 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: Stormy
Date: 2001-01-16 18:25
Hi!
I was wondering if anyone could suggest good clarinet recordings I could find... like I've said in my previous posts I'm not really "up" on the clarinet world. I'd like to find CDs that feature the clarinet so I could at least hear a lot of "real" music, but I have no clue as to where I should start. I like any music, but especially jazz and classical (lol - good choice of instrument then, hm?) -- just anything that I can listen to for fun!
Thanks in advance!
S.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Omar
Date: 2001-01-16 22:00
For truly amazing playing, effects, add Louis Sclavis' album 'Clarinettes' to your listening list. I've yet to hear anything as impressive. The album number is IDA 004CD - the track called 'moi c'est s'Mariano' is particularly mind-blowing.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Daniel Bouwmeester
Date: 2001-01-16 22:05
Hi Stormy,
I personally listen to a lot of clarinet and I could recommend a couple performers.
Jazz:
- Eddie Daniels (my favorite album is Breakthrough)
- Don Byron
- Stanley Sclavis
- Buddy de Franco
- Artie Shaw (especially the concerto for jazz clarinet)
- Benny Goodman (post war stuff is what I prefer, when he was in small combos)
- Dutch Swing college Band
- Woody Hermann
- Barney Bigard (with Duke Ellington)
- Philippe Ehinger
Klezmer :
Giora Feidmann
Don Byron
most of the above performers have made very good recordings.
For classical, it's another business, because there are many recordings.
personally I like a lot what Jack Brymer does, especially Mozart's concerto.
But anyway, the pieces you could look at would be :
Mozart clarinet concerto and quintet
Weber, concerto n°1 and 2, grand duo concertant, concertino and quintet.
Spohr, concerto n°1
Brahms sonatas and quintet
Schubert, octuor
Copland, clarinet concerto
Debussy, première Rhapsodie
Hindermith concerto (and sonata I think)
Stravinski, three pieces
Lutoslawski, Dance preludes
Nielsen, concerto
Gade, Fantaisiestycker
Martinu, sonatine
Poulenc, sonata
and many others...
Popular performers are (by order of preferance)
Anthony Pay
Michael Collins
John McCaw
Walter Boeykens
Paul Meyer
Michel Arrignon
Sabine Meyer
Gervase de Peyer
Robert Marcellus (which I personally hate)
Clarinetist I find excellent but who aren't very well known :
Steven Kanoff (my teacher... check out Amazon.com)
Thomas Friedli (my 2nd teacher.. check out Amazon.com)
Duncan Prescott
anyway.. I can't give you the complete list because there are too many good clarinetist on earth.
don't hesitate to contact me if you need more specific information
Best wishes
Daniel B.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Eoin McAuley
Date: 2001-01-17 07:51
There's an absolutely amazing CD released recently (in the last year) by Deutsche Grammophon with Michael Collins playing two clarinet concertos. One is the Mozart that we all know and love, played on a Basset Clarinet. The other is Beethoven's Violin Concerto arranged for the clarinet. Collins makes it sound effortless and so natural that you would think it was written for the clarinet. If you listen carefully, you will realise that it is next to impossible to play!
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Gene Wie
Date: 2001-01-17 09:54
Mozart Clarinet Concerto - Robert Marcellus
Brahms Clarinet Quintet - Harold Wright
Copland Clarinet Concerto - Benny Goodman and Richard Stoltzman (because they're both so different and one needs to appreciate the approach of both)
Weber Concertos 1 and 2 - Karl Leister
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Christoffer
Date: 2001-01-17 21:53
A personal favourite of mine is "Greece/Epirus: Petro-Loukas Chalkias & Kompania". #46 in a series called "World Network". It's greek rural folk music from the region of Epirus, which have a great clarinet tradition.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Jeroen T. Salm
Date: 2001-01-18 23:01
Francis Poulencs clarinet sonata by Karl Leister (cl) and James Levine (pf) on a DGG CD (music by poulenc by Ensemble Wien-Berlin)....(427-639-2)
C.M. von Weber: clarinet quintet by Karl Leister with Vienna strings on Camerata
Johannes Brahms: clarinet quintet by Karl Leister and Vermeer Quartet on Orfeo C 068-831 A
Those are some of my favorites§§!!!
Yours,
Jeroen
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Allen Cole
Date: 2001-01-19 11:32
Personal Faves:
Brahms Quintet in Bm - Gervase De Peyer & Melos Ensemble (also includes Mozart Quintet)
Eddie Daniels "Breakthrough" (the opening track will take your breath away)
Benny Goodman - There are few if any bad albums. His small big band with Red Norvo (c.1960) has recently been rereleased by Columbia. It's an all-star group and he's in great form. Also good are things on Verve's 'Jazz Masters' and 'Compact Jazz' series of CDs. They include new recordings of the classic Fletcher Henderson arrangements, and some very hot combo playing.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Aaron Gallant
Date: 2001-01-19 23:44
Too many to name of course, but the people who've already posted have done a pretty good job. The one clarinetist that I would like to add is Pee Wee Russell. He was a clarinetist who made some recordings back in the 40s, which means he was overshadowed by Benny and Artie and such (who are also both excellent and you should definitely listen to them). I suppose that if you wanted a broad category for his music it'd be "jazz", but it isn't exactly jazz. Some of his stuff is a little hokey and drives me crazy, but he also has some genuinely very cool stuff, sort of klezmerish+jazzish+everythingish, with clarinet improv on the side. Very cool. His group is essentially him on clarinet of course, and he's playing most all the time. Then there is also piano, bass, guitar (sometimes played like a spanish guitar on some things), and then a trumpet and a trombone and of course the eternal drum set. That, and vocalists! But they're pretty good about it, and it's not excessively square like the vocals in Glenn Miller's groups. They do 'oohs' and 'ahhs'... they very rarely have lyrics, and when they do it's something short like "Creole Clarinet", or my little brothers favorite, "Hey Short Legs!". My favorite of his is Golden Earrings, it's great. And another reason I like listening to him is he does things with the sound of the clarinet that I've never heard anybody else, Benny, Artie, or anybody, do. Of course he plays pretty and vibrato and such, but he can also really manipulate his tone quality. I'm sure others have done it, but he's the only one who I've been able to find nice recordings of it with great examples and stuff. He can play as if he's got too much spit on his reed (which might be how it does it, to be honest I haven't really tried) and make it sound all musty and dirty and sort of new-clarinet-ish (except he's in tune and hits the right notes), and then he can instantly start playing cleanly. It's great.
And then the pieces that I'd reccomend that haven't already been said would be the following:
Leonard Bernstein: Preulde, Fugue, and Riffs (for Jazz combo + clarinet, very very VERY cool)
I think this may have been mentioned, but the "Concert for Clarinet and String Orchestra" by Aaron Copland (or ANYTHING by Aaron Copland) is great
Igor Stravinsky: Ebony Concerto (my god sweet... or is it my sweet god? I hope you aren't easily offended religiously heh)
Morton Gould: Derivations for Clarinet and Band
Victor Babin: Hillandale Waltzes
Artie Shaw: Concerto for Clarinet (may have already been mentioned, but doesn't hurt to say twice)
Bela Bartok: Contrasts
All those recordings are great, and actually I have these two great CDs that contain all those. They're both separate: one is Benny Goodman, one is by this guy named John Bruce Yeh (who I haven't found any other recordings of, but he's very good and I'd reccomend him). Some of the pieces I've listed are only on one of the CDs, but most of them (Ebony Concerto, Derivations, Prelude Fugue, Riffs, etc.) are on both CDs, which is great as that way I can hear two takes on them, both by very capable clarinetists. My general conclusion is that Benny still has that great feel that I can't help but love: John Bruce Yeh is also excellent: he actually sounds cleaner a lot of the time (although that may be because he was recorded in a higher quality studio and such then Benny), but he doesn't have the same vibrant edge that Benny sidles into everything he plays. However, I'd say that the instruments backing up John Bruce Yeh are often better then those backing Benny, or at least are a much better recording, especially the brass. The trumpets are phenomenal, or at least they take things up an octave (or two heh) more often then those backing up Benny.
Anyway, I hope it helps, and enjoy.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Stormy
Date: 2001-01-20 13:18
Wow. I never thought I'd get so many answers -- thanks so much to everyone!
Now I need to print this whole topic and head to the store...
Thanks again,
S.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
