 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2009-12-21 16:02
It was so nice to read the latest Clarinet Journal with the two articles about Stanley Druckers career and retirement from the NY Philharmonic and have the fantastic article about Leon Russianoff, his principal teacher, in the same issue. Whether or not you like Druckers style or tone one has to consider him to be one of the greatest clarinetists of the past century if for no other reason for his accomplishments as described in this article. How many players have ever had a professional orchestra career from age 17 to 80? For that matter, how many have ever even played in an orchestra that long? Put that together with the things he's accomplished and you have a great career for a great player.
Leon Russianoff was also considered to be a great teacher. Not because he was any better than a host of other great teachers, there are many that perhaps deserve that title, but because of who he was as described in the article. It was never about what Russianoff taught, I'm sure there are many that would disagree with some of the things he said or didn't say, but what made him great in my mind was how he went about it. Even though he never bought me an ice cream cone, as he did for the author of the article, he was always so encouraging, thoughtful and helpful that he simply made me play better than I ever thought I could. He did lend me his personal mouthpiece when I dropped mine the day of a concert though and lent me money to buy reeds once. Yes, he would help solve problems, as the author states, but what I feel was one of his major strengths was that he would never fix something that wasn't broken just for the sake of fixing it.
My first major teacher was Eric Simon, from 1956-1959, than Russianoff from 59-62. The funny thing was that although Simon respected Drucker he was not a great fan of his style. He would tell me that Mcginnis, the principal in the NY Phil at the time, would give the "kid" all the contemporary stuff to play because he had such great technique. Then when I went to study with Russianoff, whom Drucker had of course studied with, he of course considered Drucker to be a great clarinetist and as a student I was in awe of his abilities as so many others were and in many case still do. ESP http://eddiesclarinet.com
ESP eddiesclarinet.com
Post Edited (2009-12-23 02:39)
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2009-12-21 19:59
I got a chance to experience Russianoff at a "Klarfest" back in the early 80s and found him to be as warm a human being as he was inspired as a pedagogue. His reputation as a teacher is firmly established by the sheer number of successful clarinetists that he taught over the years.
Being a mid-western boy myself, I had some issues with the "recorded" sound from the "New York School" of clarinet players back in the day, but found Stanley Drucker's sound (at that same Klarfest) to be utterly amazing. Why that sound didn't record like Larry Combs's sound the world may never know.
................Paul Aviles
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Author: William
Date: 2009-12-21 21:33
"Why that sound didn't record like Larry Combs's sound the world may never know."
When asked how he got his *great sound*, Pete Fountain replied, "I've got the best recording engineer in the business." Maybe, Stanley didn't...
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2009-12-21 21:38
It's funny that you mention the NY school of sound because Russianoff never liked that term. He always thought it meant the Drucker sound. One of the great things about Russianoff's teaching is that no two students sound the same, at least the ones we know of. He never taught a sound, he would teach to bring the best sound the particular student could achieve, as long as it wasn't overly bright. He would tell me that any well focused sound was a good sound as long as it didn't sound like an oboe he would say. Besides, when I was studying with him in the late 50s-early 60s there were so many other fine teachers in NY that all had different tonal concepts then Drucker so he would say, what is the NY sound? There was David Weber, Bernard Portnoy, Joe Allard, Herbert Blayman, Something Williams (can't remember his first name), Robert Mcginnes, Charles Russo, Eric Simon, and a host of other fine players and teachers that I just can't think of right now, non of which sound even resembled Druckers so he would ask, what is the NY school of sound? What a great human being and teacher, I'm so fortunate to have had the opportunity to study with him for three years. ESP
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2009-12-21 22:03
It was Alexander Williams. I studied with him in the late 60s. He was in the NY Phil., where he said he played a silver Bettoney Eb, and became principal in the NBC Symphony under Toscanini after Duques left. He was at Interlochen for several summers. He said that he is the one playing the big solo in Toscanini's recording of The Pines of Rome. His A clarinet was maybe the best instrument I've ever played.
He was a fine teacher and a very sweet-tempered man. He lived to a great old age and died only in 2003. His wife, Frances Blaisdell Williams, was a top flutist and a member of the NY Phil.
Also, I'd add Kalmen Opperman to the list of NYC teachers.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Dileep Gangolli
Date: 2009-12-21 23:03
Interesting thread and I agree with Ed on the coincidence (?) of the Drucker and Russianoff article being in the same volume of The Clarinet. And nice article Ed on the retirement of your colleague in the BSO.
While being a student of Marcellus - sound is of primary importance in my approach - I have to agree with Russianoff in that a good sound is only part of the mix.
I think that Russianoff was trying to say three things:
1) That sound alone does not make for a good clarinet player. The other facets of playing are equally important: rhythm, pitch, phrasing, musicality, flexibility, etc.
2) With NYC being the center of American musical life for the entire 20th century, the different teachers who taught there did produce very different types of players.
3)A good sound is a subjective judgment made by the listener. You may like what I think sounds muddy. You may think I sound bright while I like the overtones. Doesn't matter in the end. If the player has a sound that is pleasing to most people (musicians and/or laymen) then the other stuff will be just as, if not more, important.
I think too many players try to mimic a sound of a leading player and end up sounding like a cheap copy.
In that regard, Russianoff was correct. Each player should have a unique sound that makes them special and that sound should be respected, even if it is not what one thinks is a good sound.
Post Edited (2009-12-21 23:05)
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2009-12-21 23:37
Bravo, very good responses. Yes, Duques also, he was teaching at Juillard then and of course Opperman as well though at the time I was not even aware of him. Remember, that was almost 50 years ago. ESP
ESP eddiesclarinet.com
Post Edited (2009-12-21 23:39)
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2009-12-21 23:56
I played Shepherd on the Rock for Russianoff's master class at the Clarinet Congress (as it was called then) in Richmond in 1988. The story is at http://test.woodwind.org/Databases/Klarinet/2003/02/000920.txt. Was anyone else there? I neglected to order a tape of the master class. By any chance does someone have that?
Also, I don't know whether Al Gallodoro had any pupils, but he was certainly one of the best players during that period, in the NBC Symphony as well as in the studios and jazz bands. His technique was astonishing, even by the standards of other top players. His fingers moved too fast to see, and the notes came out too fast to hear. He played Selmer instruments, and his classical clarinet tone, at least by the 1960s, was very different from anyone else's. He was a major bass clarinetist, and his tone and phrasing on alto sax were uniquely beautiful.
Ken Shaw
Post Edited (2009-12-22 14:12)
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