 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2020-10-07 22:59
Fight it out among yourselves.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2020-10-08 01:39
Clearly Wenzel Fuchs has the best sound of any contemporary clarinetist today. Everyone else just wishes they could sound as good.
....................Paul Aviles
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Author: rmk54
Date: 2020-10-08 03:14
Clearly Wenzel Fuchs has the best sound of any contemporary clarinetist today.
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In your opinion...
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2020-10-08 04:21
Who else's opinion should I be advocating?
:-)
I assumed we were supposed to be controversial and argumentative in this thread.
:-)
.................Paul Aviles
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Author: Bob Barnhart ★2017
Date: 2020-10-08 06:50
Among the Oehler system players, Fuchs is my favorite, with Andreas Ottensamer close behind.
Among Boehm players, I really like Nicolas Baldeyrou’s tone and technique. Shirley Brill and Istvan Kohan would be my runners-up.
Bob Barnhart
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Author: rtaylor
Date: 2020-10-08 17:59
My 2 cents worth:
Boehm Players: Olivier Patey (Concertgebouw Orchester) followed by Anthony McGill
Oehler Players: Karl Leister followed by Stephan Schilling of the BRSO Munich
Cheers,
Robert
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Author: rmk54
Date: 2020-10-08 18:06
The problem with Fuchs is that he pales in comparison to the two principals sitting in front of him (Emmanuel Pahud and Albrecht Mayer).
I actually prefer Walter Seyfarth's playing, although I'm guessing he just retired as he is no longer listed on the web site.
The Digital Concert Hall has a video of him performing Berio's Sequenza 9. Also listen to their recording of Strauss' Sonatina (Invalid's Workshop). He does a great job handling the treacherous C Clarinet part.
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Author: Ken Lagace
Date: 2020-10-08 18:18
Separating sound color from musical playing is difficult for me. Sound is down on the list. A computer would be able to make the best clarinet sound by adjusting the overtones to perfection, but why bother?
I don't especially like Fuchs' playing because it is stiff. His musicality is in his physical movement, not what is coming out of the horn. Close your eyes and test it.
A pleasing sound to me is what the player is doing with it.
Andreas Ottensame's is my favorite.
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Author: seabreeze
Date: 2020-10-09 18:17
Looking at this question from the perspective not of "what's hot" at the moment but rather what would you beam up into outer space for aliens to hear if they wanted to know "so how does the clarinet sound (as distinct from all other musical instruments)?" I would choose Annelien Van Wauwe as the sample player. She doesn't sound a thing like an oboe, sax, flute, or horn; she gets a kind of excellent dictionary definition of the clarinet sound; lots of overtones in all registers, no hollowing out or fading in pianissimo, sparkly and expressive without pronounced vibrato,clear and luminous. If you can't tell what instrument she's playing, you're tone deaf (or at least timber deaf). Here she is on a Brahms sonata: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=van+wauwe+clarinet+brahms
Easily one of my favorite players. Should everyone try to sound like that? Of course not. As an indication of just how subjective the "ideal" clarinet sound is, William Ridenour posted on Wauwe's YouTube video of the Saint-Saens Sonata that she needed to listen to some Harold Wright recordings because her tone was hollow! Other listeners lavishly praised her tone, and I find her control in the third movement pianissimo clarion register statement of the theme perhaps the best I've heard. Finally there is no one best clarinet sound.
Post Edited (2020-10-13 21:17)
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Author: Max S-D
Date: 2020-10-09 20:49
I recently discovered Annalien Van Wauwe's music and definitely agree with the above recommendation. Beautiful tone and outstanding playing, in my opinion. It's definitely inspired me to pick up the little clarinet more in the last year after spending most of my time focused on the bass clarinet for a few years.
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Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2020-10-10 00:18
I agree with Ken about sound being essentially a tool of musical expression (if that's close to what he meant, that is.) For orchestral players, the sound they produce is what fits in as required. It seems to me that orchestral sound has changed more slowly than soloist or chamber sound has, and orchestral players reflect that. Of course, that's generalizing, since good orchestral players vary their specific sound considerably with the music that's being played.
Still, listening to a wide spectrum of solo and chamber clarinetists one becomes aware that there's a lot of variety of personal sounds out there, and then how well the performers express their own musical thoughts and instincts becomes paramount. A sound that's very pleasant to the ear may support the musical experience, but it's not absolutely necessary.
Given all that, to my ear Ricardo Morales has a great overall sound.
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