dep@allegra.UUCP (Dewayne Perry) (11/08/85)
<chomp, chomp> A while back, someone asked about first rate clarinetists. More recently someone suggested Richard Stolzman as being in that class. At the time, I thought that I had some reservations about that, but not being a clarinetist (rather a vocal freak with a relatively good understanding about brass instruments), I refrained (an immense act of will -:). Now I am armed with hard opinions. Last night I met a fellow on the flight back from Chicago who is a struggling, professional clarinetist who was in Chicago for the day for lessons - he lives in Montreal and goes once a month to Chicago (via PeoplExpress) for two or more hours of lessons from former first chairs from Cleveland and Chicago Orchestras at $125 an hour. I think that you could consider him a serious clarinet player. Anyway, his response about Stolzman was that RS had some sort of star quality (ie, has audience appeal) but not of the first order in terms of quality playing. His suggestions for the top of the lists of clarinet players are as follows (no special order): Larry Coombs, first chair at Chicago; Harold Wright, first chair at Boston; and Carl Leister, Berlin (who records on DGG). 50 miles from home and a straight face and you are an expert in anything. Dewayne