 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Ed
Date: 2016-04-01 04:14
How time passes. He is still one of the best players to ever pick up a clarinet. He brought a great musicality and artistry that influenced many. Marcellus made some of the most beautiful sounds ever to come from the clarinet, or any other instrument for that matter.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2016-04-01 16:19
A great musician, a great pedagog, a force of nature.
...............Paul Aviles
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Author: Gregory Smith ★2017
Date: 2016-04-01 17:43
Posted on behalf of clarinetist/conductor David Hattner:
Twenty years ago today, my teacher and great musical influence Robert Marcellus passed away.
I often wonder if Mr. Marcellus is too distant and remote a figure for young performers to find interesting. After all, it has been well over 40 years since he last performed in public. When I was studying with him, he spoke often of his great teacher Daniel Bonade, whose career had ended some 30 years before.
For those of us who studied with him, it is important to remind those who are too young to have had the opportunity that Robert Marcellus's performing and teaching were more than just a tonal concept.
In retrospect, his career reflects an entire era of orchestral performance that no longer exists. The environment that created the Cleveland Orchestra of that era is no longer allowed to exist. The artistry that came from Robert Marcellus and his colleagues came at a great cost that very few people can understand.
For me, as I hear his remarkable playing today, the things that strike me the most are different from when I was younger. First, there is the unshakable underlying pulse and rhythm. A deep knowledge of the context of each important passage. The articulation that so often spelled out that rhythm with unique clarity. The sustaining air column wedded to a uniquely beautiful tonal concept.
Although too young and immature to grasp totally during my student years, all of those principles and concepts he taught have served me beyond all other teachers in the years that have gone by. It was a great and lucky day when I met him and my continuing thanks go out to his spirit, shared by all of us who knew him, today.
Post Edited (2016-04-01 17:44)
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Author: bond
Date: 2016-04-01 17:56
I agree! ROBERT MARCELLUS lives in their students, and in the soul of all stakeholders, hardworking clarinetists who study at Marcellus records!
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Author: ClarinettyBetty
Date: 2016-04-01 18:50
"In retrospect, his career reflects an entire era of orchestral performance that no longer exists. The environment that created the Cleveland Orchestra of that era is no longer allowed to exist. The artistry that came from Robert Marcellus and his colleagues came at a great cost that very few people can understand."
Could you elaborate on that?
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Author: Gregory Smith ★2017
Date: 2016-04-01 21:55
"Could you elaborate on that?"
-------------------------
I am simply the messenger.
GS
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Author: MarlboroughMan
Date: 2016-04-01 22:14
Hard to believe it's been twenty years...
It's been over forty since he retired, all too soon, from his post here in Cleveland, yet his name and influence is very much alive, and always referred to with a type of reverence and authority. I've even been part of conversations in night clubs when he's been mentioned, as though he's still here, impacting the current scene (which in a way, he really is).
One of the few players who raised the level of clarinetistry across the board.
Eric
******************************
The Jazz Clarinet
http://thejazzclarinet.blogspot.com/
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Author: MarlboroughMan
Date: 2016-04-01 22:33
"Could you elaborate on that?"
(Hoping to do David Hattner's observations justice...)
I think this pertains to the extremely demanding professional environment the musicians of the Cleveland Orchestra experienced during the tenure of George Szell. For more information, you might read Donald Rosenberg's "Second to None: The Cleveland Orchestra Story" published in 2000 by Gray & Company. There are some excellent and interesting chapters on the Szell era (the chapters on the early formation of the Orchestra are fascinating too--how a world class arts organization came to be built in an industrial Mid-Western American city). Though Szell's tenure was before my time, I know several of the musicians who worked under him, and they are very proud of what they accomplished back then. They wouldn't have had it any other way...but it was extremely demanding.
The Orchestra sounds incredible these days...I've heard some concerts that have featured some of the finest music making I've ever heard over the last couple of seasons alone. But even acknowledging this, the aura of the Szell era holds a place of special pride in the Cleveland music scene, and deservedly so when you listen to the records. Robert Marcellus's clarinet playing was a major part of that sound, and that legacy.
Eric
(PS. Thanks for posting this, Gregory Smith).
******************************
The Jazz Clarinet
http://thejazzclarinet.blogspot.com/
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Author: bassclarinet101 ★2017
Date: 2016-04-01 22:35
Thank you for making me aware of this! I've been playing Robert Marcellus recordings all day at work in respect to his expertise.
Gregory Smith – You were actually responsible for my initial exposure to Robert Marcellus. I was at your home trying out mouthpieces (I ended up with a lovely 1+ which has regrettably been damaged) and you also gave me a copy of his performance of the Mozart Clarinet Concerto.
Thank you very much for that, as it has had great influence on my own playing.
-Daniel
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Author: Barbara Puff
Date: 2023-06-18 19:38
Everyone,
I thank God for Robert Marcellus. He never claimed to be perfect and accepted me into a program I was unworthy to attend. While I no longer play clarinet and am a writer, I learned more from him about addressing challenges, developing courage, and building resilience than any other individual on the planet.
I'm writing a screenplay to honor his legacy. Please feel free to contact me. Thanks to all current and former clarinetists whose artistry I admire, enjoy, and respect.
Best,
Barbara Puff
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