 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Andrew Chiciak
Date: 2001-11-21 19:16
Anyone ever heard of Julian Bliss? He is an incredible 11 year old clarinet soloist (Yes 11!)
I heard about a concert being given by the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia featuring their
4 competition finalists, 2 pianos, one cello, and one clarinet..ages 11 to 22. I just had to hear
this 11 year old, who was performing the Weber 2nd. I arrived after intermission just in time to
hear young Julian. Out steps this short young man in a glittery vest and black pants, looking all the part of one of those hummel figurines with the musical instruments. After just hearing the first few measures of the solo part I knew I was in for a treat. I nearly fell off my seat.
This young man is truly on top of his instrument. An angelic tone, superb dynamics, wonderful
musicianship and truly awesome technique are his strong points. This boy plays in a manner
far removed from his age...in fact...my former teacher , Anthony Gigliotti, was one of the
judges. Believe me, I've heard Anthony perform Weber and this young man blew him away.
I would say, other than Sabina, he is truly one of the finest solists now performing. Truly
stunning. He is from England and is currently studying with Howard Klug at Indiana University.
If anyone has any further info on this boy...let me know.
Andy Chiciak
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Author: Mario
Date: 2001-11-21 19:44
Yes, many of us heard him at ClarinetFest Oklahoma City and had a chance to interact with him in person.
Some interesting observations:
Julian is a happy puppy contrary to so many prodigees that we run into these days. He is also very good looking and will become a handsome gentleman. He works constantly, but it is more like a game for him since he simply is taken by his instrument. So, you have a talented, well-adjusted, handsome, hard working musician with an emerging reputation. Voila! A career is already launched.
Howard Klug is one of the finest pedagog in the world. Already in OK he had a special relationship with Julian. This young kid is getting the very best musical education possible from an effective yet benevolent coach. We have seen nothing yet...
BUT WAIT! During the OK final concert, several fabulous jazz musicians set the stage on fire (D.Riviera, Selio, a guy from Australia). I was just sitting a few rows behind Julian. Julian literally bounced off his seat and could not help jumping up and down and babbling like crazy about the incredible jazz just head. Julian will become a Jazz God...
A final word: He was already 11 years old in OK. He should be 12 going on 13 right now, unless he also does not age, which would make him very special indeed.
Julian is not a big child. He is the proof that you can start learning the clarinet much earlier than usually believed. Many posts back we argued about the lack of structure and proper education that beginning clarinetists receive (usually, starting on the instrument in high-school so very late compared to other musicians like violonists, pianists and signers). Since teens do not like to look like fools, they drop the clarinet as fas as they can, while other instrumentists can reach this difficulty period with a strong technical mastery already in place. Young guys like Julian tell us that we could also develop real young virtuosi capable of competiting and establishing themselves early enough to aspire to a productive soloist career.
I am greatly impressed by Julian the individual, and by what he is teachning us about our instrument.
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Author: Emms
Date: 2001-11-21 23:00
If I can rely on my memory, Julian started playing very young, I think on a 'c' clarinet. I remember at the time the news said he played a clarinet which was smaller than usual, so I think it was a c. He apparently played for about five hours per day, and drove his parents crazy at the time. He appeared on our U.K. programme Blue Peter and I remember then, lots of adults and children that I knew
felt they ought to give up playing, as he put us all to shame!
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Author: donald nicholls
Date: 2001-11-23 01:54
he either started on a "Lyons C clarinet" or a "Kinder-klarinet", i can't remember which. What he has that most kids his age don't have is fabulous memory and the maturity to concentrate intensely for more than 2 minutes of music. In Oklahoma, at 11 years old, he played difficult music that most children his age wouldn't even be able to listen to without losing concentration. His teacher has written and presented papers on "child genious" and related educational topics... his name is Paul Harris and as he presented a paper at Clarinetfest 2000 it may be somewhere on the web (ICA site?)
donald
ps Julian Bliss is also a great tap dancer!
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Author: Mario
Date: 2001-11-23 14:46
Again, to stress the importance of what Julian is teaching us.
Granted, Julian is extremely talented and had outstanding coaching (such as Harris and Klug). Yet!
In my community (Montreal and Ottawa - so a fairly small window on the world), I frequently hear young pianists, violonist and signers who display talent and artistry similar to Julian. Julian is not unique as a child prodigee per say; he is unique in being a prodigee on the clarinet.
The previous post highlight some of the infrastructure around the very young Julian: small instruments, excellent coaches, supporting parents, and sympathetic audience. This is the kind of infrastructure routinetly found around pianists, violonists and signers. Check out things like the "Canadian Music Competition" for instance (there is an equivalent in the US whose name escapes me at the moment). It is a venue where young artists are given a chance to perform in front of friendly audiences at all level of their development. They are also expected to compete regularly. Competition is organized by age brackets.
By the time a pianist reaches 12 years old, he/she might have played in front of people for 6 to 5 years already. He/she might have entered half a dozen competition. He/she is already growing up as a toughened-up professional capable of delighting an audience under pressure. Imagine how advanced they are by the time they reach college. Many of them of course will not become professional musician and will choose another calling. Yet, they move on to advanced education with 15 years of exceptional musical coaching under their belt and carry this with them all their life. You find them everywhere as amateur adults playing excellent music for the passion of it here and there, supporting professional artists, and pushing their own children through the system. Collectively, this create a self-sustaining ecosystem where the big 3 prosper years after years to the delight of many.
I attend the CMC concerts once a month and I have heard incredible prodigees over the years. I HAVE NEVER HEARD ONCE A CLARINETIST. Of course: a 12 year old pianist is already playing Copin concerto and Prokofiev sonatas. A 12 years old violonist is already playing Paganini impromptus and Bach partitas. A 12 year old singer is already voicing angelic hyms in front of the Church choir for the Xmas celebration. Go to local high-school and hear what your 12 typical years-old clarinetists can play. Nothing! AND NOBODY WANTS TO HEAR/SEE THEM: too old already for the minimum performance standard expected from young classical musicians. It is OK for a cute 6 years old to play something simple, make mistake and have a bad tone. But 12 years-olds must be virtuosy already and are expected to perform flawlessly. Since there are many such 12-year old virtuosy nowadays, it has become the standard and other musicians who cannot match this kind of early proficiency are of no interest to anybody.
Since clarinetists usually start late and with bad coaching, that means that nobody is interested in hearing clarinetists, period!
(Yes, I know there are exception here and there, but they are few and certainly not numerous enough to create a critical mass of avid clarinetist supporters).
It is possible for our instrument to generate young virtuosy at par with other ones. It does not happen because we, as clarinetists, have never bothered getting organized the way others do. The result is an unpopular instrument, played badly by relunctant teens in high-school bands, dropped like the plague as soon as high-school is over, and never listened to afterward. As a results, professional clarinetists have a tough time getting air time on stage or in electronic medium, while pianists, violonists and signers are heard all the time. Then we whine about how tough it is to make a living playing the clarinet.
I will repeat myself. High-school (and the general way we expose kids to our world) is destroying the reputation of our instrument and is impeding greatly to its progress. If we want this changed, we will have to organize ourselves way up-stream and bring in great young talents at the beginning of primary school. AND WE HAVE TO STOP SHOVING CLARINETs DOWN TEENS THROAT WITHOUT PROPER COACHING. C'mon! this is a disgrace and we should all be ashamed of this. We need to develop the clarinet "lettre de noblesse" to a level such that parents will invest in clarinet education the way they do it for the big three. In essence, the clarinet must become classy and sophisticated in the mind of parents. It will take time and focus from many of us.
At the moment, Julian is doing more for the clarinet than all of us together. Imagine his impact in the communities where he plays. Some youg budding artists (4 to 5 years old) might actually been attracted to Julian's instrument. Hoopefully, their parents will not kill this aspiration. If only they could find local coaches who would understand how to get a clarinetist started at 6 years old...
I write on this theme often on this Board. In essence, I am telling clarinetists that it is up to us to make it happen for our instruments. It is our call. Let's get organized and let's get the pipeline working.
How about creating, collectively, a fundation with $$$$ to encourage young musician (6 years old) to get started on proper instruments with proper coaches?
Julian: You are my hero, and a beacon of what could be.
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2001-11-23 16:31
According to an article on Julian Bliss in The Clarinet, he started on a Lyons C.clarinet.
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Author: allencole
Date: 2001-11-24 02:27
There is a full-hour interview with Julian Bliss on WFIU (NPR) in Indiana.
http://www.indiana.edu/~wfiu/profiles.htm
If you click on the boy's name, you can hear the entire program--including a number of performances--in RealAudio. You can purchase a CD or cassette of the show for $12/$10, and I have requested one.
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Author: Michael Ringle
Date: 2001-11-24 23:50
Mario,
I would like to start by pointing out that you bring up some good facts about virtuosity as it applies to clarinet. I'd also like to use some counter remarks in defense of there not being many virtuosic clarinet players. Clarinet as you may know is still a fairly young instrument, second youngest in the woodwind family, the youngest being the saxophone. The "big three" as you called them, which are violin, piano, and voice, have been around for quite some time, in some form or another. Voice of course is the oldest, and I'm not sure what comes next, I'm kind of blanking on that, but I think it would be violin in some form, then piano. I believe that this is the reason why we do not see many young wind players becoming of virtuoso status. Many of the instruments are just so young that they have not had time to develop. Plus, it is kind of hard when a three year old cannot even hold up an instrument like a clarinet or saxophone, but they can play piano, violin, or sing. (Not that I would personally try to train just any three year old.)
The development of the kinder clarinet, and use of smaller clarinets in the family are a good start to allowing young children to get in touch with their instrument. I say give it time, there are many things in this world that just need time to grow. Another fact that I must point out is that there may not be many young players who gain virtuosic status on wind instruments, but think of the amount of teenage to young adult musicians who -are- attaining a good view in the eye of the public. No names come to my mind, but I am not familiar with a whole lot of clarinet players as I am a saxophone player who just meddles in the realm of clarinet for fun.
Mike
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Author: Emms
Date: 2001-12-05 19:16
i have just read his name is JAMES Bliss. he got to grade 5 (distinction)(UK) on the clarinet by the age of 6. He played the lyons C clarinet to six, but a Bb after this.
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