 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: ruben
Date: 2026-10-15 12:31
Pascal Moraguès, the incredible principal clarinet with the Orchestre de Paris for the last 45 years -since the age of 18!- has just retired. I would imagine that he isn't that well known in Britain or in the US, but for years I have heard him play the most beautiful sounds and phrases that could possibly come out of a clarinet. I am sure he'll go on playing with the wind quintet he has with his brothers, teaching and being very active musically. Bonne et heureuse retraite!!
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: brycon
Date: 2026-10-15 22:15
I love his playing!
I think he's somewhat known in the U.S., at least among people my age (millennials). I was in school around the time of Ricardo's heyday, when everyone in NYC was playing Selmers, heavier reeds, etc. and trying to get that super cushiony tone color. Moragues, at least we thought, had a similar approach to color, not at all what we associated with French playing here, but his playing was also more flexible and singing. He combined the smoothness and roundness we were looking for in terms of clarinet playing with a more soloistic approach to musicianship. At any rate, my classmates and I used to listen to what we could find of him on YouTube or in the library pretty often.
I'm jealous you get to hear him so often live!
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Author: ruben
Date: 2026-10-15 23:58
I GOT to hear him. Now that he's retired, I will hear him less. He never plays loud, but always sensitively and his tone shines through.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: ruben
Date: 2026-10-16 00:09
PS: The old reedy French sound went out a long time ago: around 50 years ago.
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
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Author: jim sclater
Date: 2026-10-16 04:52
Does anyone know if the Mozart arrangement Mr. Moragues is playing on this Youtube video is published or otherwise available? Any information would be appreciated.
Such lovely playing. A joy to hear.
jsclater@comcast.net
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Author: brycon
Date: 2026-10-16 07:14
Quote:
I GOT to hear him. Now that he's retired, I will hear him less. He never plays loud, but always sensitively and his tone shines through.
Yes, of course! Haha!
Quote:
PS: The old reedy French sound went out a long time ago: around 50 years ago.
The French player most of us knew then was Philippe Cuper, who's recordings were a little more easily available and who travelled often to clarinet conferences and festivals. His playing, to my ears, is a little more Cahuzac-like: super focused, more brilliant, etc. Moragues has much more cushion in his tone and his phrasing is more shaped and less direct or sostenuto than Cuper's. I don't know if Cuper's playing is/was indicative of French playing, but it's what a lot of us thought of when we thought of French playing.
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Author: ruben
Date: 2026-10-16 09:08
brycon: Philippe Cuper is an old friend of mine. His idol is Cahuzac, but Cahuzac was an exception among French clarinetists: had a much rounder tone than the others, I would say Jacques Lancelot and Ulysse Dèlecluse were characteristic of the older generation of French players. The change in tone was brought about by Guy Deplus when he took over as clarinet teacher from Délecluse at the Paris Conservatory. Both Cuper and Moraguès were students of Deplus at the Paris Conservatoryé
rubengreenbergparisfrance@gmail.com
Post Edited (2026-10-16 09:14)
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