Resources

Links

• Band-Adults-Seattle Wind Symphony
• Band-Adults-Washington Wind Symphony : Performs at Redmond High School
• Band-Youth-Eastside Youth Concert Band : A concert band for advanced players, which rehearses in Issaquah.
• Brahms-Sonata 1 - mvt. 1 & 2 - Karl Leister : Brahms Sonata No. 1 in F minor for clarinet and piano, Op. 120 No. 1 - movement I & II
• Brahms-Sonata 1 - mvt. 3 & 4 - Karl Leister : Movements III & IV. The beginning of mvt. 4, at 4:11, is often an audition piece for the All-State Honor Band.
• Brahms-Sonata 2 - Harold Wright, clarinet : The famous clarinetist, Harold Wright, playing one of my favorites.
• Clarinet Info-famous clarinetists - brief biographies and pictures : Get to know famous clarinetists and enjoy listening to them.
• Clarinetissimo : A great 2-day clarinet festival at Seattle Pacific University every October. Performances, masterclasses, sales, classes. Can you spot both John and Julie Werth on the home page?
• Debussy-The Maid with the Flaxen Hair, Richard Stoltzman, clarinet : Richard Stoltzman is an American clarinetist who plays classical, new age and other styles of music. I've enjoyed many of his recordings and have attended several of his live recitals. He is a little controversial because of his vibrato, which is traditionally not used in classical clarinet playing.
• Double Tonguing : Learn how to double tongue for fast music! YaoGuang Zhai, from the Baltimore Symphony, shows you how to get started.
• Duvernoy Conc.# 3, Mvt 1, 2 - Peng-Yu Chen, clarinetist : A young clarinetist playing Charles Duvernoy's Concerto No. 3, Movements 1 and 2 (Romance and Polonaise).
• Games - Flashcards-note names, key signature, triads,... : Get fast at naming notes. Middle school and high school students - try key signatures, triads and intervals.
• Kinan Azmeh, Syrian clarinetist, "After Bela" : Kinan Azmeh, clarinetist (Syrian) - http://kinanazmeh.com/.
• Klezmer clarinet-Bottle Dance from "The Fiddler on the Roof" : Famous clarinet solo in the musical/movie, Fiddler on the Roof. See Mrs. Werth for a copy of the clarinet part.
• Klezmer style clarinet-Barcelona Gipsy Balkan Orch. : Clarinet and bass clarinet. Klezmer is a Jewish style often used at weddings and social events.
• Mozart Clar. Concerto - Wonkak Kim, basset clarinet : University of Oregon's clarinet professor. My student, Tyler Roberts, took lessons with him while getting his music degree. Prof. Kim is playing on an extended clarinet, called the basset clarinet, for which Mozart wrote the concerto. Now the music has been changed, so it can be played on the modern clarinet that doesn't go as low.
• Mozart Clarinet Concerto - David Shifrin, basset clarinet : Mvt. 1. David Shifrin performs the Mozart Concerto on basset clarinet, the instrument for which the concerto was originally written. Basset clarinet is an extended A clarinet which goes down to low C. Personal note - At a University of Oregon Shifrin master class, I played one of the Paris Conservatory Solo de Concours as the finale of the class. I also designed the class brochure, using the same photo as this CD.
• Mozart Clarinet Concerto - Karl Leister, clarinet-mvt 1 : Karl Leister, principal clarinet of the Berlin Philharmonic, was considered the best clarinetist in the world during his life. In this recording, he is playing with the Berlin Philharmonic.
• Mozart Clarinet Concerto - Karl Leister, clarinet-mvt II : Berlin Philharmonic, Herbert von Karajan, conductor. Leister, principal clarinet of the Berlin Philharmonic, was considered the best clarinetist in the world during his life. The Berlin Philharmonic and von Karajan were also said to be the best in the world.
• Mozart Clarinet Concerto - Karl Leister, clarinet-mvt III : with the Berlin Philharmonic, Herbert von Karajan, conductor.
• Octocontralto Clarinet : You have to listen to this!
• Orchestra-Youth-Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestras : Clarinets are included in four different orchestras, at different levels.
• Orchestra-Youth-Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestras : Clarinets are included in four different orchestras, at different levels.
• Pierne - Canzonetta : Deborah Bish performing. From our local classical radio, King FM 98.1.
• Poulenc-Clarinet Sonata - Karl Leister, clarinetist : Exquisite recording .Listen to the famous clarinetist, Karl Leister, play this contemporary, fun but challenging, piece. He is playing with the famous pianist and conductor, James Levine.
• Rabaud-Solo de Concours, Han Kim, age 11, clarinetist : Han Kim's debut recital at age 11. There are many pieces called Solo de Concours, which means "solo of the contest." The Paris Conservatory has sponsored these contests for many years.
• Rimsky-Korsakov's Flight of the Bumblebee, Julian Bliss, clarinetist : Julian Bliss was a child prodigy (and is still a young man), who was born in the U.K. He studied clarinet at the University of Indiana, and also with the great Sabine Meyer in Germany. Look up Julian's performance at age 5 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vY57deAbYsE. His current website is http://www.julianbliss.com/. Personal note - The official AKC name of our dog Nick is Flight of the Bumblebee. We call him Nick because the composer of that solo is Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.
• Rossini-Intro, Theme & Variations-excerpts-Ann Lepage (teenager?), clar. : Ann Lepage plays excerpts of Rossini's extremely challenging "Introduction, Theme and Variations. " I would guess that Ann is a teenager - very impressive!
• Saint Saens Clarinet Sonata, movement 1, Alexey Gorokholinsky, clarinet : Marina Gorokholinsky - piano. The beginning is often an audition piece for the High School All-State Honor Band.
• Saint Saens Clarinet Sonata, movement 2, Alexander Vasilyev clarinetist : This beginning of this movement is often used as part of the high school All-State Band audition.
• Schumann Fantasy Pieces-Han Kim, 12 years old
• Sharon Cam, clarinetist - concert videos : Performance videos by clarinetist, Sharon Kam. She is a Mozart expert - listen to her play the Mozart Clarinet Quintet (clarinet plus string quartet). Notice how similar it is to the slow movement of the Mozart Clarinet Concerto.
• Spohr-Concerto No. 1, Luis Arturo Cornejo Pérez, clarinet : A flashy concerto that is great for showing off...and for showing that you can play altissimo C (which sits on top of the 5th ledger line above the music staff)! Style is similar to Weber's, but is a little more difficult.
• Stamitz, Carl - Clarinet Concerto No. 3 - Sabine Meyer : Sabine Meyer adds an unusual amount of improvisation to Stamitz's concerto. Musicians did this in the Baroque and Classical eras, but modern listeners are not used to it.
• Washington Music Educators Association (WMEA)-All-State Bands
• Weber-Concertino, Sean Osborn, Seattle clarinetist : This piece is a must for all upper high school clarinetists. Sean Osborn, formerly of the Metropolitan Opera (the Met), is now a free-lance Seattle clarinetist. Free-lance players take individual jobs, playing for various groups. Sean also sponsors the yearly Clarinetissimo convention in Seattle every October (see separate link). Sean's website: www.osbornmusic.com/.
• Weber-Concerto in F minor, No. 1, Sabine Meyer, clarinetist : Sabine Meyer had a role in the rise of women in music. Herbert von Karajan (conductor) chose her for the principal clarinet chair in the Berlin Philharmonic (following the great Karl Leister). She was the first woman ever in the wind section of this famous orchestra. Her fellow orchestra members were not happy about von Karajan choosing a woman. She is now a solo artist, who tours and records solos and chamber music. Her sound is a good example of the German dark clarinet tone that many Americans try to copy. Germans actually play a different type of clarinet, which you can see in her photos.
• Weber-Grand Duo Concertant-mvt 1-David Shifrin, clarinetist : David Shifrin taught clarinet at USC and now at Yale. He has produced many professional recordings.
• Weber-Grand Duo Concertant-mvt 2 - Nicolai Pfeffer, clarinet : Movement II. Andante con moto. Felix Wahl, piano. I believe he is playing on a German clarinet.
• Western Invitational Band Clinic - Honor Bands : Click on "Honor Bands" at the top. WIBC sponsors four high school honor bands every fall.

Files

• Embouchure for clarinet playing, incl. photo
  Good clarinet embouchure
• Orchestral Excerpts used in auditions
  A list of orchestral excerpts that major symphony orchestras ask clarinetists to play in their auditions. The list is divided into: 1. always requested, 2. frequently requested, 3. sometimes requested, 4. Eb clarinet, and 5. bass clarinet.
• HIGH SCHOOL HONOR BAND INFORMATION.docx
• How to Learn Difficult Music
  Find out how to practice those tricky parts in your music.
• Corrections to Clarinet Student, Level Two (Inter)
• Parents - Encouraging young children in music
  Especially pertinent to young children