Zara Lawler's Practice Notebook

We normally only post clarinet-related things here on Clarinet Cache, but in the case of Zara Lawler's Practice Notebook, we will overlook the fact that she is a flutist! Lawler's blog about practicing is of interest to any musician who practices, whether it's an hour here and there or six hours a day. The blog covers efficient practicing, physical warm-ups, memorization, and more, with lots of specific ideas and techniques to try. Lawler's writing is clear, concise, and often funny, as in her latest post about guerrilla practicing in airports. Check out the Practice Notebook - it may help you to take a fresh look at your old practice routine.

Clarinet at the Grammys: Paquito D'Rivera and Derek Bermel

The 52nd annual Grammy Awards are tomorrow, and we thought we'd take a look at the clarinet-related nominations.

Clarinetist and composer Paquito D'Rivera has been nominated in two categories: "Best Classical Crossover Album" for his new album JaZZ-ClaZZ, and "Best Instrumental Composition" for the track "Borat in Syracuse" on the same album. JaZZ-ClaZZ is the result of a collaboration between D'Rivera and Sabine Meyer's Trio di Clarone. Listeners familiar with D'Rivera's composition Aires Tropicales for woodwind quintet will recognize several of the movements (including "Dizzyness" and "Vals Venezolano") arranged here for clarinets.

The January 27, 2010 edition of PRI's "The World" included a nice feature on Paquito D'Rivera including an interview and audio clips from the album. Listen to streaming audio or download the podcast here.

Syracuse University has posted an article about the commissioning and premiere of "Borat in Syracuse" by D'Rivera and SU’s Morton B. Schiff Ensemble.

Another Grammy nomination goes to Gil Rose, Derek Bermel and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project in the category "Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (With Orchestra)" for Bermel's performance of his own Voices, for Solo Clarinet and Orchestra.

Here's the full list of nominees from the Grammy Awards website. Best of luck to our clarinet friends tomorrow!

ClarinetFest 2009 Videos

If you were like us and didn't make it to ClarinetFest 2009 in Porto, Portugal this past summer, you are probably pretty curious as to what you missed out on. Fortunately, a few individuals and one of the participating bands (ARMAB-Apresentacao da Banda e da Vila da Branca) have uploaded several videos on YouTube, giving us a peek into some of the performances held at the eye-catching modern concert hall, Casa da Música. For a full listing of programs, events, and to get a glimpse of the concert venue, check out the official ClarinetFest 2009 site here. Some of the featured soloists with the ARMAB band include:

Bass clarinetist Sauro Berti performing three movements of Jan Hadermann's "Spotlights on Bass Clarinet."

Steve Cohen performing "Brooklyn Bridge" by Michael Daugherty.

The band arrangement of Amilcare Ponchielli's crowd-pleasing "Il Convegno" features soloists Horácio Ferreira and Joao Pedro Santos.

Other videos from the festival include a performance of Debussy's "Premiere Rhapsody" by the High School Competition winner, Carlos Ferreira.

Last, but not least, this next video shows a unique ensemble consisting of a singer, guitarist, and clarinet quartet. Despite the shaky filming, the video manages to capture the excitement and merriment of both performers and audience.

Benny Goodman and Red Norvo (1960)

This great clip was uploaded in 2006 and has accumulated nearly 100,000 views. It features early jazz vibraphonist Red Norvo and Benny Goodman. Details about the video from uploader WhenSwingWasKing:

"The camera catches the jumping 10-piece group Goodman led from 1959-1961 (built around the Red Norvo Quintet), but in this clip, the spotlight stays firmly on Benny and Red. "The World is Waiting For the Sunrise" was an early Goodman showcase in 1934, and was memorably re-recorded by BG with Mel Powell in 1942 (for Commodore). Benny was still playing this number brilliantly in the 1980s!"

Clarinet Videos: Best of 2009

Since this is the time for top-ten lists, we have compiled our own list of our ten favorite clarinet YouTube videos of the year. A few of the videos are from late 2008 since we didn't compile a list for last year. Some of these videos are live performances, some are recordings, and some are... well, why don't you just see for yourself!

Classical:
Bernhard Crusell - Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra in F minor, Op. 5, mvt. III, performed by Eric Hoeprich and the Kölner Akademie

This is a selection from the Kölner Akademie's recent CD release Bernhard Crusell:Klarinettenkonzerte. The recording includes Crusell's three clarinet concerti as played by Eric Hoeprich on a copy of one of Crusell's clarinets, backed by the Kölner Akademie ensemble, also using historical instruments. For listeners unaccustomed to the sound of period clarinets, the difference in tone from the modern clarinet can sometimes be jarring; here, though, everyone will enjoy the beautiful sound Hoeprich achieves on the early 19th-century clarinet. The historical instruments truly enhance the music, and the result is stunning. Read a review of the CD here.

Michael Han Kim - Stravinsky, Three Pieces for Solo Clarinet

Only 13 years old in this video, Korean prodigy Michael Han Kim emerged on the YouTube scene in 2008 with a list of other performances steadily growing. Han Kim, born in Seoul in 1996, began playing the clarinet at the tender age of 7 and has won several prizes in competitions throughout Korea and Japan. Visit his YouTube channel at "michaelhankim" to find more of his videos and detailed information about this budding clarinetist.

Humor:

Artheme Swallows his Clarinet

The text at the beginning states: "Artheme Swallows his Clarinet was produced in 1912 by France's short-lived Eclipse company. Few Eclipse films survive; when this delightful comedy was found, the print was decomposed along the edges and the end had melted away. Ten years later, another print miraculously surfaced, free of rot but very choppy. This edition is digitally reconstructed from both, almost frame by frame." Read more about this short film here.

Pop music covers:
Lady Gaga's Poker Face on Bass Clarinet

One of the most viewed clarinet videos of the year, InstrumentManiac's cover of Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" is ... well, it's something. YouTube is full of videos of young clarinetists performing their favorite pop songs, and most are, frankly, pretty painful to watch. This video, though, has something special. Maybe it's the aviator shades, maybe it's the cheesy green-screened backgrounds, or maybe it's Lady Gaga's pop charisma coming through. This player's other popular YouTube videos include covers of Rihanna's "Disturbia" and a song from the Twilight movie.

Lou Reed - Perfect Day - Accordion and Clarinet Cover

Another great cover uploaded this year is moshezuchter's clarinet and accordion version of Lou Reed's "Perfect Day." The sound isn't perfect, and the accordionist's head is cut off in the video, but it really is charming (especially if you know the original song).

Instructional:
BIRSoutheastTech - Clarinet Care and Maintenance

This video covers the basic elements of assembly, care, and maintenance of the clarinet. It is well-done with clear instructions and great photos and video examples. This video would be useful for band directors with beginner clarinets, parents with a rental or newly purchased clarinet for their child, or anyone that is attempting to learn clarinet without a teacher. The video was created by Lucas Pemberton of the Band Instrument Repair program at Minnesota State College - Southeast Technical.

How It's Made - Rico Reeds

This interesting short video from Rico shows the process of reed manufacturing.

Buffet Clarinet Factory Tour

We're not sure of the origin of this video, but it is a beautifully shot video montage of the process of manufacturing a Buffet clarinet, set to an unidentified clarinetist playing the first movement of the Mozart Concerto on basset clarinet.

Most Daring:

Playing a Clarinet Covered in Bees

Although you might remember our post last summer about Dr. Norman Gary's daring feat, we couldn't resist adding it to our list. This unique talent (or should we say fearlessness) holds us in awe and wonder as to how he manages to avoid inhaling one of the bees! This bee wrangler definitely deserves kudos for his love of bees and playing the clarinet.

Jazz:
BigBandHeaven - Artie Shaw Concerto

Here is a recording of Artie Shaw (1910-2004) playing with his orchestra set to a nice slideshow of photographs. Taken from the personal record collection of Richard Hawkey, the excellent audio quality of this video is refreshing, with the warm sound inherent to vinyl records still preserved.

Because the search capabilities of YouTube are not the greatest, we may have missed a few videos. If you know of another 2009 clarinet video that you think belongs on this list, please post it in the comments section below. Happy New Year!

Clarinetists on Twitter (Dec. 2009 column)

Have you "tweeted" lately? For those of you who haven't yet heard of Twitter, it's time to become familiar with the latest social networking craze. Users at Twitter.com post "tweets," short messages of 140 characters or less, that range from personal thoughts to links, news, and self-promotion (similar to Facebook status updates). Once you have a Twitter username, you can choose whose tweets to follow, and read all of their updates in a feed on your homepage. Beginning in 2006 as an obscure phenomenon embraced by technology geeks, Twitter has steadily gained momentum; now it seems everyone has a Twitter account, from the local weatherman to your favorite celebrity.

Some symphony orchestras are using Twitter as a new way to connect with audiences by tweeting about upcoming concerts, or using Twitter to create live program notes during concerts. Even clarinetists have found their niche on Twitter. Some choose to post about musical events and personal projects, others have a mix of personal and professional commentary, and companies use Twitter to promote new products.

We at Clarinet Cache have created an account (@ClarinetCache) and begun to follow the feeds of several clarinetists and companies that serve the clarinet community. In past blog posts we have mentioned David H. Thomas (author of The Buzzing Reed blog) and Kyle Coughlin (creator of the website Clarinet Space), who both tweet regularly about their musical endeavors. Anthony McGill writes about his profession as a chamber and orchestral musician, and Jonathan Cohler has tweeted about the ClarinetFest in Porto and other international festivals. Commercial companies such as Vandoren, Rico, and Légère post about new products, exhibiting at conferences, and even special discount offers for their Twitter followers.

We invite readers to visit to see who we're following, and give recommendations to help us expand our list. Here is who we've found on Twitter so far:

David H. Thomas (@DTclarinet)
Kyle Coughlin (@KyleCoughlin)
Anthony McGill (@mcgillab)
Jonathan Cohler (@cohler)
Rico (@RicoReeds)
Vandoren (@VandorenUSA)
Legere (@LegereReeds)
Clarinet Jobs (@ClarinetJobs)

Kalmen Opperman and Richard Stoltzman in a Live Radio Interview

As announced on a "Klarinet List" email thread, a radio interview of Kalmen Opperman and Richard Stoltzman is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, November 25th at 10am (Eastern time) on WKCR-FM. The live streaming interview by Carl Shoonover can be accessed by the radio station's website wkcr.org or can be heard in the New York area on WKCR 89.9 FM. This interview precedes the 90th Birthday Celebration of Kalmen Opperman at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall on Tuesday, December 1st. The tribute concert to the esteemed teacher will be hosted by Stoltzman (former student of Opperman) and feature performances by Adam Ebert, Joel Rubin, Alex Bedenko, Orlando Tognozzi, Paul Neubauer, Fred Sherry, Mika Yoshida, and the Kalmen Opperman Clarinet Choir with Opperman conducting the ensemble.

iPhone clarinet apps

"Clarinet in Reach" is a new iPhone app developed by John Ferland of Music in Reach along with Anthony McGill. Its features include a fingering chart and trill fingering chart, a dictionary of musical terms, audio files of clarinet etudes, and instructional videos for clarinet. Content will continue to be added as this tool for clarinet students and players is expanded.

Visit the Music in Reach site for more information or to purchase the app (currently on sale for $1.99).

Another iPhone app, "clarinet" by musicofex, boasts the ability to actually turn your phone into a clarinet, similar to the popular Ocarina app by Smule. It includes sampled sounds from the B-flat, A, E-flat, and bass clarinets, as well as the ability to create new sounds by manipulating the wave forms. The app gives you the ability to record your performances and share them online. You can even send the output to your computer using the musicofex MIDI tool, effectively using your iPhone as a MIDI controller. Don't plan on selling your R-13 too soon though; according to the website, "almost every key on the Boehm-system (standard) clarinet is included." Almost? Oh well, we didn't use those trill keys very much anyway.

Visit the music of expression site to learn more and listen to songs others have created with the app ($1).

We'd love to hear comments from anyone who has tried these apps - let us know how they work!

Clarinet Commission Collective

The Clarinet Commission Collective is a new project founded by clarinetist Jeremy Eig that aims to "help individual clarinetists pool their resources to commission works from major composers." With an artistic advisory board including Larry Combs, Richard Hawkins, Alan R. Kay, Anthony McGill, and David Shifrin, this project is bound to result in high-quality new works for clarinet. The first commission, from composer Paul Schoenfield, is already in the works.

There are many ways to participate in this project: a $50 donation will get your name printed in the score, and $250 earns you the right to present your local premiere of the piece. The Clarinet Commission Collective (or Clarinet Co Co) encourages group donations, so this could be a great project for a university clarinet studio. Kudos to Jeremy Eig for this great idea, and we look forward to seeing the results of this project!

Kari Kriikku

Check out this blog posting by Alex Ross (a music critic for The New Yorker) which features clarinetist Kari Kriikku's playing on two sample tracks filled with a cacophony of city-like noises from the 1985 composition Kraft by Magnus Lindberg. Kriikku is a native of Finland and has studied with Alan Hacker, Leon Russianoff, and Charles Neidich. A supporter of contemporary music, Kriikku is a member of the Avanti! Chamber Orchestra and the Toimii ensemble (founded by Lindberg in 1980). If you are interested in hearing more of his playing, take a look at this YouTube video of his performance of klezmer, Arabic, and Portugese medleys with the Tapiola Sinfonietta.