard the rapid succession of notes. It actually seemed as though the pianist was struggling to keep up (although that might be the nature of the piece). In any event, it blew me away. At the end of this short piece, I realized that I had held my breath through most of it and I let it all out with a "whoosh" at the end.
My former respect for these players pretty much doubled after getting to hear them live and realizing that "No", it's not recording tricks, or tweaking of dials that makes them sound so good. It's not any tricks, but definitely, assuredly, and undeniably THEY who are good. (Almost poetic, isn't it?)
Well that's my memories of the concert. Tomorrow I shall follow up in the tertiary post, what I did inbetween the masterclasses and concert, a little bit about my initial impressions on the crowd and what I thought of the vendors and their products.
And by then, I'll have a new keyboard hooked up so I won't have to use a ";" in lieu of the letter "j" (copied, and pasted from another person's post above).
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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