 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Adrianna
Date: 2010-03-04 17:14
Hello one and all,
I still have another two years on my undergrad program for clarinet performance...however, I have been looking into grad schools. Anyways, I am fascinated with the earlier repetoire for clarinet and therefore was interested in pursueing Early Clarinet Performance. So far, through my reasearch I only know of the Hague Conservatory, Royal Concservatory of Music and I believe it was the Oberlin Conservatory that offered such a program. Now, are there other schools? And what is the opinion of everyone on such specialized programs?
Thanks in advance,
Adrianna
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2010-03-04 18:01
What, like late Haydn and Mozart symphonies? Unlike, for example, flute and oboe, I wouldn't really define clarinet as having a lot of "early" rep, and particularly not enough to warrant a specialized degree.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: fantasmacantos
Date: 2010-03-04 18:25
Molter? Stamitz? Danzi? Van Hal? Telemann? There are more than Haydn and Mozart, for sure... (and Haydn didn't write a solo piece for clarinet and I'm sure Adriana didn't ask for symphonies)
By the way, I would recommend, more than a school, a teacher with the same interest -enthusiam- in early repertoire, since the programs in Europe are focused on baroque instruments: For example Eli Eban or Charles Neidich (I'm one of his major detractors, but he plays on antique instruments and is one of the biggest enthusiastics of early performances on the current clarinet scene).
Good luck with your search.
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Author: cigleris
Date: 2010-03-04 18:31
EEBaum,
You should really do a lot more research into the clarinet repertoire of the early Classical period as well as that of the late Classical period.
The repertoire includes concertos by Tausch, Hoffmeister, Pleyel, Beer, Hook, Mahon, Stamitz of course as well Mozart, Crusell. Basset horn concertos by Stamitz (though this might be an arrangement of a bassoon concerto), Backofen and Schneider to name a few.
Earlier still there are concertos by Vivaldi, Motler and a chalumeau concerto by Fasch.
Adrianna,
Do you want to study period performance on modern instruments or classical instruments? Can I suggest you have a look at the early music programmes at the Royal College of Music, Royal Academy of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama and Trinity College of Music. These are all based in London.
Peter Cigleris
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Author: gwie
Date: 2010-03-04 19:30
A former student of mine is currently pursuing his graduate studies in period clarinet performance at Indiana University. From what he's told me to date, he's having a great time and has made lots of connections performing around the US and Europe.
Apparently, he's also crafting period instruments and mouthpieces in addition to his busy playing and teaching schedule.
Email me and I'll give you his contact information if you have questions...
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2010-03-04 21:46
Eric Hoeprich is probably the #1 early clarinet player these days. He has trained many excellent players, no two of whom sound alike (which is my best sign of a great teacher), and he makes instruments and mouthpieces. I'd go wherever he is.
It's a huge benefit to play other wind instruments, probably beginning with the recorder, and eventually the flute, oboe and bassoon. Also, while you're an undergraduate, join the best small choir you can find, to learn renaissance and baroque music. This knowledge is the foundation for understanding the clarinet's music. Performing renaissance music taught me more about classical music than anything else, and singing is the basis of all musical performance.
Ken Shaw
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Author: NBeaty
Date: 2010-03-05 00:21
Paul Meyer told me last summer that everyone should get their hands on period clarinets (two keyed and forward) at some point. This is to gain a better understanding of the instrument, where it came from, and its early repertoire can be more easily understood.
However- that's all well and good, but short of buying one, most people don't have access to these instruments. Most have not seen these instruments in person (at least working versions). It would be fun to experience these instruments and research them more.
I guess you have to be in the right place, know the right people, or have the right amount of money! At the very least, these instruments can help us appreciate how good we have it with our modern instruments!
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2010-03-05 01:08
Fine, fine... I guess I just didn't consider all that to be old enough to warrant dedicated "early" studies, given that the clarinet is one of the younger instruments.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: Simon Aldrich
Date: 2010-03-05 01:40
Nathan raises some compelling points regarding baroque/classical-era instruments.
>everyone should get their hands on period clarinets (two keyed and forward) >at some point. This is to gain a better understanding of the instrument, >where it came from
This is very true. Playing my period clarinets (1785 Eisenbrandt copy and an H.Grenser copy) has led me to think about the modern instrument in ways that I never would have, had I not had to come to grips with the playing issues of the early clarinet.
>these instruments can help us appreciate how good we have it with our >modern instruments
Indeed, with regards to ease of tuning, homogeneity of sound from note to note and between registers and ease of fingering (raise one finger and get the next note).
For some time however, I have been feeling an invading sense of how *bad* we have it with our modern instruments. Yes they are infinitely more "in tune", even, etc. but in a way, that is is not the point. Playing period instruments and moreover listening to good period-clarinet performers (Hoeprich, Pay, Coppola) suggests we play classical-era music with an aesthetic that does not remotely resemble a genuine classical aesthetic. Listening to Mozart wind music (eg serenades) played by a period group like Zefiro one hears the inflection, warmth, sensitivity and downy "sounds good up close" possibilities afforded by classical-era instruments. In addition, the inherent sound, fingering issues and "limitations" of period instruments lead one to play differently, regardless of exposure to classical repertoire or a philosophical connection to classical-era musical values.
Modern instruments (brass, wind and string) have become hyper-focused and turbocharged. Modern orchestral musicians tweak their setups to extract every last ounce of projection, ring, ping, focus, opulence, tonal grip, presence, etc, to be heard in huge halls. As an orchestral clarinetist, it is crucial I be heard above the orchestra when necessary, both in pp and ff, projecting to the last row of the third balcony in dead halls like the ones we have here in Montreal. In my opinion and experience, the steps a wind player takes to achieve this tonal prominence take him/her far away from the sound Mozart had in his ear when he wrote his wind music (if not all his music).
Comparing Mozart wind serenade recordings between modern-instrument ensembles and period groups, for me, underlines what we have lost in refining our instruments to be so high-octane. In my opinion the *playing* of modern wind instruments becomes commensurately high-octane; more about hair-splitting focus/projection and less about intimate inflection and expression that is, for me, what Mozart is all about.
----------------------------------------------------
Simon Aldrich
Clarinet Faculty - McGill University
Principal Clarinet - Orchestre Metropolitain de Montreal
Principal Clarinet - Orchestre de l'Opera de Montreal
Artistic Director - Jeffery Summer Concerts
Clarinet - Nouvel Ensemble Moderne
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Author: Adrianna
Date: 2010-03-06 17:15
Thanks for all the great suggestions so far.
cigleris: I think, if I did indeed pursue Early Performance I would invest in a period instrument. It is one thing to perform Stamitz on a modern instruments and something completly different on a period instrument. The nasally tone of early clarinet has grown on me, aftert listening to recordings.
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Author: cigleris
Date: 2010-03-06 23:42
Adrianna,
You should invest in something. Speak to Steve Fox, he made my 7 keyed C clarinet.
I am in total agreement with Simon. Playing a period clarinet helps to understand the nuances of clarinet playing and indeed wind playing which are sometimes lost in modern day instruments. There is something quite special about playing the Classical works on the instruments the composers would have known, whether it be a solo piece or as part of an orchestra. I wish I did more of it now but alas modern playing is more bountiful right now for me.
Good luck with it all Adrianna
Peter Cigleris
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Author: claaaaaarinet!!!!
Date: 2010-03-07 08:59
Hoeprich teaches at Indiana. You might also consider the Conservatory of Music in Ghent, Belgium. The old clarinet teacher is Vincenzo Casale, a former student of Hoeprich.
http://cons.hogent.be/nl
I'm working with him now, and he's great. He arranged for me to rent an old clarinet, so I didn't have to buy one. The nice thing about Ghent is that you can also double (or triple) up lessons with the other clarinet faculty - Eddy Vanoosthuyse, Frank Coryn, and Marc Kerckhofs (bass clarinet).
I agree that working with an authentic clarinet will improve your understanding of the modern clarinet. It's really fun. There is a lot of rep (of varying quality), and it demands a different approach than our standard Romantic and 20th Century rep. For me, it's been refreshing.
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2010-03-08 16:07
Check out the Univ. of Maryland Baltimore Campus, UMBC, I believe they have a clarinet faculty member that performs early music on "original" instruments. ESP http://eddiesclarinet.com
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