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 Stanley Drucker Master Class, 3/25/11
Author: Ken Shaw 2017
Date:   2011-03-29 14:50

On March 25, 2011, Stanley Drucker gave an interesting and unusual master class at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ.

In the first part, he gave the premieres of about a dozen new compositions for clarinet and piano by members of the college's composition class, who were there. Each piece was two or three pages long, some tonal and some atonal. He got about half the pieces beforehand and sight-read the others. He had had no prior rehearsal with the pianist, who was the head of the composition department and played very well. He often had questions for the composer about what s/he wanted, and the exchanges were informal and relaxed. Each piece was well written for clarinet, and he gave complimentary comments to each composer. Some of the ones he sight-read called for his famous virtuosity, and one had instructions numerous instructions, such as "Play the upper line if you're a cat person, and the lower line if you're a dog person."

He's still got it at age 82. (He refused to state his age, saying "Look me up on Wikipedia if you're interested.") He was remarkably youthful and vigorous, his fingers were blindingly fast, and his tone was rich and clear. He made music out of each piece. He said that this was a new experience for him, and that he had never been asked to do anything like it before.

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In the second part, he played Luciano Berio's Sequenza for Clarinet. His control was perfect, and he tossed off the ferociously difficult passages with great panache. He stopped at the end of each page to slide it over. I'm not sure whether that's what Berio instructs. As in the new pieces, he made music rather than simply playing the notes.

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The third part was a standard master class. As usual, Stanley did not play during the class, possibly because his intensity would simply blow away any student. The college had had trouble recruiting students to play for him, so the participants were the clarinet prof and three local high school students.

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The prof played the Bernstein Sonata, accurately but without much personality. Stanley began by noting that he had recorded the sonata twice - once many years ago and again quite recently.

The first movement begins mezzo piano, but must still be played with substance and personality, giving the same effort as if you were playing forte. You need to relax at the end of the second phrase.

The next phrase must not be too staccato. It should be playful and cheeky. The descending sequences are single phrases.

The low-note passage needs to maintain a pulse. At letter O, you need to get all the way back to the tempo primo. It's not slow.

Don't lengthen the final note of the movement. Hold the embouchure and just let the air stop, in tempo.

In the second movement, the ascending pairs must go together as a single phrase, not three.

In the third movement is jaunty. You're having fun with the alternating 2s and 3s. It's a dance.

The soft section needs to be relaxed, but you must still maintain the line, with the same depth of tone you would have at forte.

Maintain the sound at letter K. Don't let it drop off.

At letter O, it's relaxed and easy but must stay rhythmically precise. "Quasi echotone" means "shadowy."

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The first student played the third movement of the Mendelssohn Concertpiece #2, with his mother on piano and his brother on bassoon. The pianist struggled, as did the bassoonist, but the clarinetist was quite good for a high school player, though they took a very slow tempo.

Stanley emphasized that even on phrases with feminine endings (where you decrescendo to the last note), it's important to play the final notes full-length. At measure 107, the clarinetist and [basset horn player] must listen hard to play as one.

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The second student played the finale of the Crusell Concerto in F minor, op. 5. He had learned this entirely in the practice room and said he would be most comfortable playing alone. For a high school player, he had good tone and technique.

Stanley told him to remember that he is the soloist and must sing to the audience. Keep the depth in the tone, even when you're going fast. Don't let your support drop.

There are many passages in sextuplets, which must be kept precise.

Play the notes marked with accents in context. They're spice, not hammer blows.

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The third student played the first movement of the Devienne 2nd Sonata. He had not practiced it with piano before, but the head of the composition department sight read the piano very well.

Stanley's main effort was to have the student play more sostenuto, arching phrases over longer lengths.

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I've been told by Stanley's students that he takes only very advanced players and works with them almost entirely on orchestral solos. However, he was amazing good at taking the players where they were and making precise suggestions that helped them play better. He praised the good things and gently urged them to take the next step, and each player, from the prof to the high schoolers, improved noticeably under Stanley's coaching.

Throughout the sessions, Stanley made motions as if he were playing violin. He told the students to think like string players. For exasmple, you stay "on the string" rather than "dropping the bow down" for accents. Staccato dots over notes in running passages are not accents. Rather, they're the same sort of articulations that violinists make when changing the direction of the bow.

He told some interesting stories.

In 1988, Luciano Berio arranged the piano part of the Brahms First Sonata for orchestra. He had intended for the European premiere to be played by a violist friend in Rome, but at the rehearsal the viola couldn't be heard over the orchestra. He quickly called Stanley, who arranged for a three-day absence from the NY Philharmonic (the concert was to be repeated twice). When Stanley arrived in Rome, Berio (a huge, bear of a man) greeted him at the airport and roared "I have good news and bad news." Stanley said to give him the bad news first. Berio said that the orchestra was on strike to get pay parity with the La Scala orchestra, so the concerts were cancelled. The good news was that the orchestra, out of respect for Berio as a great Italian composer, had agreed to give a single concert. Stanley would be paid as if he had played all three.

He confirmed the story about the Shostakovich Violin Concerto No. 1 that was slightly different from the version published in the New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/05/arts/music/05druc.html?scp=1&sq=drucker%20violin%20concerto&st=cse. Mark Nuccio, who was scheduled to play principal, had a scheduling mixup and didn't arrive. Stanley glanced over the part, which he had last played over 50 years earlier, remembered how it went and nailed it.

This was an outstanding afternoon, with Stanley at his best.

Ken Shaw

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 Re: Stanley Drucker Master Class, 3/25/11
Author: Ed 
Date:   2011-03-29 14:59

I am always amazed by his enthusiasm for the music. He still plays as if he is having the time of his life.

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 Re: Stanley Drucker Master Class, 3/25/11
Author: DavidBlumberg 
Date:   2011-03-29 23:30

Damn, didn't know about it!!

Would have attended

http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com


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 Re: Stanley Drucker Master Class, 3/25/11
Author: luca1 
Date:   2011-03-30 01:35

Wish I could have been there Ken! Your description made me feel as though I were though! Thank you so much!

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 Re: Stanley Drucker Master Class, 3/25/11
Author: Keeheon Nam 
Date:   2011-03-30 02:50

I wish I could of been at New Jersey while being in Minneapolis.

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 Re: Stanley Drucker Master Class, 3/25/11
Author: clarinetist04 
Date:   2011-03-30 13:03

That's really a great synopsis, Ken, and a great article in the NYT. It gives me hope that there are performers out there who genuinely enjoy the stage and will treat each moment like it's the last. Nothing frustrates me more than seeing a clarinetist play a passage and then at the end of the final note sling their clarinet down and slump in their chair like it was a chore to play as they wait for their next entrance. Performers seem to forget that their performance is not just what comes out of the bell, but what their doing on stage with their demeanor as well.

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 Re: Stanley Drucker Master Class, 3/25/11
Author: Paul Globus 
Date:   2011-03-30 15:13

Stanley Drucker is in a class all by himself. I am very fortunate to have heard him play live a number of times over the years, including his last performance of the Copland in New Jersey a couple of years ago.

Everything about his playing and musicianship is top drawer. He obviously loves the clarinet and making music. He doesn't just play. He draws you into his world, making you a part of the experience. Only the greatest musicians can do that and I'm not surprised that he still retains his particular brand of "magic" in his ninth decade. He's also a very nice person, from what I've heard.

Thanks to Ken Shaw for the overview of the masterclass.



Post Edited (2011-03-30 15:14)

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 Re: Stanley Drucker Master Class, 3/25/11
Author: Lelia Loban 2017
Date:   2011-03-30 15:22

Ken, thanks for taking the trouble to write about Stanley Drucker's visit to Westminster Choir College. How terrific that he really meant it when he said he was retiring from the orchestra in order to do other things!

>>The third part was a standard master class. As usual, Stanley did not play during the class, possibly because his intensity would simply blow away any student. The college had had trouble recruiting students to play for him, so the participants were the clarinet prof and three local high school students.
>>

Yipes. Amazing. Do you mean that college students didn't sign up because they were *afraid* to play for him? If so, who put the fear in them? Did the teachers preface this visit by telling the kids horror stories?

I can understand a certain percentage of the students who suffer from severe stage fright not wanting to put themselves on public display this way. I would've chickened out myself (and hated myself for the cowardice). But why weren't plenty of bolder students lining up -- heck, why weren't they conspiring against each other -- to compete for a chance at such a learning experience? After all, even if Stanley Drucker turned out to be a fire-breathing monster, it's not as if students would have to commit to a semester's worth of classes with him. If nothing else, that master class would've given them good practice for coping with future auditions.

Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.

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 Re: Stanley Drucker Master Class, 3/25/11
Author: kdk 
Date:   2011-03-30 15:48

The event was held at Westminster Conservatory, fka Westminster Choir College. It has always had a stellar voice curriculum, but I've never heard that it had much of an instrumental department. I guess the masterclass wasn't promoted heavily enough among other area schools with more active instrumental performance programs. I hope the high school kids who played for him had some idea of the opportunity they were given.

Karl

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 Re: Stanley Drucker Master Class, 3/25/11
Author: DavidBlumberg 
Date:   2011-03-30 16:22

In 1983 I heard the Verdehr trio perform at Westminster - seems they have had a soft spot for Clarinet there.

http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com


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 Re: Stanley Drucker Master Class, 3/25/11
Author: grifffinity 
Date:   2011-03-30 18:27

Westminster Conservatory a community music school associated with Rider University's Westminster College of the Arts, that provides pre-college ensemble opportunities for kids 8-18 and offers private instruction for all ages.

http://www.rider.edu/offices-services/westminster-conservatory



Post Edited (2011-03-30 18:30)

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 Re: Stanley Drucker Master Class, 3/25/11
Author: kdk 
Date:   2011-03-30 19:16

Yes, apparently it is still called Westminster Choir College and is listed as a division of Westminster College of the Arts of Rider University. The merger is recent and I'm not sure they've yet really straightened out where all the pieces of the music and fine arts programs at Rider will eventually live. The Conservatory is, indeed, a large music school that has run under the auspices of Rider and Westminster for a number of years.

Karl

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