The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: MW
Date: 2009-02-16 18:55
I'm working on an undergraduate thesis project on the evolution of the clarinet in technical, historical, school of thought/pedagogical, and sociopolitical contexts. I am applying for some scholarships to examine historical clarinets in famous museums and collections.
My main interest is the collection at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. I have alse received recommendations for the Shrine to Music Museum in South Dakota (www.usd.edu/smm); the Metropolitan Museum in New York City; and the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria. However, I may be able to continue researching at other museums depending on how much I would be awarded. I have been looking at the International Directory of Musical Instrument Collections lists (http://cimcim.icom.museum/id/) but they are exhaustive and rarely give specifics on just clarinets.
Any opinions on the recommendations above? Besides those listed above, does anyone have suggestions for other famous/important museums or clarinet collections (especially in the U.S. or Europe) I should see and include in my thesis, or better resources for locating them?
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: elmo lewis
Date: 2009-02-16 23:43
I saw lots of clarinets in the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague and the Stadtmuseum (city or municipal museum) and Deutsches Museum in Munich.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Margaret
Date: 2009-02-17 00:51
Hi,
The German Museum in Munich has a huge antique instrument collection, with the pieces arranged in order of evolution, so you can 'walk' by history.
It's been over 10 years since I was there, so I forget the exact details of their clarinet collection, and at the time I was there, I didn't know what the precursors of the clarinet (vs. similar instruments, like recorders) looked like, so get some details before showing up.
However, their collection is enormous; you can easily spend days in the instruments, and I remember there being tons of woodwinds.
Margaret
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Margaret
Date: 2009-02-17 00:53
Oops,
Sorry Elmo, I didn't notice that you already mentioned the German Museum
Margaret
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: EEBaum
Date: 2009-02-17 02:18
If you are interested in experimental and lesser-known instruments, the Museum of Music in Prague is great. Quarter-tone clarinets, G sopranino, an A bass that doubles up like a bassoon, etc. Not a particularly huge collection of clarinets (the exhibit is on experimental instruments in general, and most of the square footage is pianos and string instruments), but very cool, bizarre horns. I think the exhibit is permanent; it had just opened when I visited in '05.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Fishamble
Date: 2009-02-17 11:18
There's the Musical Instruments Museum in Brussels.
http://www.mim.fgov.be/home_uk.htm
They have a small number of clarinets on display, but I thought they had a very broad collection overall which gives excellent context for the development of instruments in general. A nice collection of Sax Saxes too.
(Don't miss lunch in the restaurant at the top if you go there!)
Good luck with the research.
David.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Don Berger
Date: 2009-02-17 14:19
I'm happy to see "my" fav museums mentioned, Vermillion, S D [contact Debbi Reeves, author, cl player], Munich, Oxford [2], Edinburgh, and wish to add the Fiske in Claremont, CA where Al Rice is curator, author and cl player/collector combined. The U of Mich, Ann Arbor had/has? a small collection as do [prob.] many music schools and larger universities, possibly the U of OKLA, Norman. I believe several of our "good [cl] books" list more museums and over the years, the ICA Journal has published many antique cl "studies". I also suggest the "EarlyClarinet" Yahoo Group. I have heard of the Buffet [Paris suburb] and wouldn't be surprised to find a Leblanc and perhaps several German mfrng. museums. There are also quite a few books re: our antiques, in partic. those by Al Rice,et al. You have picked a LARGE subject, MW, best wishes, Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: J. Usher
Date: 2009-02-17 19:19
Check out "The Clarinet"(2008) by Eric Hoeprich. Many plates and references from the various museums. Also, the text covers much of what you're looking into.
-Jon
Clarinet, Woodwind Methods, Music Ed.
CSUSB
San Bernardino, CA
jusher@csusb.edu
Post Edited (2009-02-17 19:21)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Caroline Smale
Date: 2009-02-17 22:11
The Bates collection in Oxford and the Horniman Museum in London both have pretty exstensive collections of woodwind including the contents of the now defunct Boosey & Hawkes historical collection originally housed in the B&H Edgware factory.
I'm sure both institutions have useful websites as starters.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: chris moffatt
Date: 2009-02-17 22:31
the Horniman does indeed have a website worth looking at. In addition to the B&H collection they also have many of the B&H ledgers. Also the University of Arkansas Music dept houses the "NC" clarinet collection: don't know anything about "NC" except his name, the collector info page is currently under construction
http://www.uark.edu/ua/nc/NCclarinetcollections.htm
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: MW
Date: 2009-02-18 20:09
Thank you very much for the recommendations, links, and names! I am going to contact all these places, try and estimate costs, choose the ones that will fit within my projected budget, apply, and hope I am awarded a scholarship to make this possible.
Any further suggestions or ideas are more than welcome by email; I will likely post on the board in the future. Thanks again!
~MW
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
|