The legendary clarinetist Stanley Drucker handed away on December 19. He was 93.
Born in Brooklyn, Drucker entered the Curtis Institute of Music on the age of 15, however left after a 12 months to just accept a place with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. He went on to grow to be principal clarinetist of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1948, Drucker joined the New York Philharmonic. His practically five-decade-long tenure as principal clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic started in 1960. Stanley Drucker’s 62 years within the Philharmonic, including as much as greater than 10,200 concert events, earned him a Guinness World Document. “He’s a legend,” mentioned conductor Gustavo Dudamel in 2007. “The historical past of the orchestra is in him.”
Copland: Clarinet Concerto
Amongst Stanley Drucker’s quite a few solo appearances with the New York Philharmonic was the Younger Individuals’s Live performance, A Copland Celebration, which first aired on December 27, 1970. Conductor Leonard Bernstein provides a quick introduction to Aaron Copland’s Clarinet Concerto earlier than the work is carried out:
Corigliano: Clarinet Concerto
John Corigliano had the sound of Stanley Drucker and the New York Philharmonic in thoughts when he wrote his Clarinet Concerto in 1977. The Concerto was commissioned by the Philharmonic and was devoted to Drucker and Leonard Bernstein. The piece seems like a concerto for orchestra in addition to clarinet. In his program notes, the composer writes,
My associations as a baby – attending rehearsals and performances with my father, who was then the concertmaster of the [New York] Philharmonic – gave me the chance of attending to know most of the males within the orchestra each as artists and buddies. This sense of intimacy ruled my choice to ensure that my first work for the Philharmonic utilized your entire orchestra. I used to be conscious that, with a wind concerto, this can be a probably harmful factor to do – to resolve issues of stability most such items are discreetly scored for small ensembles – however it offered me with an enchanting problem.
My regard for the musicians of the Philharmonic additionally formed their function within the accompaniment to this Concerto. Within the concerto, every participant has an opportunity to show solo virtuosity; usually the work approaches being a concerto for orchestra in its calls for. The soloist, Stanley Drucker, was first clarinetist of the Philharmonic in my youth. Figuring out his particular presents enabled me to write down music of unprecedented issue for the solo instrument, and gave me the concept generates the primary motion; the opening cadenza.
The primary motion, Cadenzas, is magically atmospheric. It consists of two cadenzas for the solo instrument. The primary, subtitled Ignis fatuus (“Will-o’-the-wisp”), resembles a “phosphorescent flickering gentle” which is “virtually audibly invisible.” (Corigliano) The second cadenza, Corona solis (“the crown of the solar”), consists of blazing interjections between the solo clarinet and the orchestra.
Corigliano wrote the second motion, Elegy, in reminiscence of his father. At moments, ethereal strands of sound emerge within the violins. There’s a tender duet between the solo violin and clarinet.
The ultimate motion, Antiphonal Toccata, is a spacial tour-de-force. Distant, eerie tone clusters from 5 offstage horns add to a sonic dialogue. Corigliano quotes Giovanni Gabrieli’s 1597 Sonata Pian’ e Fort, a landmark work within the growth of orchestration. The Concerto concludes with a chorale and a last, exuberant flourish.
Recordings
- Copland: Clarinet Concerto, Stanley Drucker, Leonard Bernstein, New York Philharmonic (1989 live performance recording) Amazon
- Corigliano: Clarinet Concerto, Stanley Drucker, Zubin Mehta, New York Philharmonic Amazon
Featured Picture: {photograph} by Stephanie Berger
