 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2008-04-19 02:18
I've been going through my old lps, and today got to listen to Harold Wright et al in the Beethoven wind octet Op. 103. It's a great, exuberant performance by all, and Wright was right on top of his game. His tone there was like fresh minted gold. If anything, it's quality, control, and expressiveness was so beautiful throughout that one could cavil that it stood out too obviously from the more normal sounding other instruments. What an example!
Then too I've been comparing three different recordings of Wright in the Mozart Quintet. One is a live concert with the Julliard Quartet, another is live from Marlboro, and the third is with the Boston Symphony Chamber players. All are interesting, though the Marlboro performance is occasionally marred by surprising weaknesses - not on Wright's part particularly, but some general problems with intonation, tempi, and expressive control - it sounds like they would try too hard in some places, and lapse into dullness in others.
The best for my money is the one with the BSO chamber group. They display a wealth of little nuances that just slightly emphasize Mozart's wonderful writing - it really comes alive. Wright is again in great form.
Wright does something that surprised me in the first movements, about 20 bars into the development section, in the arpeggios after the 9-bar rest. He seems to articulate those 8th notes with his chest. They sound like, "hoo-hoo-hoo. . ." I don't hear anything like tongue articulation there at all (maybe in the Marlboro version, just a little.) It sounds well but also odd to me.
Having no active teacher, I turn to recordings. Would anyone care to recommend other favorite recordings of Harold Wright?
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Author: na1965
Date: 2008-04-19 02:30
I highly recommend his recording of the Brahms Sonatas with Peter Serkin.
(Boston Records BR1005CD)
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Author: weberfan
Date: 2008-04-19 02:40
Philip,
You've no doubt been to the Boston Records Web site. Most of the easily accessible Wright recordings are there. Have you heard the Gran Partita, played by the Marlboro alumni? It's exquisite. I wish it were possible to get CD's of some of the old LP's, like the one you described.
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Author: Keith P
Date: 2008-04-19 03:35
Phillip,
His recording of the Weber quintet is absolutely stunning. That is found on the third recital CD from the Boston Records website. In fact, the whole CD is stunning!
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Author: weberfan
Date: 2008-04-19 12:37
David,
Do you know if Soldiers Tale is available on CD, or only on old vinyl?
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2008-04-19 16:01
The Brahms w/ Serkin is so deep that I've been plundering it for over a year and still hear something new every time I focus on it. The CD has almost permanent residence in my car player.
Bob Phillips
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Author: Ed
Date: 2008-04-19 19:02
The 1980 recording of the suite does not have narration, actors, etc.
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Author: tdinap
Date: 2008-04-19 23:54
Funny little Wright-related anecdote:
Last Friday, I attended a masterclass with Joaquin Valdepeñas at the Royal Academy of Music. I forget the exact context of the comment, but at one point he asked if anyone had heard of Harold Wright. Having studied clarinet in the New England area for the past year and a half, I obviously nodded enthusiastically, but of the seven or eight Academy clarinet students in attendance, not one seemed to have any idea who he was.
I can't really fault them for it--I've actually never heard any recordings of Reginald Kell or Jack Brymer, and until about a year or two ago probably wouldn't have heard of them either, but I found the difference in the cultures to be pretty amazing.
Tom
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Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2008-04-20 14:14
I've heard a recording of him playing a C clarinet, but can't remember the name of the piece.
Post Edited (2008-04-20 14:14)
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Author: weberfan
Date: 2008-04-21 01:07
Amen, to the Wright/Serkin Brahams CD. My car stereo actually asks for it now.
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Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2008-04-21 01:19
Thanks for the good suggestions - I'll be seeking some of them out. I'm familiar with Wright's Brahms sonatas with Peter Serkin, and they are easily my favorite recordings of both pieces. They are much more interesting musically (to me) than Wright's recordings of those works with Harris Goldsmith.
Here's a couple more good Wright recordings: the Weber Quintet, and Schubert's Shepherd on the Rock.
Recently I listened Wright's Boston recording of the Saint-Saens sonata, and then immediately Ricardo Morales' recording of the same work. My ears heard two major general differences. It led me to conclude that nobody is all things, even on the clarinet. Has anyone else tried that exercise?
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Author: A Brady
Date: 2011-03-18 03:00
I just received the recording of Harold Wright doing the Piston Concerto, Baermann Adagio, the Premiere Rhapsody, and the Weber 2nd Concerto.
What an amazing, transparent sound; I don't think I've heard such effortless-sounding phrasing and legato from anyone else, particularly on the Piston, an angular, difficult piece (which I know well from performing it on one of my graduate recitals.) His seemingly conservative tempo on the Polacca of the Weber is actually a proper polacca tempo, and is extremely rewarding musically.
There is a wonderful story in the liner notes from Ruth, his wife, who recounts Mr Wright's perfectionism, having her listening to multiple mouthpieces to pick the best one, and practicing at all hours (even before breakfast, sometimes running out the back door to avoid visitors, so as not to disturb his practice routine.)
Superb example of double-lip embouchure, excellent Chedeville mouthpiece, and musical genius, indeed.
AB
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2011-03-18 03:43
Since this thread started, lo those many years agone, I have run across some printed music that I find extremely valuable.
These are transcriptions of Harold Wright's marked-up personal performance sheets. They were made available to Ethan Sloane by Wright's widow and are published by Southern Music.
One is "Collected Chamber Music for Clarinet." SMC B543. It contains the clarinet parts for:
Mozart Kv 498, the Kegelstatt Trio for clarinet, piano & viola,
Mozart kv 581, the quintet
Beethoven Septet in Eb Major, Op. 20
Beethoven Trio in GBb Major, Op. ll for clarinet, piano, cello
von Weber: The Grand Quintet in Bb Op. 34
Franz Schubert: Octet in F Major, Op. 166
Schumann Marchenerzahlungen, Op. 132
Brahms Trio in A Minor, Op. 114
Brahms Quintet in B Minor, Op. 115
All for $25.
Others in the series:
SU229: The Brahms Sonata for Clarinet and Piano, Op 120, No. 1
SU230: The Brahms Sonata for Clarinet and Piano, Op. 120, No. 2
and...
SU 320(?): The Mozart concerto Kv 622
One of Wright's most dominant markings are little arrows indicating which direction to lip notes to bring his clarinet in tune.
"Listening along" with Ruth Wright and Ethan Sloan's marked up editions is golden.
...and using these editions in your ensemble work is HUGE!
Bob Phillips
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Author: DAVE
Date: 2011-03-18 06:07
In addition to TONS of Marcellus recordings, I also have some Wright recordings. I DO have the Soldier's Tale that David Blumberg mentioned. Shall I upload it so you guys can download it? Of course I will! Give me a day or so and I'll post a link.
Which leads me to a question. Seeing as how I have about 40-50 gigs of this stuff, do you know of a way I can just upload ALL of it and leave it online for anyone to grab? Uploading just parts of it is a little time consuming and kind of a pain.
Post Edited (2011-03-18 06:09)
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Author: salzo
Date: 2011-03-18 09:32
His recording of the Weber quintet is absolutely stunning. That is found on the third recital CD from the Boston Records website. In fact, the whole CD is stunning!
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Is the recording of the Weber Quintet on the Boston Records label the same recording that he put out on vinyl?
The vinyl recording is amazing and I have been trying to find the LP.
If it is reissued on the Boston label, that would end a very long search.
His Shepherd on the Rock is incredible- I might be wrong, but I believe he recorded the Schubert twice with the same artists.
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2011-03-18 21:35
Dave -
There are lots of places you can upload large files and make them available. A popular one is Dropbox. http://www.dropbox.com/ You get 2Gb free, 50Gb for $9.99 a month and 100Gb for $19.99 a month. I've read their Terms of Service with a lawyer's eye http://www.dropbox.com/terms and have not seen limits on downloads by third parties. You do promise that you aren't putting up anything covered by copyright.
I'd love to have such a resource. However, a single 40Gb download would be a monster, even for my cable modem connection and 4Tb of hard disk space. Is there any way to break up your collection into manageable sections, big enough to not require hundreds of individual downloads, but not to big to be manageable?
Ken Shaw
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Author: DAVE
Date: 2011-03-19 04:04
I put up some things today that I'm sure you all will enjoy in a separate link.
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Author: JEG ★2017
Date: 2011-03-19 18:00
Yes, the Boston Records recording of the Weber Quintet is the same as the Marlboro vinyl recording. The major difference is that the CD contains the enthusiastic applause at the end.
I heard this recording for the first time in the 70s when I borrowed it from my local library and it completely knocked me out. A few years later I acquired the LP, and in 2000 I bought the CD. My wife can testify as to how many times I've played it.
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