Author: Tony Pay ★2017
Date: 2020-07-19 21:17
>> [Tony], you've played all sorts of historical clarinets, so how would you respond to Ruben's question? >>
Well, some of the things he wanted were technical measurements, which I don't have.
I do have a couple of anecdotes. When I was 9, I was taken by my father to a second-hand shop in Bishopsgate (December 1954: I wonder what shop that was) and obtained a 'mongrel' unmarked Boehm clarinet, which I wasn't allowed to see again till Christmas Day, because it was a Christmas present.
On the way home, we called at the house of an old ex-professional clarinettist in Leyton, who looked at my instrument and rather pooh-poohed it. He got an old case from the top of his wardrobe, and showed me his pair of Albert clarinets.
"THOSE are the instruments you should be playing on!" he said.
(No idea who he was, either.)
Over the years, I've accumulated dozens of instruments, including a pair of Albert system clarinets, and when we had to play a programme with OAE of later than classical music, this was the closest I could get to Brahms/Wagner instruments. |(That's at the time: I can do better now.) I wrote about what I had to do on the Klarinet list here.
I have no solo recording of myself on these instruments; but we did make a recording with Manny Ax of the Chopin piano concerti and some other pieces a couple of weeks later. I used my 'modified' Alberts, and you can hear them in the orchestral section by searching on Youtube for those pieces with Charles Mackerras and the OAE.
(I think they sound good:-)
Tony
|
|
The Clarinet BBoard
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
