 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: rtmyth
Date: 2011-09-30 13:06
Magnificent timbre and technique in the Chabrier Pastoral with Paray. Would like to know who was that clarinetist. thanks.
richard smith
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2011-09-30 13:26
It was almost undoubtedly Paul Shaller, who was the principal clarinetist in Detroit from 1957–1987.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2011-09-30 13:45
A graduate of Lane Technical High School, Chicago IL and a wonderful guy who had only recently passed away.
.................Paul Aviles
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Author: rtmyth
Date: 2011-09-30 16:06
I looked up Paul Schaller. Thanks for the lead.
richard smith
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Author: Ralph Katz
Date: 2011-10-01 11:44
Herbert Couf was principal before 1958, and played first clarinet on the Paray recording of Mendelsohn's "Midsummer Nights Dream". I don't know when he started.
During the recession in 1957, the DSO layed off principal players, moved moved people up, and hired subs. Vincent Melidon played first on some of the recordings during that period. Then, when they got money again, he was demoted back to 4th chair. Not a good plan.
Paul Schaller wasn't hired until after the recession ended in 1958.
Mssrs. Schaller, Couf and Melidon were all tremendous players.
This information is from people who are no longer living: pianists Arthur Stephan and Bernard Katz, and Mr. Melidon.
Post Edited (2011-10-01 11:53)
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2011-10-01 12:13
Dear Mr. Katz,
I have a question for you off line <sarjientfinally@yahoo.com>.
Thanks,
.................Paul Aviles
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Author: clarinetguy ★2017
Date: 2011-10-01 12:45
I'm not sure when Herb Couf joined the DSO, but I'm guessing it was in the early 1950s.
The DSO went through a very rocky period in the 40s, and disbanded for a few years at the end of the decade. They came back in 1952 with Paul Paray as the new conductor. As far as I know, it was at around this time that Couf was hired. I know of another clarinet player who was offered the job (his son told me the story), but turned it down because the pay wasn't good.
Barney Rosen, DSO bass clarinet player in the 40s and early 50s, was very active in the Detroit music scene. During the few years when the orchestra was defunct, Rosen and others kept music alive with a small orchestra they helped to form named the Little Symphony. I'm not sure if it was the low salaries at the time or not, but Rosen left the DSO about a year after the orchestra came back. He continued to play professionally (which he did for most of his life), but he later became a social worker.
I recently happened to stumble across another interesting bit of DSO information from the early 1950s. One of the flute players was Larry Teal.
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Author: Ralph Katz
Date: 2011-10-06 01:27
Larry Liberson dug this out of the DSO library:
"Herb Couf started with the DSO in the 1952-53 season (the first program was in October, 1952) and played through the 1955-56 season.
"Paul Schaller started with the DSO the following season (1957-58) and sat there until he retired in August, 1987."
Hope this helps.
Post Edited (2011-10-07 00:20)
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Author: John Taylor
Date: 2011-10-11 03:56
Greetings. In August I wrote a blog post mentioning my teacher from the 1960s, Mr. Melidon, who, I thought, had passed away. Then someone left a comment saying that she (presumably) was a nurse who is caring for him. The post and comment are at the link below:
http://episconixonian.blogspot.com/2011/08/bending-notes-and-constitution.html
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2011-10-11 13:43
From the posting cited by John Taylor:
"I also wish I could say I'd heard [the opening run from Rhapsody in Blue] performed by my teacher, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra's first-chair clarinetist, Vincent Melidon.... I still have the old B-flat Selmer Mr. Melidon sold my mother, but unfortunately the only thing that rubbed off on me was cork grease. Besides, if he ever played the Gershwin run during his DSO years, it probably wasn't on my instrument, since he would've used an A clarinet for his orchestral work."
Ken Shaw
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Author: rpliskow
Date: 2017-03-18 21:26
Larry Teal was a saxophone player who ran Teal Music Studios, the home of my teacher, Albert Luconi (who turned down the DSO principal clarinet position several times). Teal did sax parts in the DSO during those years. It's possible that he doubled on flute, but in the symphony? His wife was a science teacher in my high school, incidentally. Principal flute in the DSO at the time was James Pellerite.
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