Does the perfect reed need perfection

I remember many years ago, preparing for a concert at a college in Milwaukee, a Sunday afternoon in winter, brght and sunny.
I needed to select a good reed for the afternoon concert at 3:30. It was before noon.
I was playing very standard repertoire, perhaps Sonati by Honegger, Poulenc and Brahms and a new work either written for me, or something in manuscript. It doesn’t really matter.
Things were going well. I already had several possible(s). I was “up”.You know up,don’t you? We all do. It was a concert at a nice hall, good pianist, Good player, me.

Time passes. There are more reeds, now lining a mirror, drying, after having been tried and moistened. Still. no afternoon concert reed. Still “up”, but a little concerned.

It is 1 PM. Still a couple of hours before playing. I open another box. Of course, they are Van Doren, which I have always called VD.
(There is (or was) a rest home somewhere in Queens, seen from the Long Island Exoressway. It is called the Van Doren Rest Home. When you see it in the distance, it is colored blue and yellow, looking like a big box of Van Doren)

Well, it has now become 2PM. just an hour before playing. I am completely without clothing, sitting on my chair, and totally surrounded by about 10 boxes of Van Doren reeds. (this was in the 60′s and reeds were exponentially cheaper than now) There were also 25 in a box, cost 3.75

Now, they are prohibitively priced, and they have names similar to Baskin Robbins Ice Cream, different cuts, different prices, all high, screaming “more consistency”, and producing the same inimitable Van Doren lack of quality, and/or consistency. Or you might say, “He doesn’tknow how to fix them”.

And yes, there I was , with no reed, and an hour to go.

(now, the reed cognescenti are saying or thinking, “well, he didn’t break them in”. or he had the wrong clarinet, or the wrong mouthpiece, or…what have you.)

It didn’t matter. It doesn’t matter. You know the feeling. It is not “UP” It is panic time.

So finally, I choose one, get it on the mouthpiece.(at that point in my career, I would never change a reed during a performance or even move it on the mouthpiece

With that many variables at stake, you do not have the time nor the luxury of choice. You play on what you have.You must.

Well, I thought I had never played so miserably poorly. It was truly horrble. No, I don’t have a tape. Actually, I wish I did have a tape, because you never really know until you listen afterward.

This is the lonly way to hear yourself. You listen to the recording of the concert as soon as you can after playing it. This is excellent advice, because you know both the feelings you had during the perormance and you simply hold those feeling up against the recording: a difficult , costly, but sometimes a wonderful learning experience.

Marvin came up to me after the concert. He asked to take me to dinner with his girl friend, Emily. I went, trying to show nothing, but feeling utter self-revulsion.

He was an amateur clarinetist and Marvin congratulated me on my playng, all the while with me eating a pan-fried delicious steak,paid for by Marvin, or maybe Emily. Maybe,she was keeping him. I don’t know.

keep practicing.
stay well, sherman

Time permitting, this will be followed by another piece on what I did wrong for that concert and the choice of reed and the “perfection” needed in that reed.

sf

Two Clarinet Concerti in one Metropolitan Orchestra Concert

This was an unusual and interesting concert, featuring two excellent clarinetists,principals of the Metropolitan Opera and Chicago Symphony Orchestras.

MUSIC REVIEW
Luisi Crosses Border To American Territory
By ANTHONY TOMMASINI, New York Times

During the last couple of seasons, audiences in New York have had ample opportunities to get to know the work of Fabio Luisi, the Metropolitan Opera’s principal conductor, who has been taking over most of the performances the ailing James Levine has had to withdraw from. But on Sunday afternoon Mr. Luisi, conducting the Met Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, revealed another dimension to his artistry. Who would have expected this Italian maestro to be so at home conducting Copland’s jazzy Clarinet Concerto, let alone an aria from “Wuthering Heights,” the only opera by Bernard Herrmann, of “Psycho” fame?
This unusual program, planned by Mr. Levine, featured Renée Fleming singing Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder and three American opera arias by Herrmann and Barber. When it was announced in December that Mr. Levine was withdrawing from all performances at the Met through the 2012-13 season, Ms. Fleming asked Mr. Luisi if he wanted to change the program. But Mr. Luisi was game, and he proved himself in all of the American repertory, especially the Copland concerto.

Of course with the brilliant young Anthony McGill, a principal clarinetist at the Met, as soloist, the performance was a sure thing. Copland described this 18-minute score, completed in 1948, as a kind of portrait of Benny Goodman, who commissioned it. In the wistful first section, the clarinet plays dreamy musings against the cool, contemplative backdrop of the orchestra, scored for just strings, harp and piano. Mr. McGill captured the music’s lacy lyricism, playing with a rich yet beautifully focused sound.

Then comes a transitional clarinet cadenza that evolves into scurrying riffs and runs. Playing with technical command and a teasing character, Mr. McGill was so spontaneous you might have thought he was improvising. He was just as dazzling in the jazzy final section. Mr. Luisi seemed in his element too, drawing nice spiky tones from the violins during a jaunty section in which the high strings match the clarinet’s piercing lines.

The program began with the clarinetist Stephen Williamson in Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in A. Formerly a principal at the Met, Mr. Williamson became principal clarinetist of the Chicago Symphony last year, one of Riccardo Muti’s first appointments as music director. Joining his past colleagues, Mr. Williamson gave a stylish and energetic account of this subtly complex piece, written in the last months of Mozart’s life.

After the Mozart, Ms. Fleming, in lovely voice, sang the Rückert-Lieder. Some Mahlerites might prefer a more autumnal, vocally dark approach, especially in the bleakly beautiful “Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen” (“I am lost to the world”). With her creamy sound and finespun phrasing, Ms. Fleming brought out the music’s resignation and tenderness. She gave a sensitively restrained performance of the first song, “Ich atmet’ einen linden Duft” (“I breathed a gentle fragrance”). The playful quality she drew from “Blicke mir nicht in die Lieder” (“Look not into my songs”) recalled the chatty exchanges of Strauss’s worldly Marschallin, one of Ms. Fleming’s signature roles. Her Mahler lacked only some crispness in German diction.

After intermission Ms. Fleming’s impassioned performance of “Give me some music” from Barber’s “Antony and Cleopatra” had me thinking that a revival of this disparaged opera might be in order. She was also good, anguished yet cagey, in “Do not utter a word” from Barber’s “Vanessa.” And the little-known Herrmann aria, “I have dreamt,” harmonically plush and ethereal music in which the heroine laments her confinement at Wuthering Heights, was captivating in this vibrant performance.

For an encore Ms. Fleming sang the “I can smell the sea air” from André Previn’s “Streetcar Named Desire,” with Mr. Luisi conducting as if Previn style came naturally. Who would have thought?’

Two suggestions, This would be wonderful, to own the recording, if there is one. And the other is to keep practicing.

stay well, sherman

Max Reger,composer,and author of a famous music review, most quoted, yet seldom identified

Max Reger 1873-1916, a prolific composer of polyphonic works for organ, but also three Sonatas for Clarinet, and his last work, a Clarinet Quintet, much in the style of the Brahms Quintet. It is considered his finest work, especially of chamber music, and well worth considering by any clarinetist or String Quartet.

Of course, there is always one big problem with programming this fine Quintet by Max Reger for Clarinet and String Quartet.

But allow me to back in my lengthening history to my discovery of this gifted composer, and the performance of all of the above works.

Years ago, I was asked by Francis Wainwright, then a senior produce for the English CBC in Montreal to perform the Quintet with the Laval String Quartet(of the University of Laval) at an Arts National Concert for the CBC. Broadcast throughout Canada, the concert was special in that is featured music of the Verein.

What was the Verein. How many know? Was it important in the history of music and the clarinet?(I don’t mean to separate history of music from the clarinet, even though many clarinetists do….but not you)

The Society for Private Musical Performances (in German, the Verein für musikalische Privataufführungen) was an organization founded in Vienna in the Autumn of 1918 byArnold Schoenberg with the intention of making carefully rehearsed and comprehensible performances of modern music available to genuinely interested members of the musical public. In the three years between February 1919 and 5 December 1921 (when the Verein had to cease its activities due to Austrian hyperinflation, the organisation gave 353 performances of 154 works in a total of 117 concerts.

Circumstances permitting, concerts were given at the rate of one per week, with each programme consisting entirely of modern works. The range of music included was very wide, the ‘allowable’ composers not being confined to the ‘Schoenberg circle’ but drawn from all those who had  a real face or name. During the Society’s first two years, in fact, Schoenberg did not allow any of his own music to be performed; instead, the programmes included works by Stravinsky, Bartok,Debussy,Ravel, Webern, Berg, and many others, including Max Reger, specifically his Clarinet Quintet.

The players at these events were chosen from among the most gifted young musicians available, and each work was rehearsed intensively, either under Schoenberg himself or by a Vortragsmeister (‘Performance Director’) specifically appointed by him. Clarity and comprehensibility of the musical presentation was the over-riding aim, with audiences sometimes being permitted to hear ‘open rehearsals’, and complex works sometimes being played more than once in the same concert.(actually, without knowing of this history, I have done this many times in performance, repeating the work)

“Only those who had joined the organisation were admitted to the events: the intention was to exclude ‘sensation-seeking’ members of the Viennese public (who would often attend concerts with the express intention of whistling derisively at ‘modern’ works by blowing across their house-keys) as well as keep out hostile critics who would attack such music in their publications: a sign displayed on the door – in the manner of a police notice – would state that Kritikern ist der Eintritt verboten (‘Critics are forbidden entry’). Applause was not permitted after the performance of any work on the program”.

Stop, but for a moment.

How many of you have ever been involved with such an organization? Or, how many have wished for such an organization?

I was and I did, and that was perhaps the most fortunate years of performance I enjoyed, even though it was very difficult. Difficult to find he performers, choose the composers and mostly ,to rehearse and perform that music, which was almost always chamber music.

Think of it. The time to find the best players, to find the best music, or what one thought was the best, finding a hall in which to perform, remunerating the women and men who played, and how much, and yes, getting a recording of the performance, and sometimes, a review, even though in Schoenbergs Verein, critics were not permitted to attend. (a perfect and honest idea. But man does not live by bread alone.)

I had the honor and privilege of doing this in Tangleweood at the Concerts of New Music, sponsored by the Fromm Foundation, at The Center for the Creative and Performing Arts at the University of Buffalo, and with my own group, The Concordia Chamber Players of Montreal. (And yes, Le Conservatoire Americain at Fontainebleau)

Now, before this turns into another bragging game of “my resume is longer than yours”, let us go back to poor Max Reger, a gifted composer, quite so, especially in polyphonic music. He said, “most  compose fugues. I live in them”.

Also, he practically never received a good review, this most quoted is from Mr. Reger. “I am sitting in the smallest room in my house.Your review is in front of me, Soon , it shall be behind me.”  Have you ever wished you could say something similar to a (so-called) music critic? Perhaps.

What makes this posting interesting is that the clarinet music of Mr Reger, while being similar to the style of Brahms quite frequently, does not work anywhere near as well.

I first expored the three Sonatas with the gifted pianist, Dale Bartlett of McGill.While he was always prepared and never said anything criticalabout any of the many works of a contemporary nature, he had a special name for these sonatas, difficult and with wormy counterpoint crawling about everywhere, in every key imaginable. Dale called them The Ronald Reagan Sonatas. 

(Those were the years of the presidency of Mr. Reagan).

The Clarinet Quintet, Regers last work, and called by many his best, is startlingly similar to the Quintet of Brahms. Beautiful themes and phrases, written very well for all, in A for the clarinet, but contained in an seemingly unintelligle labrynth of counterapuntal devices.

And like other of his works, has an arch form, beginning and ending pianissimo.

And, when the choice comes to your program, you would never put the Reger on the same progeram with Brahms. Nobody knows it, it is longer and takes more rehearsal time. On a clarinet concert , the two will not fit.

Schonberg did indeed perform the works of Max Reger in his private Performance Club. And  we have all wished for as much time that is needed in order to perform new works perfectly, but alas, the end of that story is in the time, the schedules of the players, their “other work”, which pays the bills, and…one is left with frustration in the filling of the duties one thinks carry importance for the performance of new works. We seem to be repeating ourselves, with organizations of all kinds falling by the wayside in the wake of many expenses  and new technics.

Keep practicing, no mater what.

Sherman,

and it is the duty of every musician to perform new works.

Paul Hindemith: Kleine Kammermusik, 1922-24

Upon searching the files and music available on You Tube, I discovered a recording of this truly great work by Hindemith, and its meaning in my playing .
Not only is the recording very special and quite old: The Philadelphia Woodwind Quintet, recorded in 1956, along with a lot of the most standard Quintet repertoire of the time, played by the first chairs of that orchestra at the time. William Kinkaid, flute and piccolo; John DeLancie, Oboe; Anthony Gigliotti Clarinet, and Mason Jones, French Horn.
I had first heard this work as a high school student, and was immediately taken with the very strong rhythmic motion of all the movements, specifically the first, discovered Hindemtith as well, his prolific output of the Sonata, the Trios, the other many chamber pieces and the many clarinet solos in all of his orchestral works.
I became at my level,a lover of this prolific composer of works for the clarinet, and featuring itin many of his works.And of course, perhaps like you, I set about learning this woodwind Quintet, which will take time, but will brear all kinds of pleasures and advances in your playing.
I learned later, that during the time of the composition of the Quintet, Hindemith would take the train every day for his work in Berlin. This forward rhythmic motion is the whole basis of the first movement. It was so hard, but always a pleasure to practice.
Later ,I was to learn that he wrote all the parts first, each one, then made the score afterward, a fact which astounded me at the time. Think of such a compositional technique. The Piece works beautifully and is built carefully as all Hindemith.

I was to perform the Quintet many times, with all of the Quintets in which I played, specifically the Milwaukee Symphony Woodwind Quintet. We used to play this in the schools and I would delight in giving program notes to all the students in the audience.

The work is in 5 short movements, the first, started by the clarinet, a part which is challenging, in both its execution and that it asks to very forward solo approach to the clarinet and has the impossible trill on the G#, which can only be played really correctly if you have an articulated G# on your clarinet, which I always had at the time. I still cannot understand why this simple addition has not becpme a staple on all clarinets. It makes almost all technical passage much simpler amd foolproof.If you don’t have it, you have to fake that trill and many others found in the standard repertoire.

This of course, is the problem of the hidebound traditionalists, players who occupy teaching positions and foster the plain Boehm, 17 keys and 6 rings. This system is the one that all choose to play because their teachers tell them. Wrong, in the strongest possible terms. I studied with two excellent players who happened to use the articulated g#, Rosario Mazzeo, and Gino Cioffi, who occupied half of the Boston Symphony Clarinet section for many years. I have written many pieces on both their playoing styles, both completely differnet, but incorporating the articulated G#.

On this 1956 recording, Gigliotti plays the trill as a five note grupetto, effective, but wrong. A trill is an accent, that is its function and not making an accent on that till is just incorrect, but it cannot be done unless you have the articulation. There is a trick fingering, which works on some clarinets if practiced carefully.(trilling the index  finger of the left hand) but it is much easier and musically correct to have an articulated G#. But let us move on. (continued)

The holiday market, and why?

Tis the season to be wary, and there is absolutely no wonder.
I have been scanning the market for clarinet prices for perhaps a dozen years. Yes, the prices do rise. We have a weary, though recovering economy, constantly buffeted by increases in prices of the newer clarinets and prices which are relatively stable for some others.

Of course, one has to always consider the condition of the instrument, and even more importantly, how it will play for you.(Of course, it is the terminology used by the seller that determines if one will even look at the ad.)
Where are you in the great spectrum of players?
I have often repeated my story of an almost new French clarinet which played quite poorly, but turned into one of the better instruments with a simple adjustment of a key, and slight leakage of a pad.
Is any used clarinet a playable instrument?
We really don’t know, however this question may be asked for a”brand new”, supposedly “unused”, “near new”, or “like brand new”

Each will play differently, and each player will get a slightly different response to the instrument.

This goes for brand new instruments as well. This is the great question aked by any auction site. Clarinets play differently, depening upon both the player and the instrument itself.I once had a person send me a dozen clainets for appraisal, my personal reaction(s) Not one of the instruments was totally free of needed adjustments and none were considered to be acceptable for reason of poorly placed or adjusted pads, especially poor sealing of the notes played by the long fingers of the instrument.
Some were able to be made “tight” in less than five minutes, but instead of taking the time, I just the whole batch back to the seller. I will experience only a certain amount of suffering. The state of  the repair and “techy” industry is terribly uneven, and in general, poor. If you are looking for someone who can really repair and maintain an instrument, going the inexpensive route will cost you more, has been the experience of many. Too bad.

The collision between list prices and reality is one of the more difficult choices in todays market. Do you think the newest clarinets represent a significant change from those of the past? They do not, for the most part. A case in point is the wooden Lyrique, an excellent player, simply based on an excellent example of the past, the Opus Clarinet.

And so, we are the victims of advertising. New or old materials are being used and abused by manufacturers, creating ever new sounding descriptions with prices to match.

Nobody pays the list price, is a good rule of thumb. The discounts are really all over the map, at least 20% to as much as 50%. Here is the basic difficulty: sellers of some “almost new instruments seek prices based upon the list price” Science fiction is my opinion.

Is it better to buy new?, almost new? or like new?

It all depends upon the instrument, and the seller and the player.

Some instruments are priced stratospherically, based upon a list price which never was, not in actuality. Tread carefully in these waters.

Stay well, keep practicing, and listen.

 

Best wishes, sherman

 

The 45 day guaranty

Again and again, one hears of regrettable clarinet purchases. Either the instrument was too expensive, or was inferior for tuning or material, or was just not the right material and was too expensive. There follows a series of endless questions, all of which pertain to making the wrong choice in the first place, or just blind buying with no preparation, and making the judgement after the fact. To be frank, there is always an element of chance in the purchase of an instrument, sight-unseen. For some this can be part of the attraction, however, whatever your expectations, there is little chance that you will stumble into one of Richard Muhlfeldts clarinets in an auction.

The first thing one must know, is what you the potential buyer actually wants and needs. If you want an eb clarinet, try to determine why you want such an instrument.Years and years ago, I used to require an eb for specialized works, the most formidable of which is the Hindemith Quartet for Clarinet, Eb clarinet, and string quartet. It is a difficult ,long and complicated work. In fact there are two movement s of which one is the exact version of the other, backwards. I would never ever play that piece without either my own professional instrument, or one of the best.borrowed from a music store, specifically for the purpose.It is a very good idea to own a fine professional Eb mouthpies   That way, you have one important aspect of playing the instrument already in your possession. If you cannot afford purchase of an excellent instrument, at least own a fine mouthpiece, which can be half the battle.

If you have an opportunity to play Eb in a band, it may be better to rent a clarinet, rather than to buy one in plastic at an exorbitant price. If you do nuy an instrument online,make sure that the instrument may be returned within a period of time with no cost except for postage, your money being immediately returned. The purchase of a plastic instrument without a return option is just a mistake. You must have recourse in case of poor or inferior merchandise.

The so-called “big-box” stores always give you a 45 day period in which to try the instrument. Let that be you first choice.

The student bought a particular clarinet, one that they had never played, nor heard of . The horn was bought from the internet, bought bllnd and with no preparation whatsoever.

This is certainly not the way to buy an instrument, as it was stated that cost was the biggest factor. 400 was paid for the used eb clarinet, which, for a plastic instrument is truly  too expensive.

There are many suggestions that I can make , based upon a lifetime of experience. As a rule, buying any instument online is a mistake , unless you can try the instrument for a minimal period of time. Buying blind , and for price, is also a mistake. Investigation at least into the general quality of the model, the reputation of the maker, and that all-important trial period.As I have mentioned, the big-box music stores have a very liberal trial period of 45 days. If you are not satisfied, you simply return the instrument for a full refund.

I have bought literally dozens of clarinets online , returned most, and received acomplete refund immediately, no questions asked. Yes, and kept many.

Simply , investigate the seller and the product, and the trial period, prior to making the sale. It is also important to see the instrument prior to purchase. If you do not do these things, you are simply taking a chance on throwing out a good amount of money.Further, if a person plays a make of instrument which has a good amount of integrity, and you like the instrument, don’t just go and buy something you don’t particularly like,especially , a plastic horn., which always means a lower quality and Plastic means always, less expenwsive, lower on the product list. They do not play as well, especially the smallest of them. Buy wood or hard rubber, costing a bit more but far higher in quality. Plastic has a strident response.

Hopefully , this will provide some support in your purchase. Read descriptions carefully, and remember, the guiding principal of online buying is “Caveat Emptor”. meaning buyer beware.

stay well, sherman

“C” Clarinet, a different, lovely response

  The Schubert Violin Sonatina, Opus 137, the first one in D, and the Milhaud Ouverture Suite. I played the whole thing on the C clarinet.

As fars as the C clarinet , it is far superior to the Bb clarinet. Why? Because it is basically better in tune with itself, the timbre and tuning being more matching that of the Bb clarinet. It is easier to “sing” on the instrument, and, if endurance is a problem, you can play it far longer with less fatigue. For me, I would change all of the repertoire to Clarinet in C, including chamber music. Mainly,  most classical composition was written for the C clarinet. So, while for some of you, this may sound like pure sacrilege. Please try or buy one. By the way, you can play all the music for the violin or any other c instrument. For most clarinetists who are not symphonic clarinetists (with jobs), this is a great benefit. (There are some performers who request the clarinetist in the orchestra to play the Beethoven clarinet solo on the C clarinet. Why? It is original in many caes, and it sounds better, travels better and is more in tune.)

You can make a better sound, have more endurance, be more in tune, play more music than you every realized existed. You vastly outnumber almost all other clarinetists, so get a C, a digital piano, which will fit easily in your room, your living room, is easily movable.

The  three Schubert Sonatinas for Violin, Opus 137 are gorgeous, completely playable , and they work perfectly with  piano, and , a digital will save you time, money, and tylenol.

If you wish to play any clarinet sonata, you need to transpose the part, or have it transposed digitally. You will sound better.

We used  for accompaniment, an instrument which was  in my earlier years, anathema: a (Roland) Digital Piano. I would never go near one of these. I would rather have played on or with a 7 or 9 foot Steinway, sometimes untuned, sometimes too high, or too low, in a Church where the temperature was hovering around 55-60F. There was so much difficulty, and these were CBC radio concerts, no retakes. Once, in Montreal in mid-winter we played a concert in a church, with the temperature lower than 50F. I brought a small electric heater with me. The bottom of the clarinet, warmed by the heater, was in tune. The rest  I thought, was hideous. (I hate flat!)

I approached this digital with extreme caution. As I’m sure your’re aware. these things begin with sampling and then simply using the sample as the pattern for the whole instrument. They have a few different piano sounds, originally played by a pianist on a piano, recorded, then digitized. Here is the surprise: It was perfectly in tune, right on 440, straight through the piano and my horn, (using my Korg tuner, prior to the concert).

Perhaps the best thing about the piano with sounds created electronically is, that it has no strings and is always in tune. The sound is quite acceptable for chamber music, and perhaps also outstanding is, it has volume control. (Have you not played a concert where the pianist is unbearably loud, and insists on keeping the piano lid up, (and his or her wife or  partner insists this sounds best)

Compared to acoustic pianos, digital pianos are generally far less expensive.
Most models are smaller and considerably lighter, but there are large ones as well.
They have no strings and thus do not require tuning.
Depending on the digital piano, they may include many more instrument sounds including strings, guitars, organs, and more.
They are much more likely to incorporate a MIDI implementation.
They may have more features to assist in learning and composition.
They usually include headphone output.
They often have a transposition feature.
They do not require the use of microphones, eliminating the problem of audio feedback in sound reinforcement, as well as simplifying the recording process.

Get a C. They are truly joyous to play.

Have a ball.

Best,

sherman

Permanent Reed, is it possible?

Sunday   afternoon, I played in a concert of Chamber music, which was played and received well
All of the rehearsals were played on the same synthetic reed, all of my preparation on this same artificial reed, never having moved it from my mouthpiece, for about three months.It is still on the mouthpiece.
I may play it again , perhaps remove it , wash it and the mouthpiece and then go on.Maybe I should frame it.

After all of the hype, advertisement, cost. which promise endless use, no problems whatsoever and continuous playing. perhaps it was time to try  the theory.

As a clarinetist who has spent a lifetime of fiddling with clarinet reeds, every aspect of reeds, I decided to take all of that “endless” business and put it to good use.After or before all, these reeds need no moistening prior to play. While there are some who do not believe this, to try the theory, one must accept the premise: they do not need moistening and/or other breaking in procedures.

After you make your choice, using a non-metalic ligature, fastening the reed to your moiuthpiece, you are ready to “rock and roll’ as the current parlance suggests.  And so it went in my case. And in my clarinet case. After every practice session, and rehearsal, I would simply replace my mouthpiece cap, remove the mouthpiece as is, and put in back in the case with the rest of my clarinet, Gradually, it became a part of my clarinet. (Initially, I was cautious, always practicing my usual warmup procedures, but I would just continue on and rehearse what had to be rehearsed. Getting used to the procedure is gradual, but quicker than one might think, It is so much more preferable to simply put the whole clarinet together and simply play .

I shall not go into  more than half a century of complete insanity of reed choosing, preparation, acceptance or rejection in equal amounts. Or the trials and tribulations of my wife in listening to every concert, every note and then answering the  extensive Gestapo-Type Interrogation through which I would put the poor woman after every concert, starting with “Was it in tune”, and “what about the reed”? (The fact that Linda has the finest ear and musical sensitivity I have ever experienced, happens to be true.)

After this concert I realized that I had played the entire episode on one single reed.

I suggest that all of you might try the same exercise, which might save you hundreds of dollars and avoid the embarrassment of picking,curing, assessing, shaving, cutting, trying, drying, praying hoping and avoiding.

All of these many things are most probably habitual, regardless of what you are using for a reed.  It is possible you will find, to avoid this time-consuming process of acceptance and rejection, trying and waiting , curing, and shaving, and all of the music-consuming senseless procedures we do as clarinetists.

It is possible. That reed will remain on my mouthpiece .  (My wife Linda, at each concert.)

Stay well.Play better,

sherman

Lyrique G1 (W.T. Ridenour)

Riddle: Older is not better, it is older. But one can feel as young again, given the right clarinet.

It is Monday July 18, 2011 and this is our sons 43rd birthday.
I just had a strange experience, one of surprise.
I received the new Lyrique G1 clarinet a few days ago and was  pleased and surprised. I have been playing it for several days and I have found it very familiar to play, gratifying as well.
I just set it down to get up for a few minutes to answer a phone call. It was difficult for me to get up, for I have had a ruptured qadriceps for several years, which was repaired, but too late and badly on a leg that was not terribly great to begin with , because of childhood polio.

But wait, this is not a request for a donation, but a report of my elation. The reason it was difficult to arise is because that is the norm of my life now.No big deal. Lots of people have things with which to deal. I am surprised because it was a surprise to get up after playing a clarinet that made me feel young again, with all the prowess of an accomplished youngster.

I had just played some of my favorite melodies from both the orchestral and chamber music repertoire: Brahms 3rd, (slow movement), Eb Sonata (opening), Egmont, (the clarinet solo) the opening of the Hindemith Woodwind Quintet, and the clarinet solo in the second movement. These were melodies that I have not played for years, but will remain within my memory for as long as I am here.
They all have large intervals which must be played easily, or must sound easily played. Usually, there is a bump or a grind here or there, until you’ve got them under your fingers again and in the mind of your embouchure.
What was different is,that after playing them and experiencing  real fun, I had stopped to get up, and found myself again, an old man.
It was a surprise, a big surprise, because for a while I was again a youngster, awaiting my turn in an audition, one which I would win, hands down.

That is the best way I can explain this clarinet. A little more specificity: intervals, large ones, either up or down play with the surety of total control.

More specificity: the thumb rest, which is truly adjustable is easy to change and gave me the best feeling I have had for many years. Not a problem found anywhere in the right hand. It is wider than the usual and works best with my adjustment high. But no further adjustment is necessary.

Continuing, the clarion register almost plays by itself, the legato which must be present in the Ravel “Bolero”, seems built in.

All the while I had my tuner in front of me. For those of you who do this, you know that one can put any note anywhere if you feel either high or low to the tuner. You also know that one doesn’t tarry trying to tune a note, (as there is always a variance one can meet in several different ways) one gets the actual pitch. I found no variance whatever, the clarinet being  fine right out of the case. Just playing or with the tuner. It is reminiscent of my Opus Bb of my set,with a more immediate response.

It is not necessary to give one a chart with small deviances , as each of us plays differently and even hears differently. This clarinet, I would play tonight anywhere.I know the tuning is well within my capability. I play everything on the longer of the two supplied barrels.

One first notices the comfort of the key table.  The key work of the Lyrique G-1 is perfect, there seems a personal quality in the way the keys are set. The plating is a pleasure under the fingers, very substantially made.

Most importantly is the response of the clarinet, made from grenadilla wood, rather then hard rubber. The Lyrique clarinet of hard rubber has the same ease of production, however the response of this clarinet is far superior. There is a solidity of response, (or sound, one may say) that while expressing every nuance of dynamic production, does so with a security that one knows will be heard.

Staccato throughout the instrument is even , as it is in legato.

I put my mouthpiece into the nice looking brown case with the brass hardware. I have a concert of Chamber Music I am playing on the 31st of July.
I will be playing it on the Lyrique G1 clarinet, with the pleasure of a young man….one with a bad leg.

stay well,
sherman

Clifford Michael Siegenberg. Beethoven 111, with Kenny.

I have written or recounted many anecdotal stories about certain musicians whom I have met or with whom I’ve performed.

Clifford Michael Siegenberg was born in  London  to Michael and Constance Mary Siegenberg (née Young). The family soon afterwards changed their name to Curzon. (for many,he was one of the finest pianists of his generation)

For me, I remember the recording he made with Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra of the Brahms D minor Piano Concerto as being exquisite.

Unlike the recording made of the same work by Glenn Gould with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philhrmonic, there was simply little  controversy. The Gould perfomance is quite slow, slower than standard tempi and in general, not a great performance, the Szell recording with Curzon can be called definitive.

Curson, imself ,also related anecdotes. He mentioned having played the first movement of one of the 5 Beethoven concerti for piano, and momentarily forgetting whch second movement was to follow. He said, it gave him pause, a moment of panic.

Here is the true story of Kenny (M.K. Wolf,MD,  having recently recently joined the majority) my dear friend and accompanist.

Sir Clifford was to play a concert at Fontainbleau, and there was also to be a Master Class on Beethoven Opus 111.

Kenny and his wife Emily, were touring the summer piano festivals, entering as many as they could.(I think he won a prize at Bolzano, which they hung up in their smallest bathroom).

Upon hearing of the Curzon Master Class, they rushed to Fontainebleau to participate.

Kenny ran up to Mlle. Boulanger, and in his high voice, asked to play for them.
She admonished him for running up to her, which she considered some kind of affront, but allowed him to play.

Here is the scene which happened in the concert hall, “Le jeu de Paume”, (yes the former royal tennis court).
Curzon sat at one end of the piano and boulanger at the other, both shaking thier heads in a negative manner, (as if they were judging Til Eulenspiegel, one could imagine) Of course, Kenny used no music. After each comment, he would reply, “well Schnabel said to play it this way”.

Kenny had studied the work with Arthur Schnabel who had also taught Sir Clifford Curzon.

It did not go well. This was a particular “way” that Kenny had with people. He was quick and brash and had a very high voice.

While he had a rich career in both music and medicine, he was never good at promoting his musical side. People like me were there to help.I wish he were here now.

stay well.
sherman