 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2012-09-29 01:43
During the 30 seconds he spent as NY Philharmonic principal, Ricardo Morales made this really great video for PBS on the Rhapsody in Blue solo.
http://video.pbs.org/video/2183111080
And I must say he doesn't even come close to Russ Gorman's original, which they also play.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Lorenzo_M
Date: 2012-09-29 05:44
I've actually never heard the "original" Paul Whiteman version...interesting! I don't think I've actually ever heard any classical clarinetist play anything close to it. The "laughing" sounds really do make the opening sound completely different.
I've heard two other versions of the opening I really liked - one by Benny Goodman, and one with Al Gallodoro. The one with Benny is interesting because it's actually played fairly straight...but I think his naturally looser sound is what does it for me. He even squeaks, but I like it anyway Al Gallodoro...don't know much of his playing, but what a sound!
What's funny, is that these kinds of things are relatively trivial to do for jazz musicians...ha. Actually, as someone who does both, I in fact find it MORE difficult to play with the kind of controlled, centered sound required for classical music than to play "loose" with a vocal sound
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2012-09-29 12:42
Lorenzo -
The Russ Gorman version is played at the beginning of the Morales video.
Al Gallodoro's version was wonderful, but the Gershwin estate has been very aggressive in getting recordings of RIB taken down unless the user pays a fee. If you know a web location for the Gallodoro recording, I'd love to hear about it. You can recognize it because the throat G/A trill near the end is at supersonic speed.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Lorenzo_M
Date: 2012-09-29 14:31
I found it on Youtube, Ken. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lbp6vixEGMU
I should point out, it's not the whole thing...but since we were talking about the intro, this is it. It'd be cool to hear the whole thing somewhere on the web.
And yes, I did hear the Russ Gorman version in that video. That's what I was referring to when I mentioned the "laughing" inflections. Really interesting...I don't think I've ever heard anyone else play it that way! Al comes close, but doesn't do it on the altissimo notes like Gorman does.
Post Edited (2012-09-29 14:34)
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Author: William
Date: 2012-09-29 14:35
Everyone plays it these days like Moreles demostrates. It seems nobody can do what Gorman did in the lower register, or Al Golodoro for that matter. They were absolutely seamless from the opening trill up to C6. For me, THATS the way it should be played.
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2012-09-29 16:58
Ricardo plays clarinets by Morrie Backun. They're hand-made and very expensive ($8,000), and for Ricardo, Morrie makes infinite fine adjustments, as you can see in the other videos. I don't say he wouldn't to the same for you or me, but Ricardo obviously gets special treatment.
I think Ricardo would sound great on a Bundy, though.
On the video Tom linked to, Ricardo was playing a clarinet with what looked like the fully automatic low F adjustment mechanism used on the Selmer Recital, rather than the thumb-operated semi-automatic one used on the current Backuns.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Tom Puwalski
Date: 2012-09-29 17:28
It's was one of the first Backun Clarinets, I think the leblanc style keys were used while the new key set was being designed. Morrie does make a lot of adjustments to Ricardo's clarinets, but then Ricardo really knows what wants changed on his instruments, most players usually ask Morrie if there is something that could be adjusted. Ricardo has that pretty much figured out. Morrie usually does anything I want done to my Backun clarinet. But I have to say, I really go through a lot and really need to make sure it's the horn and not me before I have him mess with it.
Tom Puwalski
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Author: Ed Lowry
Date: 2012-09-30 00:29
Rhapsody in Blue was the most important factor in my playing the clarinet. (Not the only factor, we also had a clarinet in the house). But very important.
I first heard RiB on a Warner Brothers record my father brought home shortly after it was issued in 1959. The clarinetist is not identified -- does anyone know? I wonder if it's Gallodoro. The gliss (or smear) starts at middle C and continues all the way up as in the Youtube clip referenced in this thread. Moreover, the Gallodoro there, like the unidentified clarinetist in the Warner Brothers Recording (Heindorf conducting, Bert Shefter at piano and Dan Lube violin soloist [why did he get special billing?]) adds a few grace notes just before the final note of the solo.
As others have noted, that's not the way Morales, or anyone else today does it.
I was so disappointed with first hearing the NY Phil's version (with Bernstein at the piano) in the 1960s. The clarinet opening wasn't the same smooth, even smear from way down low all the way to the top (Drucker, I assume), and the oboe solo was cut. I always wondered why.
I picked up a Capitol 45 Extended Play Album (Two 45-RPM records) conducted by Paul Whiteman with Pennario at the piano. Aside from having to change sides and records, the fidelity is quite good, and again, the clarinet opening starts the smear around middle C. The clarinetist is again not identified, but http://redhotjazz.com/pwo.html lists Gallodoro as Whiteman's clarinetist and identifies this recording as having been made in Los Angeles in 1951. This album has a wonderful Dali-like illustration on the cover, with a melting clarinet over a sea of blue.
Post Edited (2012-09-30 00:57)
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Author: donald
Date: 2012-09-30 04:42
Brilliant. Morales is 1000 times better than me, so it's comforting to hear his comments. In 2010 I had to play this (in the original band orchestration) with the Auckland Chamber Orchestra, and after years of finding it an easy solo to fool around with found myself on stage thinking, "darn it, this is hard, what if i stuff it up?"
Fortunately it went well (the newspaper review described it as a "magnificent wail", which i initially misheard, when read to me over the phone, as "Donald Nicholls is a magnificent Whale".
I gliss from the upper reg D#, but next time will work on getting it (the gliss) started a bit lower down...
dn
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