Author: Tom Puwalski
Date: 2005-12-05 12:43
> Here's a list of a few players whose playing I particularly
> admire:
> Sabine Meyer, Michael Collins, Alain Damiens, Thomas Friedli,
> Allesandro Carbonare, Kari Kriiku, Riccardo Morales, Larry
> Combs, Antony Pay.
>
> How many of these people play double lip? None. Gee, imagine
> how much better they could sound if they changed!!
Ok to my limited knowledge, The only American player on your list is Larry Combs. I love Riccardo's playing, but he's operating on something other than orthodox American clarinet pedagogy. As does everyone else on your list.
That's ok, I've found over the years I listen to Americans way less than I used. It starts, slowly, you get a CD of Leister's "Solo" album and you start loving that lush resonant sound. Next you end up with a boot-legged copy of Kovacs playing his Hommages, and you hear some amazing musicianship, sound and phrasing. Then you're working on a performance practice paper on the Mozart concerto, and you listen to Tony Pay's and Colin Lawson's performances and you start to wonder why the only CD you own is Marcellus's with Cleveland. If you haven't heard these two performances you've really missed something amazing. Makes me wonder how many other British players I've missed hearing, 'cause I'm American, and we wrote the book on clarinet playing. Then you start hearing some Cahuzac re-issues, and you wonder how any who has devoted even an hour of his life to learning the clarinet could "dis" french players and the sound they get. Hey, I have to admit this is a recent occurrence with me, I had my ears up my artistic butt, admitting it, and listening a lot is the first step in recovery. Here's just one final thought to my rant:
Maybe clarinet playing shouldn't be the "mono-theistic" religion that Americans have made it. How about we have multiple gods like in ancient Greek days.
Tom Puwalski, former soloist with the US Army Field Band, Clarinetist with Lox&Vodka, and Author of "The Clarinetist's Guide to Klezmer"and most recently by the order of the wizard of Oz, for supreme intelligence, a Masters in Clarinet performance
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