 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: GBK
Date: 2008-11-25 02:04
As posted today on the klarinet mailing list:
The great clarinetist and teacher Mitchell Lurie died this morning.
...GBK
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Author: DAVE
Date: 2008-11-25 04:33
Man, that is sad news. I met him once. I played in a masterclass for him and he was just a wonderful help and inspiration to me. Sad.
I hope others will post their experiences with him.
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Author: modernicus
Date: 2008-11-25 12:51
My father Met Mr. Lurie at some sort of musical event when he was in high school (Late 1960's). He was impressed by my father's playing and they got to talking about how my father's Buffet R-13 had cracked. Apparently they got it out and Mr. Lurie played it for a bit and declared that it was a great clarinet. Since my father was getting a replacement anyway, Mr. Lurie was gracious enough to pick out a new one for him that he felt was equal to his cracked clarinet and have it sent to him. That one ended up cracking too, but he got it pinned, and still has it.
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Author: Sarah Elbaz
Date: 2008-11-25 13:56
Mitchell was my teacher. We met in a master class in Jerusalem and later I
studied with him in USC. His son lives in Israel and his grandson is playing the clarinet.
Few people know that Mitchell was a pilot at the US army on WW2, and was one of the candidates to the nuclear attack of Hiroshima , fortunatly, he wasn't chosen.
I am very very sad, but I know that Mitchell was a very gifted person and had good live.
Sarah
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Author: rtmyth
Date: 2008-11-25 15:33
I attended his workshop at TBMA about 20 years ago. Great teacher I believe. One of the finest clarinets and admired and wanted by several major symohony directors, including Reiner ,even before graduating from Curtiss.
richard smith
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Author: weberfan
Date: 2008-11-25 17:02
Is there a news release from, say, USC or from the family on his death?
I see nothing so far on wires services or on the USC Web site or in the L.A. Times.
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Author: ABerry
Date: 2008-11-26 01:21
My current teacher, Jennifer Nelson, studied with him in college and would visit hin in LA at least once a year...
Allan
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Author: John J. Moses
Date: 2008-11-26 14:23
I met Mitchell Lurie in the late 1960s when I was playing in San Francisco. I traveled down to L.A. to meet the great recording master. He was friendly, helpful & very encouraging.
In the 1980s I again met with Mitchell when I was playing in L.A. with the NYC Opera. To my surprise, he remembered me. I heard him play on a few film dates with Dominick Fera, they sounded great, and I'm sure the film was a big hit with those two great players on the same film!
Mitchell was one of the most famous L.A. studio recording musicians for decades, as was Dominick. It is so strange that they both passed away within a week of each other?
I will miss them both, but we have Michell's great playing on hundreds of famous Hollywood films, how fortunate!
Farewell friends,
JJM
Légère Artist
Clark W. Fobes Artist
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Author: clarinetguy ★2017
Date: 2008-11-26 16:14
Here are a few questions for those of you who knew Mitchell Lurie.
Did he personally play on Lurie reeds? According to the Rico web site, he is listed as using Lurie premiums, and I think he is the only Rico clarinetist using them. Did any of you ever hear him discuss or try to push his own reeds?
When I was in college back in the 70s, there were basically two reed options, Vandorens and Mitchell Luries. I played on both--a lot depended upon what I could get and which one played better on a particular day. Vandorens were slightly preferred, but many professional clarinetists played Luries. In fact, my professor had no objection to me using them, and he once gave me a list of professionals (including symphony players) who used them.
Today, Mitchell Lurie reeds (both regular and premium) don't have the best reputation. They are considered to be acceptable for high school players and amateurs, but "serious" players don't take them seriously. What happened? Did the quality of the reeds decline, or did standards change?
Was Mitchell Lurie upset about the decline in repuation of "his" reeds?
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Author: Carmen
Date: 2008-11-26 20:06
USC hasn't released anything yet, although I will be writing our Daily Trojan to see if they can cover the story.
***...so do all who seen such times, but that is not for them to decide. All you can do is decide what to do with the time that is given to you.***
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2008-11-26 20:30
> Mitchell Lurie played his reeds and mouthpiece.
So do I.
--
Ben
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Author: Ryan25
Date: 2008-11-26 20:39
I played a Lurie mouthpiece all through high school. I loved that mouthpiece and his "spingboard" ligature.
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2008-12-01 00:19
I'm sorry to hear of Mitchell Lurie's death. Thanks for the link to the L. A. Times obit.
Clarinetguy wrote,
>>Today, Mitchell Lurie reeds (both regular and premium) don't have the best reputation. They are considered to be acceptable for high school players and amateurs, but "serious" players don't take them seriously. What happened? Did the quality of the reeds decline, or did standards change?
>>
I'm an advanced amateur, but I think as amateurs go, I'm fairly picky about reeds. I've got the usual obsessional clarinet player's box full of reeds I don't like (but don't hate quite enough to waste the money by "giving them the wall test"). There aren't any Mitchell Lurie Premiums in that box. They're my favorite reeds, the ones I play on most mouthpieces for clarinets in A and B-flat. I try other brands and keep going back to MPLs for any mouthpiece they'll fit. (They're fine on most of my antique mpcs, btw.)
According to the grapevine here on the bulleting board over the years, Mitchell Lurie Premiums don't last as long as some other reeds, but that hasn't been my experience. For me, they last well and they're nearly all good to excellent right out of the box. They're all speckled cane and almost all have fine, uniform, straight grain.
I rarely tinker with them. I don't even break them in, beyond moistening them and sometimes swiping the flat side lengthwise over a sheet of typing paper a few times. They're moderately priced to begin with and the fact that I can count on using all the reeds in the box makes them such a bargain that I suspect some people can't believe they could possibly be as good as reeds that cost a lot more. (Standard disclaimer: nobody's paying me to write this stuff.)
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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Author: Wes
Date: 2008-12-02 21:09
It is sad to know that he has passed. He did not play much during the last few years and the last time I heard him was in 1986 in Seattle, playing the Mozart quintet to perfection. I studied with him in the 50s after I had studied with Earl Handlon for three years. This was when he was a staff player at RKO studios and the musicians were not very busy. Lessons were at his home in West Los Angeles or at a nearby music studio. He said that he tried to make a major point to the student in each lesson. To this day, I use a mouthpiece sold to me from his home and I have several spares. A great artist!
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Author: Katrina
Date: 2008-12-02 21:31
I played Lurie Premiums in high school until I discovered Morres. Then when Morres "went away" I switched to Vandys.
I still think the Premiums are pretty good reeds, but they're difficult to find in stores around here, at least the ones my students frequent!
And I still refer to the interview published in "The Clarinet" with him discussing each of the Uhl Etudes! Remarkable perception and wonderful guidance on these studies...
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