A History and Analysis of the Philadelphia School of Clarinet Playing
Shannon Lannigan Thompson, 1998
Abstract
The intention of this treatise is to document the origin and development of a dominant sound and style of clarinet playing in the United States. This school of clarinet playing, which can be traced to the influx of French woodwind players into this country in the early twentieth century, was generated through the collaboration of conductor Leopold Stokowski with members of the Philadelphia Orchestra woodwind section. The Philadelphia School of Clarinet Playing was disseminated throughout the country to become the most influential and successful school of clarinet playing in the United States. It is the closest Americans have to a national tradition of classical clarinet playing.
This treatise presents a historical account and analysis of the Philadelphia School of Clarinet Playing. It defines the school and examines its origins with Leopold Stokowski, Daniel Bonade, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. It traces the school’s growth through the teaching of Bonade and Marcel Tabuteau at the Curtis Institute, its further refinements and interpretations by Bonade’s students and others, and its influences on clarinetists and clarinet equipment manufacturing worldwide.
This treatise investigates a new concept of clarinet sound originating as a result of the unique conditions of the Philadelphia Orchestra under Stokowski. This sound concept, which is a hybrid of French and German concepts of clarinet sound, attempts to emulate the German clarinet sound in depth and breadth, while maintaining aspects of the French clarinet sound in flexibility and tonal center. Sound production techniques of Philadelphia School clarinetists are examined, including embouchure, air support, and voicing. Equipment design modifications by these players to clarinets, mouthpieces, reeds, and ligatures are also explored. Other aspects of clarinet playing are investigated, including the Philadelphia School’s methods of articulation and finger technique, and general approach to music, musical phrasing, and orchestral playing.
The history and development of clarinet playing by clarinetists of the Philadelphia School parallels that of other woodwind players and instrumentalists. The Philadelphia School of Clarinet Playing is part of a larger school of orchestral playing which evolved in the United States through the influences of Stokowski, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Curtis Institute.
Basic Preparation for Oboe Auditions by Using Selected Oboe Excerpts
Shen Wang, 2009
Abstract
This essay describes basic preparation techniques for oboe auditions through examples demonstrated in selected oboe excerpts. The application of these methods in the selected oboe excerpts will help to reinforce the objective of each outlined preparation technique. Three aspects regarding preparation techniques are discussed. Technical Preparation describes different practice methods intended to increase technical performance consistency for an audition. Performance Internalization details the mental approach to accurately prepare a solo audition before an audition committee. Critical Factors Involving Reed Preparation describes effective processes in reed preparation through the analysis of reed-making sources. Basic Preparation for Oboe Auditions by Using Selected Oboe Excerpts is intended as an audition preparation source for amateur oboists. This essay can additionally serve as a basic and fundamental reference for higher level performers who are preparing to play auditions.
A Manual for the Oboe Gouging Machine: Initial Setup, Maintenance and General Usage, Specifically for the Harvard Double Reed Gouging Machine
Karen Kistler, 2010
Abstract
A high quality reed is of the utmost importance in producing a good tone on the oboe. The gouging machine, which thins and contours a piece of cane as the first step in the manufacturing of a reed, has a great effect in the overall outcome of the reed. An imprecise result from the gouging process will result in poor quality reeds. On the other hand, a great or even good gouge will help an oboist create a high quality reed that does the many things that a player demands. While many years ago very few oboists gouged their own cane, today most university and conservatory students, undergraduate and especially graduate, are expected to know how to gouge cane in the process of making their own reeds.
The Barret Oboe Method, first published in 1900, has a crude drawing of a gouging machine and some brief instructions on how to use it and how to adjust the overall thickness of the cane. Prior to these early machines cane was gouged by hand with chisels and sandpaper. Without having a consistent (machine given) result the oboist fights too many variables. The basic idea of the gouger has not changed over the years (1840s-2010,) but obviously the machining has improved with the aid of computer design. Today we have machines that are designed and manufactured well, and an oboist can adjust a machine with confidence. There are no manuals that fully explain how to calibrate, adjust, or maintain a machine, and this treatise exists to address that void.
Very few people know how to properly set-up a gouger: putting in the blade, knowing what to look for in a result, and knowing how to tell whether or not the finished product is a good gouge or not. There are very few places to learn these skills. This author apprenticed with John Ferrillo, Principal Oboist of the Boston Symphony, and designer of the Harvard Double Reed (HDR) gouging machine. When an oboist needs a blade sharpened and re-installed, or to have a new blade put in, one must mail the fragile machine to one of the few (often extremely busy) people who know how to do the work, and wait weeks, sometimes months, to receive the machine back in working order. The need to expand the knowledge of how to use, set-up and maintain one’s own gouging machine has reached the point where this information must get out to many more oboists than currently have access to the information.
This paper intends to create a progressive manual that guides a trained oboist through the steps of setting up one’s own machine, and maintaining that gouge. The manual will be geared specifically toward the HDR machine, but the information will be relevant to any double radius gouger.1 The manual will identify the various parts and screws on the machine, aided by photographs, and will include a section on how to gouge, and more importantly how to prepare cane for the HDR gouger. The main focus, however, will be on how to set up a gouging machine. A maintenance and troubleshooting section will conclude the manual.
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1 Double radius gouger, see page 11.
Ernest Bloch’s Poems of the Sea, Nirvana, and Five Sketches in Sepia – A Stylistic and Pedagogical Study
Wan-Ju Ho, 2014
Abstract
Ernest Bloch (1880-1959) was an important Jewish composer. He developed his individual style by employing several diverse musical styles. His music shows characteristics of his Jewish heritage, Western musical tradition, and French impressionism. Bloch is known for his chamber music, string works, and opera. In addition to these works, he composed several solo piano works which are seldom performed today. It is worthwhile to explore his piano music which contains various musical styles that were influenced by his different life experiences.
Bloch’s piano works, Poems of the Sea, Nirvana, and Five Sketches in Sepia were all written in the 1920s when he lived in Cleveland. This paper contains a discussion of the stylistic features of these three works. They show the influences of his Jewish heritage and French impressionistic traits. Bloch did not quote Jewish melodies directly, but he was influenced by the modal characteristics of the music particularly the Phrygian mode. There is also much use of parallel chords, an impressionistic trait, and the use of quartal and quintal harmonies and the octatonic and whole-tone scale.
From the pedagogical point of view, these works are good teaching pieces for intermediate to advanced level students. I will discuss the pianistic problems and how to solve them based on the teachings of Tobias Matthay. I will also discuss musical interpretation based on Matthay’s ideas, and musical progression based on Marcel Tabuteau’s ideas as explained in David McGill’s book, Sound in Motion.
The Interpretation of Orchestral Ballet Excerpts for Clarinet
Mara Plotkin, 2015
Abstract
This research examines the current performance practice of ballet excerpts for clarinet from five ballets: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, and Sergei Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, and Cinderella. Research has been published on the performance practice of symphonic orchestra and opera repertoire for clarinet, however, there is a paucity of research that examines the current performance practice techniques of orchestral ballet clarinet excerpts. The methodology of this research consisted of identifying major orchestral ballet clarinet excerpts in the canon and interviewing five experienced principal clarinetists in North American ballet orchestras. The interviewees were Max Christie from National Ballet of Canada Orchestra, Steve Hartman from New York City Ballet Orchestra, Jon Manasse from American Ballet Theatre Orchestra, Sheryl Renk from San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, and William Wrzesien from Boston Ballet Orchestra. They discussed clarinet solos from the selected ballet excerpts regarding phrasing, technique, dynamics, fingerings, pitch, tempo, and ensemble playing in a ballet orchestra. An analysis of the interpretation of musical excerpts by the interviewees reveals some common themes. They addressed phrasing, dynamics, intonation, fingerings, and instrument choice (A or B-flat clarinet). Phrasing was the most prominent musical feature discussed, although there was variation in their opinions about phrasing. Some clarinetists had specific suggestions for the phrasing of each individual passage; others generally preferred a long or short phrase. All interviewees commented on fingerings for notes in the altissimo register, particularly for technically difficult passages that reached into the altissimo registers in the Prokofiev ballets. They also indicated that intonation is influenced by the dynamic played, the register of the clarinet, and the orchestration. Many of the interviewees suggest that certain passages work better for the fingers or timbre if transposed to the A clarinet or vice-versa.
John de Lancie’s Influence on the Modern Oboe Repertoire
Teodora Pejašinović Proud, 2019
Abstract
This project is a performance of three concertos for oboe by Richard Strauss, Jean Françaix, and Benjamin Lees. The recital took place on March 2, 2019, and the accompanying manuscript serves as program notes for the performance.
John de Lancie was known for his tenure with both the Curtis Institute of Music, where he served as the Professor of Oboe from 1953 to 1985, and the Philadelphia Orchestra, where he was principal oboe from 1954 to 1977. He is responsible for all three of the concertos mentioned above; he commissioned the works by Françaix and Lees, and his chance meeting with Strauss led the composer to write his Oboe Concerto. His career and connection to these works will be discussed.
The work by Lees becomes the focus of this research; it is a forgotten work that has only been performed a handful of times. This document will focus largely on the history of Lees’s Concerto, its premiere, and other musical information about the piece.