 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Kenneth
Date: 2009-06-14 18:06
For some time I've admired the playing of Bernard Walton, the principal clarinet of the Philharmonia during the 50's and early 60's - featured on those classic recordings by Klemperer, Karajan, Giulini etc from that period - and who I believe also held the same position with the LPO in the late 60's. It would appear that he made few recordings as a featured solo or chamber artist, although I do have a couple of recordings fairly recently released on the Testament label of him playing the Mozart Concerto and Brahams Quintet, and also the Mozart and Beethhoven Piano and Wind Quintets with Walter Gieseking and his fellow principal Philharmonia wind players, including Denis Brain.
I've heard that he favoured Reform Boehm clarinets, as opposed to the B&H 1010s used by most of his contemporaries. Does anyone know more about the clarinets and mouthpieces he used?
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Author: Caroline Smale
Date: 2009-06-14 21:07
I know he played Reform Boehm for many years in later stages of his life and was told he favoured a fairly long lay mouthpiece but have no specific details. I heard players who knew him say that he was worried by some warpage problems later with his instruments but whether he ever changed them I don't know. Sadly died far to young. Though probably not known by name to the general listener he was widely admired by other clarinetists and definately in the same league as Thurston and Kell.
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Author: clancy
Date: 2009-06-14 22:36
I plan to visit and measure/inspect/play test Mr Waltons clarinets in the coming month.
The owner tells they are not Hammerschmidt or Wurlitzer - they are Boehm system wider bore French clarinets dating from around 1905.
Apparently Mr Walton acquired the pair second hand while he was a college student and stayed with them until his death. The clarinets were used heavily and the bore dimensions shifted so severely that the intonation became quite difficult, leading Mr Walton to adopt unusual pitch bending acrobatics.
I am also told that Mr Walton approached Wurlitzer a number of times in an attempt to make a recreation of his clarinets - they produced something similar but more correct with intonation, he never got on with any of them.
I will take some detailed measurements and chart the tuning characteristics - a former Walton pupil said they were the most horribly out of tune clarinets he ever played, but Bernard made them work just fine.
The mouthpieces do not survive but from all reliable accounts he used George Howarth mouthpieces, which varied considerably so that does leave a bit of a hole. Nick Tschaikov told me that Bernards set up was a medium soft reed - the owner would know better, I will ask about it.
Ill post more once I see them.
R Wodkowski
www.ramonwodkowski.com
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Author: Dileep Gangolli
Date: 2009-06-15 00:05
Walton is certainly a player who deserves more attention esp from American players learning about the English school.
There is certainly a much greater spectrum in playing styles in the British school than Americans think. Walton represents something closer to how we play in America.
Incidentally, the only American player that I know of who had contact or studied with Walton was George Selfies, the recently retired prin of St Louis.
Does anyone know of any others?
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Author: clancy
Date: 2009-06-15 06:13
I believe Fred Ormand studied with Walton for a short period in London
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Author: AJN
Date: 2009-06-15 20:02
Yes. Fred Ormand did study with Walton for one academic year. It was in 1963-64, and Ormand took a one-year leave of absence from the Interlochen Arts Academy (where he was teaching at the time) to go to London.
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Author: D Dow
Date: 2009-06-16 00:37
Certainly Walton would rate as one of the most recorded orchestral players of all time. He played on the complete Beethoven sets of Karajan and Klemperer on EMI as well as most of Klemperer's Philharmonia recordings. These sets are all still available on CD and are very fine.
.. Remember the old English school of wind has qualities I know of no where else..reedy oboes, dark flutes, smooth clarinets and french bassoons.
I think the Philharmonia recordings of the 50s and 60s among the finest orchestral recordings ever.
Klemperer is superb ..the Klemperer Mahler is worth investigating. Cleanly played and knife edge intensity make all his records worth having on the shelf.
I can't think of a conductor more unlike Karajan that has ever lived.
Walton also played with all guest conductors..among whom are Cantelli, Silvestri, Igor Markevitch, Claudio Abbado, Carl Maria Giulini, Adrian Boult, Paul Kletzki, Karl Bohm, and probably more which I can't recall.
Certainly he rates as one of the busiest players of his era..more in the orchestral vein.
....He became Principal Clarinet of the Philharmonia after Thurston departed. I believe this occurred in the mid 50s.
One thing that listening to his playing comes to mind is the wonderful fluidity and unforced quality to his sound. Although to some ears his sound may be too open I always thought it rather warm and round compared to some players of his generation. He also recorded the Clarinet Concerto of Mozart as well with Karajan but I believe this one is out of print.
David Dow
Post Edited (2009-06-16 00:40)
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Author: Lam
Date: 2009-06-16 07:16
Hi David,
I've seen the Walton/Karajan Mozart recording on the market recently, on the "Testament" Label.
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Author: Jamietalbot
Date: 2009-06-16 07:28
There is a DVD on the EMI Archive label featuring Leopold Stowkowsky with the LSO and LPO.
the LPO concerts have Bernard Walton on clarinet with lots of solos and close ups.
The LSO concerts have Jack Brymer and Colin Courtney on clarinets.
It's a great DVD- Id recommend it!
Jamie Talbot
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Author: graham
Date: 2009-06-16 11:42
By the 1970s Walton had certainly adopted a fairly marked vibrato, as is clear from his radio broadcast recording of the Brahms Quintet made just a few weeks before he died.
The Testament CD cover makes clear that there was some fancy key linkage near the top of the instrument. Perhaps Ramon can post details on that once he has looked at the instruments.
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Author: graham
Date: 2009-06-16 16:17
See the following linik for another Walton recording:
http://www.nmcrec.co.uk/?page=catalogue/item.html&id=131
Disclaimer: I am a trustee of this record company (unpaid I hasten to add).
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Author: clancy
Date: 2009-06-17 11:19
There is a telecast of the New Philharmonia on Youtube, Mr Walton is playing principal clarinet - Beethoven Symphony 9 with Klemperer conducting, Royal Albert Hall, 1964. Basil Tschaikov is bumping the 1st part. Note the second player is using a simple/albert system clarinet - Nick Tschaikov told me some of the older generation did carry on with those well into the 1950s/60s, but very very few.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofGRRvwRgZA
Lovely clarinet playing - wish I could have heard Walton live...
R Wodkowski
www.ramonwodkowski.com
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Author: Dileep Gangolli
Date: 2009-06-17 13:49
Very nice posting regarding the Beethoven 9 video. I have started listening and, as I write, am enjoying the leisurely pace of the first movement and an orchestra that plays a real pp when called upon.
I never heard that term "bumping the 1st cl". We call it "doubling the 1st" in the US, but "bumping" has a nicer ring to it.
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Author: clancy
Date: 2009-06-17 14:48
I never heard of "bumping" either until I came to the UK - aside from that I still cant get my head round the crotchet, quaver, minim business...
R Wodkowski
www.ramonwodkowski.com
Post Edited (2009-06-17 14:49)
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Author: Kenneth
Date: 2009-06-17 22:21
I have the DVD of the Klemperer/Philharmonia Beethoven 9 - recorded at a live performance in the Royal Albert Hall. It seems that it was common practice with conductors of Klemperer's generation, or even slightly younger, to double the woodwind in performances of some of the larger symphonies of the romantic period - I can recall having attended a performance at the Edinburgh Festival a number of years ago of Brahms' 4 with Kurt Sanderling and the Philharmonia with double woodwind (ie 4 in each section) which was magnificent.
In addition to being capable of playing that was both refined and expressive, with great beauty of tone and perfect intonation, another thing that strikes me about Bernard Walton's playing is his amazing breath control and his ability to play long passages without any interruption to take a breath - for instance, in the DVD of Schubert's Unfinished referred to by Jamie, he plays almost the entire solo passage in the second movement in one breath. Another unusual characteristic visible in these archive film recordings is his habit of sitting with his legs crossed and with the bell of his clarinet resting on his knee as he plays, appearing very relaxed and almost motionless while playing.
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Author: oliver sudden
Date: 2009-06-17 22:41
[OT - as I understand it 'bumping' is a little different from simply 'doubling' in that the bumper will normally take the tuttis while the first player sits (some of) them out or marks them, saving their chops for the solos. (Classic case: horn in Shostakovich 5 first movement - indeed I've actually only ever heard the term used for horns and sometimes trumpets.) The idea of doubling on the other hand is partly to ensure that the line is properly represented in the tuttis (especially when there are TOO MANY STRINGS ). ]
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Author: Caroline Smale
Date: 2009-06-17 23:03
In UK military band parlance the "bumper up" is the second (and third if applicable) player on the solo stand. All normally play in unison but it gives the solo player a chance to snatch a brief rest before a solo or cadenza.
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Author: clancy
Date: 2009-06-21 18:22
I have now seen and examined Mr Waltons clarinets, went up to visit them yesterday morning.
I spent a good long time posting my thoughts this morning but my computer crashed and I lost the post - I dont have the energy or time to write it again, so here we go, slightly condensed.
First off, I am not a clarinet design specialist - Im a professional player and mouthpiece maker/craftsman, my specialty is the little black thing you put on the top of the clarinet...One of my hobbies is collecting and studying the clarinets used in England between roughly 1910 - 1940, Boosey and Hawkes, Hawkes and Son, Martel, Louis, etc. I do have a lot of experience with their various bore dimensions, tuning and playing characteristics, but I am by no means an acoustical expert on these things - I dont think there are many people left on the planet who are.
So here is what I came up with.
Mr Waltons clarinets were made by the Kolbe firm, designed by Schmidt. They are stamped both "Schmidt" and "L Kolbe" - Made in Germany. From the brief internet search I did on them, the Schmidt Kolbe clarinets were some of the first Reform Boehm clarinets made. The serial numbers match perfectly, Bb 300 and A 301.
The owner dates them to 1910, however I found an entry stating that the Schmidt Kolbe clarinets were first produced in 1912, not far off. Apparently Mr Walton bought them second hand whilst he was a a pupil at the Royal College of Music in the late 1930s - studying with George Anderson, principal clarinettist of the London Symphony at the time. Mr Walton tried to get Wurlitzer to make him copies of the clarinets but they made more in tune versions, he could not get on with them - he played this pair his entire career.
They are definitely an early Reform Boehm system, short barrel and straight flare, wide mouth bell. The Bb mechanism Graham mentioned is original on both, an early relative of the current system used on Reforms, a bit more crude though.
I only had enough time to measure the bore and note the playing characteristics - the owner had a pupil coming and was telling me all sorts of tales about Mr Walton, so I had to work and listen, not easy, so much info to register in one go...
Both clarinets are larger, straight - ish bore size instruments, the Bb clarinet around .597 or 15.16mm inch all the way down to the bottom - it does taper in slightly at the bottom of the top joint to .585.
The A clarinet was larger, .600inch or 15.24mm (1010 size) all the way down the clarinet - again it tapered in to .590 at the bottom of the top joint.
I did not have time to check the flare at the bottom joint or the undercutting.
I did hear a story from many people that Mr Walton played and swabbed his clarinets so often that the bore became gargantuan and warped - I did not find this. The bore did have some "wrinkles" along the way, but remains very well intact for its age, as there was no explosion anywhere to be seen along the bore - it was nearly straight on both top joints from the top tenon down to the speaker tube. Perhaps the slight tightness at the bottom of both top joints is warpage, but I doubt it - Ill ask Jon Steward. The wood used with these particular clarinets is very heavy dense stuff, I doubt its moved much at all since it was made - some of the nicest wood Ive ever seen. The owner told me that the older German firms would bore out the wooden tenons and leave them to sit for 2 years - the ones that didnt move were made into clarinets.
As for playing characteristics, well that is very individual so I wont bother with describing ring, ping, cover, etc. All I will say is they are wonderful clarinets that possess a hauntingly special quality and colour palette. I can see much clearer now how Mr Walton made his sound and also why he had so much trouble switching; tuning aside, these are truly one off beautiful clarinets. They do play like a Reform Boehm, but with much more flexibility and resonance, again, I would put that down to the wood. Also they are not "blown out", lots of power left in them, hold, etc. IMHO - I think the term "blown out" comes from people who use modern polycyl clarinets made from less aged softer wood that rely more heavily on the lasting proportions of the various steps in the bore - as the bore slightly shifts there is a more noticeable change of quality in sound - my opinion...
In terms of tuning I found them to be very hard work. I was playing a wide bore 1010 mouthpiece which I dont think is quite the right bore needed, but still the entire range was out, wide twelfths in both the right and left hand, etc. The owner told me that Mr Walton did acrobatics in his throat and mouth to get them tuning, many players from the period did the same - bought a pair of clarinets and just got used to them - this was pre R13 polycyl and the more automatic tuning clarinets of the mid 20th century...
So it was quite an interesting and enlightening experience - nothing surprising really aside from the makers identity. I hope this helps clear up some of the stories.
I have done a very similar experiment with the clarinets belonging to some of the other great English players of the early 20th century - Frederick Thurston, Reginald Kell, Charles Draper and George Garside. As much as the player makes the sound, you cant help but feel their presence in their clarinets, almost like trying on another mans shoes.
Id be happy to answer more questions, feel free to contact me via my website.
R Wodkowski
www.ramonwodkowski.com
Post Edited (2009-06-21 18:24)
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Author: Kenneth
Date: 2009-06-23 22:17
Thank you for posting the details of your findings, Ramon. This is very interesting. I understand that Bernard Walton embarked upon his professional career at a fairly young age, becoming principal clarinet at Sadlers Wells at the age of 17 (?1934) before being selected by Beecham to take over the principal clarinet chair from Reginald Kell with the LPO at the age of 20 in 1937 (according to the sleeve note by Richard Osborne of the Testament release of his recordings of the Mozart Concerto and Brahms Quintet). I presume from what you have written that it is likely that Walton played the same clarinets throughout his career.
I take it that you have not been able to find out about the characteristics of Walton's mouthpieces. Presumably they would have to be customised to suit the instruments he played. Do you think that he would have used different mouthpieces for his Bb and A clarinets given the difference in bore dimensions?
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Author: D Dow
Date: 2009-06-24 19:05
That is great to hear. I have all of the Mahler, Bruckner and Beethoven Klemperer recorded with the Philharmonia. Walton is certainly one of the most original thinkers of clarinet playing. Some really telling solos are the Forest Murmurs from Wagner which has a freedom of sound few clarinetist ever touch. At times I do agree, his playing seems to have alot more in common with the Dutch school of playing..much more open but with a reed resonance which is refreshing. For those who want every note even he is not the clarinetist to listen to..but man the singing quality and ability to project himself as a solo player is remarable. Bruckner 4 under Klemp is a must for any classical listener..his playing here goes beyond words. The brass are incredible too..
Walton has an unmistakable identity..few players if any really achieve that in the classical world. (open to arguement of course..)
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Author: clancy
Date: 2009-06-24 19:23
Thanks Kenneth
From all accounts Mr Walton played George Howarth mouthpieces - custom made hand milled pieces. I believe I know where his mouthpieces are, will chase up that lead and report back. The owner of the clarinets told me they were a standard medium tip and he used medium soft reeds. Apparently Mr Waltons favourite ligature was the model Benny Goodman used made by Selmer, the one that stretched over the mouthpiece, no screws - now the price of those on ebay will skyrocket....
I personally doubt Mr Walton played different mouthpieces for Bb and A, didnt ask that when I saw them though. 2 mouthpieces going in one concert sounds like a fairly precarious endeavor - 1 is enough for me! I have however seen some pairs of older clarinets with a mouthpiece made to suit each clarinet, so its not impossible.
The owner of the clarinets confirmed that Mr Walton played the clarinets his entire career.
Im now thinking of trying to find Haydn Drapers clarinets, any thoughts, leads would be appreciated - Im told they were EJ Albert Boehm System, but a recent finding leads me to think he may have switched to Boosey and Hawkes just before he died.
R Wodkowski
www.ramonwodkowski.com
Post Edited (2009-06-24 19:28)
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Author: D Dow
Date: 2009-06-24 20:35
Ramon
How does the A that Walton used stack up? Is it easy to tune or is it more resistant or open than the Bb clarinet he used...?
I always noted that Walton sounded very close to the same on Bb and the A without any realization until now. For example his A solos in the Beethoven 7 2cd mvt. etc. compared to the solos in Beethoven 8.
He really had an a knack for matching timbre wise his sound colour across the two clarinets.
David Dow
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Author: clancy
Date: 2009-06-24 21:13
Hello David
Interesting you should point that out. The owner of the clarinets worked with Mr Walton for many years and said Bernard would play orchestral solos on the clarinet that sounded best to him - in many cases playing solos on the wrong clarinet in awkward keys, just so he could get the right tonal shading and colouring.
The A clarinet is a real beast, very long instrument, heavy wood. Fabulous hold to the sound, powerful, flexible, intonation wasnt great, but from memory it was better than the Bb slightly...Id say it had more hold and push than the Bb, felt more fresh, but that is usually the case with those older clarinets. I may ask to go back and chart the tuning with Mr Waltons mouthpieces, if I can get them. I would like to see how sharp they get when warm; the wood is heavy and dense, I suspect they may not get quite as sharp as the lighter thinner walled Hawkes Martels from the same period.
I did find the clarinets very flexible in terms of pitch - nothing at all like a modern clarinet. We have to remember that the vintage wide bore clarinets were known for their flexibility of sound, colouring and pitch - players used softer setups that could much more readily handle it.
Ramon Wodkowski
www.ramonwodkowski.com
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