Richard Stoltzman - Defying Categorization

University of Iowa
Iowa Research Online

Theses and Dissertations
2011
Richard stoltzman: defying categorization

Amy Alizabeth Turnbull
University of Iowa
Copyright 2011 Amy Turnbull

This dissertation is available at Iowa Research Online: http://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/2781
Recommended Citation
Turnbull, Amy Alizabeth. "Richard stoltzman: defying categorization." DMA (Doctor of Musical Arts) thesis, University of Iowa,
2011.
http://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/2781.
Follow this and additional works at: http://ir.uiowa.edu/etd

Part of the Music Commons
RICHARD STOLTZMAN: DEFYING CATEGORIZATION
by
An essay submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the

Doctor of Musical Arts degree in the Graduate College of The University of Iowa
December 2011
Essay Supervisor: Professor Maurita Murphy Mead
Graduate College
The University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa
CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL
__________________________
D.M.A. ESSAY
____________
This is to certify that the D.M.A. essay of
has been approved by the Examining Committee for the essay requirement for the
Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the December 2011 graduation.
Essay Committee: ____________________________________________

Maurita Murphy Mead, Essay Supervisor
____________________________________________
Benjamin Coelho
____________________________________________
Andrew Parker
____________________________________________
John Manning
____________________________________________
John Solow
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thank you to my advisor and mentor Dr. Maurita Murphy Mead for your
guidance throughout my years as a doctoral student. I appreciate all that you have done
to make my dream a reality.
To my husband Kyle, thank you for your support and unwavering confidence in
me. I could not have completed my doctoral degree without you.
Thank you to the many family members and friends that have helped me during
my dissertation. To my mother Gloria Arnold, my mother-in-law Anita Turnbull, and my
friend Karen Lorenzen, thank you for babysitting my son Cooper during the final stages
of this paper. To my friend Jessica Roll, thank you for cooking meals for me. To my
father James H. Arnold, thank you for believing in me.
I would also like to say thank you to the people in my life that have been through
a doctoral program before that were able to give me encouragement when I needed it the
most. Thank you Dr. Beth Turnbull, Dr. Rex Dyer, and Dr. Gary Nordick. Your insight
of the doctoral process was very helpful.
ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES.............................................................................................................. v
LIST OF EXAMPLES....................................................................................................... vi
INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................. 1
PART A
BIOGRAPHY.................................................................................................... 2
CHAPTER
I
PERSONAL LIFE......................................................................................... 3
Family......................................................................................................... 3
Musical Influences...................................................................................... 4
II
EDUCATION................................................................................................ 7
Ohio State University.................................................................................. 7
Yale University............................................................................................ 8
Teachers College of Columbia University............................................... 10
Marlboro Music Festival........................................................................... 10
III
CAREER..................................................................................................... 13
Performing................................................................................................ 13
Tashi.............................................................................................. 16
Recordings................................................................................................ 18
Published Song Books.............................................................................. 19
Teaching.................................................................................................... 20
Awards...................................................................................................... 21
Expansion of the Clarinet Repertoire........................................................ 22
PART B
PERSONAL APPROACH.............................................................................. 24
CHAPTER
IV
SOUND........................................................................................................ 25
Embouchure.............................................................................................. 25
Tone........................................................................................................... 26
Vibrato....................................................................................................... 28
iii
TECHNIQUE............................................................................................... 30
Technical Facility...................................................................................... 30
Tonguing................................................................................................... 31
VI
MUSICALITY............................................................................................. 33
Articulations.............................................................................................. 35
Dynamics.................................................................................................. 37
Tempo....................................................................................................... 39
Rubato....................................................................................................... 41
VII
REPERTOIRE............................................................................................. 49
VIII PERFORMING........................................................................................... 52
APPENDIX A
CHRONOLOGY................................................................................... 57
APPENDIX B
DISCOGRAPHY.................................................................................. 58
APPENDIX C
TASHI DISCOGRAPHY...................................................................... 65
BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................................................................. 67
iv
LIST OF TABLES
Table
1.
Durations of Saint-Sans Sonata, Mvt. I................................................... 40
2.
Durations of Poulenc Sonata, Mvt. II........................................................ 41
LIST OF EXAMPLES
Example
1.
Mozart, Concerto, K. 622, Mvt. II, mm. 17-24, Stoltzman....................... 36
2.
Weber, Concertino, mm. 229-238, Stoltzman........................................... 38
3.
Weber, Concertino, mm. 229-238, Meyer................................................. 39
4.
Weber, Concertino, mm. 229-238, Shifrin................................................ 39
5.
Mozart, Concerto, K. 622, Mvt. III, mm. 301-322, Stoltzman................. 43
6.
7.
Weber, Concertino, mm. 211-238, Stoltzman........................................... 45
8.
9.
Mozart, Concerto, K. 622, Mvt. II, mm. 83-98, Brymer........................... 47
10.
Mozart, Concerto, K. 622, Mvt. II, mm. 83-98, Leister............................ 47
11.
Mozart, Concerto, K. 622, Mvt. II, mm. 83-98, Shifrin............................ 48
12.
Mozart, Concerto, K. 622, Mvt. II, mm. 83-98, Marcellus....................... 48
vi
1
INTRODUCTION
Richard Stoltzman has been a creative force in the music profession for decades
and has achieved a solo concertizing career which is a rarity among clarinetists. His tours
have included numerous performances with orchestras, chamber ensembles, and jazz
groups around the world. He was the first clarinetist to give solo recitals at Carnegie Hall
and the Hollywood Bowl. In addition to his live performances, he has recorded more
than 50 solo CDstwo of which received Grammy Awards. Stoltzman's repertoire is
quite diverse and includes standard clarinet literature, new works for clarinet, jazz, pop,
and transcriptions.
Despite Stoltzmans successful career, some professional clarinetists have taken a
more negative stance on his clarinet playing which creates a dichotomy. This document
seeks to understand why. Through a study of Stoltzmans personal approach it is possible
that the critiques of others actually highlight the specific ways that Stoltzman
distinguishes himself from other clarinet players and it is this dissimilarity that provides
insight into the success of his career.
Richard Stoltzman defies categorization with variety and spontaneity through the
way he manipulates his sound, executes articulations, interprets music, chooses
repertoire, and presents performances. It is his exaggerated manner of playing that
creates interest and excitement for the audience. In short, confining him to a category
would be counterintuitive to the essence of Richard Stoltzman.
PART A
BIOGRAPHY
CHAPTER I
PERSONAL LIFE
I remember the first time I played a solo in public. It was at a P.T.A. evening,
when I was in the fifth grade. I played Silver Threads Among the Gold, and
everybody liked it. . . . If everyone had said, Get that clarinet out of here, you
stink, I probably would not be a clarinet player today. I might have become a
dentist.
Stoltzman, New York Times1
Family
Richard Leslie Stoltzman was born on July 12, 1942 in Omaha, Nebraska. He is
the son of Leslie Harvey Stoltzman and Dorothy Marilyn Spohn. His father worked for
the Western Pacific Railroad. The Stoltzman family moved to San Francisco, California
soon after Richard was born and then to Cincinnati, Ohio in 1956.2
Richard married his second wife3 Lucy Jean Chapman (violinist) on July 6, 1976.4
They have two children: Peter John5 who was born during the summer of 19776 and
1 Allan
Kozinn, How to Win Prominence Playing the Clarinet (Interview), New York Times, 5 March
1978, D15.
2
Richard Stoltzman, in Current Biography Yearbook (1986), 552; Pamela Weston, Richard Stoltzman,
Clarinet Virtuosi of Today, (Baldock: Egon, 1989), 292.
3
Stoltzmans first wife was Yoko Matsuda, violinist.
Current Biography Yearbook, 554.
Peter is a jazz pianist and composer. He has a bachelors degree in jazz performance from Berklee
College, and a masters degree in jazz composition from New England Conservatory of Music. He is
currently working on his doctorate in Austin, Texas for a Ph.D. in Music and Human Learning. Frank
Salomon Associates (website), accessed 7 January 2010, http://www.franksalomon.com/
Artist.asp?ArtistID=17&File_Name=605.
6
Kozinn, D15; Weston, 293.
4
Margaret Anne (Meg, Meggie) who was born on March 21, 1983.7 Stoltzman and his
wife currently reside in Winchester, Massachusetts.
Musical Influences
Richard Stoltzmans father Leslie was an amateur saxophone8 player and a big
band enthusiast who would prove to be the first lasting musical impression on his son
Richard. Leslie played in a dance band during his spare time.9
Richard Stoltzman was first introduced to the clarinet in an unusual way. It turns
out that his curiosity as a child led him to find a set of clarinets under his parents bed.10
In a 1978 interview with Allan Kozinn of the New York Times, Stoltzman recalled:
I was seven years old, and I found these wonderful cylindrical objects in a nice
leather case. I enjoyed playing with them, rolling them around on the floor, and I
vaguely remember dangling them from the second-story window of our house.
That caused quite a stir, because they turned out to be my fathers clarinets. But
instead of punishing me, he decided that I had an interest in the instrument and
rented an indestructible metal clarinet for me to start on.11
Robert W. Stock, Pied Piper of the Clarinet, New York Times, 31 July 1983, 28; Weston, 293.
Described as tenor saxophone in Richard Stoltzman, Richard Stoltzman, interview by Tom Schnabel
(1987), Stolen Moments: Conversations with Contemporary Musicians (Los Angeles; Acrobat Books,
1988): 182; Annalyn Swan, A Young Virtuoso Goes Solo, Time, 14 August 1978, accessed 5 January
2010, http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,946976,00.html; Clarence Petersen, A Clarinetists
Unorthodox Trip to Solo Stardom, Chicago Tribune, 5 June 1986, D1. Described as alto saxophone in
Stock, SM27; Herbert Kupferberg, Richard Stoltzmans Path to Distinction, International Musician,
November 1992, 3.
9
10
Weston, 290.
11
Kozinn, D15.
5
Shortly thereafter, Stoltzman began studying the clarinet with a local musician in
San Francisco, California named Howard Thompson.12 He soon began playing clarinet
every week with his church choir 13 and improvising on hymns regularly with his father at
church (Stewart Memorial United Presbyterian Church). 14 At this early age, Stoltzmans
father directed him to listen to Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and the big bands of the
day. 15
During high school, Stoltzman lived in Cincinnati, Ohio. 16 During this time,
Stoltzmans clarinet teachers were Jimmy Wilbur (jazz and classical) and William R.
Gasbarro.17 Stoltzman is quoted in a 1978 article by Annalyn Swan in Time Magazine as
saying that he played with the dance band for money and with jazz groups for fun.18
Stoltzman doesnt consider himself to be influenced by a select few musicians. In
a 1981 interview in The Clarinet with Ann McCutchan, McCutchan asked Stoltzman
which players he admired most and Stoltzman replied:
Martha Argerich . . . Bill Evans . . . Gary Burton . . . Chick Corea, Steve Swallow,
Pat Methaney [Metheny] . . . I get inspired by phrases that come out every once in
awhile from different players. Sometimes I go to an orchestra concert and hear a
solo, and think, Thats just rightthats the way I would want to do it. I
havent got favorite artists who always seem fantastic to me.19
12
Richard Stoltzman, An Interview with Richard Stoltzman, interview by Ann McCutchen (18
November 1981), The Clarinet (June 1982): 14; Weston, 292; Fred Bouchard, Richard Stoltzman: Clarinet
Crossover, Downbeat, October 1986, 21.
13
14
Raymond Ericson, Richard Stoltzman; Virtuoso Clarinetist, New York Times, 11 Jan 1980, C11.
15
Stoltzman, interview by Schnabel, 182.
16
Stock, SM27.
17
Weston, 292.
18
Swan.
19
Stoltzman, interview by McCutchan, 14.
Tom Schnabel asked the same question in a 1987 interview published in the book Stolen
Moments: Conversations with Contemporary Musicians, here Stoltzman answered:
I love the sound and the compositional aesthetic of Wayne Shorter. I like the
piano playing of Martha Argerich, and of course Keith Jarrett and Chick Corea.
There are lots of younger players coming up too that I find very exciting. Its a
full world, luckily, and some people that weve maybe never heard of can inspire
us just as much as the superstar.20
Both of these quotes show Stoltzmans willingness to be open to a new inspiration at any
moment and his effort to take any inspiring musical phrase and translate it to his clarinet.
20
7
CHAPTER II
EDUCATION
Someone gave me a ticket to a concert by the Juilliard Quartet. They played the
Lyric Suite of Alban Berg, and I was so knocked out. I didnt know there was
music like that, and I didnt know music could be played with such intensity and
precision and emotion. Thats when I realized that it wasnt enough to play jazz
or just enjoy music. You had to give blood.
Stoltzman, Symphony Magazine21
Ohio State University

After Stoltzman auditioned and was rejected by both Eastman School of Music
and Juilliard he decided to audition at Ohio State University.22 He was accepted at Ohio
State University and began studies in both music and math there in 1960.23 While there,
his clarinet teachers were Donald McGinnis and Robert Titus.24
It is at Ohio State University where Stoltzman was introduced to classical music.
Hearing the Juilliard Quartet play Berg Lyric Suite was the beginning of Stoltzmans
classical thinking.25 But he didnt give up his jazz-inspired musical upbringing
completely while at Ohio State University; he would often be found playing Dixieland
jazz in a local tavern for free beers.26
21
Onstage: The Artistry of Richard Stoltzman, Symphony Magazine, February/March 1982, 57.
22
Ericson, C11; Petersen, D5; Weston, 292.
23
Petersen, D5.
24
Weston, 292; Stoltzman, interview by McCutchan, 14.
25
Onstage: The Artistry of Richard Stoltzman, Symphony Magazine, February/March 1982, 57.
26
Kozinn, D15; Stock, D27; Current Biography Yearbook, 553.
8
Stoltzman graduated from Ohio State University in 1963 with bachelors degrees
in both music and math.27 He then took a series of six lessons with the first-chair
clarinetist of the Cleveland Orchestra, Robert Marcellus.28 Marcellus helped Stoltzman
decide to pursue graduate work in music at Yale.29
Yale University
On a scholarship Stoltzman started at Yale in 1964 studying with clarinetist Keith
Wilson.30 Perhaps the greatest impact musically for Stoltzman at Yale was the string
players he met and string playing ideas that Stoltzman was exposed to.31 Not only was
Stoltzman surrounded by fellow students who were string players, but he also roomed for
two years in the home of Broadus Earle who was a violin teacher at Yale.32 The idea
string players had that all instrumental players should try to play like a voice singing33
was one that would stay with Stoltzman throughout his life. This was the beginning of
Stoltzmans crusade to expand the clarinets color 34 palette not just to sound like a
vocalist, but he also tried to emulate a flute or saxophone or anything else that he felt fit
the music he was playing.
27
Weston, 292.
28
Weston, 292.
29
Weston, 292.
30
Stock, SM27; Current Biography Yearbook, 553.
31
Swan.
32
Petersen, D5.
33
Swan.
34
Swan.
9
It was at Yale where Stoltzman says that he started to think that he was playing
music rather than clarinet music.35 This began when Stoltzman heard the Brahmss
clarinet quintet at a recital which his clarinet teacher Keith Wilson performed.36 It was at
this point that Stoltzman decided that he wanted to be a classical musician. Quoted in a
Chicago Tribune article written by Clarence Petersen from 1986, Stoltzman said he
moved from [his] first love, jazz, to [his] true love, classical music.37
Two significant fellow students that Stoltzman met at Yale were William Thomas
McKinley 38 and Bill Douglas.39 McKinley is a composer and has written many works for
Stoltzman throughout his life. Douglas is a bassoonist/pianist/composer who has played
with Stoltzman at concerts and for recordings, and has also written several works for
Stoltzman.
While at Yale Stoltzman wrote his masters dissertation on contemporary clarinet
techniques such as multiphonics, pitch bending, etc. The dissertation is entitled
Contemporary Clarinet Techniques (1967). In 1967, Stoltzman graduated with a masters
degree in music from Yale.
35
Kupferberg, 3.
36David
Blum, Teaching the Clarinet to Speak with His Voice, New York Times, 16 August 1992, accessed
31 December 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/1992/08/16/arts/classical-music-teaching-the-clarinet-tospeak-with-his-voice.html?ref=richard_stoltzman.
37
Petersen, D5. Also in Stock, SM27; and Blum.
38
Weston, 295; Bouchard, 20. McKinley is also a pianist and teacher, and he participated in jam sessions
with Stoltzman at Yale.
39
Leslie Kandell, With Clarinet in Hand, No Challenge Too Great, New York Times, 12 Mar 2000,
accessed 31 December 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2000/03/12/nyregion/music-with-clarinet-in-handno-challenge-too-great.html?ref=richard_stoltzman.
10
Teachers College of Columbia University
Stoltzman attended Teachers College of Columbia University in New York from
1967 to 1970 were he did doctoral work under his final clarinet teacher Kalmen
Opperman with whom he continued to have a teacher-student relationship until
Oppermans death in June of 2010.40 Stoltzman went to Opperman to learn how to make
reeds and left having learned a lot more. One of the first things he (Opperman) told
me, recalled Stoltzman, was that I moved my fingers like a country bumpkin and I
already had a masters degree from Yale.41 Opperman not only taught Stoltzman to
make reeds, but he changed many things about Stoltzmans playing both mechanically
(equipment and technique) and also the way Stoltzman practiced music. For Stoltzmans
equipment, Opperman modified Stoltzmans clarinets and made barrels and mouthpieces
which he still plays on today.42 Opperman also switched Stoltzman from the widely used
embouchure of top teeth on the mouthpiece with bottom lip curled over the bottom teeth,
to the double-lip embouchure where both lips are curled over the teeth. 43
Marlboro Music Festival

After being rejected twice when auditioning for the Marlboro Music Festival in
Vermont, Stoltzman was finally accepted in 1967.44 Stoltzman returned to the festival
40
Weston, 292; Stoltzman, interview by McCutchan, 14.
41
Swan.
42
Weston, 292.
43
Weston, 293; Petersen, D5.
44
11
every summer for ten years. The experiences and connections with other musicians at
Marlboro have continued through his life.
Stoltzman talked about Marlboro as an education that influenced his way of
thinking about music in his interview with McCutchan in 1981 45 and then again in the
February/March 1982 edition of Symphony Magazine that the Marlboro years were:
a priceless educationa lot of time doing nothing but trying to explore music in
every dimension, to live with it and work with people who are like-minded. That
you cant find even in a conservatory, where other things like grades or outside
jobs impinge on you.46
While at Marlboro, Stoltzman met superstar musicians like Rudolf Serkin
(founder of the festival), Marcel Moyse (flutist), and Pablo Casals (cellist). 47 In the
article Richard Stoltzman: Clarinet Crossover published in the October 1986 edition of
Downbeat magazine, Stoltzman said:
A lot of my musical models came from Marlboro . . . Mieczyslaw Horszowski,
one of the great teachers and pianists . . . Rudolf Serkin . . . Mischa Schneider,
cellist . . . people like that were my models and mentors in music, more than
clarinetists.48
In addition to these non-clarinet musicians, Stoltzman met clarinetists Harold Wright
(first-chair clarinet of the Boston Symphony Orchestra) and Elsa Ludewig-Verdehr
(clarinet professor at Michigan State University) who both played with the double-lip
embouchure to which Stoltzman had recently switched.49
45
46
Onstage 57, 59.
47
48
Bouchard, 21.
49
Weston, 293.
12
Stoltzman also met young musicians which would turn out to be lifelong
associations for him. One of those musicians was pianist Peter Serkin 50 who would later
start a quartet called Tashi (See Tashi section, page 16) of which Stoltzman would be a
part. Peter Serkin would also be the one to later introduce the young Stoltzman to his
clarinet role model Benny Goodman.51 Another young musician whom Stoltzman met at
Marlboro was Lucy Chapman, 52 violinist, who married Stoltzman in 1976.53
50
Weston, 293. Peter Serkin is the son of the Marlboro festival founder Rudolf Serkin.
51
Stock, SM27; Weston, 295.
52
Weston, 293. Lucy was acting associate concertmaster in San Francisco Orchestra when they met.
53
Stock, SM28; Weston, 295.
13
CHAPTER III
CAREER
Its not like a piano, after all, theres just so much clarinet that people can have
in their lives.
Stoltzman, Current Biography Yearbook54
Performing
Stoltzman has performed all over the world including performances with over
one-hundred orchestras. In addition, he has been a member or guest of many chamber
groups, and has played with several jazz groups. During performances it is common to
hear Stoltzman play classical, pop, and jazz music side by side. He also performs new
commissions, clarinet standards, and transcriptions.
Although he has tried, Stoltzman has never been a member of a major orchestra.
I tried auditioning for a couple of orchestras, Stoltzman said, but its very hard to get
into one. Really hard. Its a totally different temperament, a different set of skills and
pressures.55 Stoltzman has also been quoted as saying that he gets very nervous when
being judged, something that he says doesnt affect him while on stage performing for
audiences.56 According to Stoltzman, there seemed to be nothing left for him to do but
perform as a solo clarinetist.57 And, luckily for him, going solo has turned out to be a
successful career.
54
55
Onstage, 57.
56
Petersen, D5.
57
14
In the early 1970s, Stoltzman signed a management deal with Frank Salomon.58
Since that time Frank Salomon Associates has been Stoltzmans management firm in
return for a portion of Stoltzmans salary.59 And by the early 1980s, his salary was well
into the six figures.60 Salomon Associates has effectively marketed Stoltzman and
expanded his career by booking him with orchestras, encouraging him to play with
chamber groups, pushing him to expand his repertory, and getting him connected to the
right people.61
In 1976, Stoltzman made his first of many appearances at the Mostly Mozart
Festival. Stoltzman has been a returning artist to the Mostly Mozart Festival ever since. 62
His number of appearances has reached twenty-five.
In the early 1970s, Stoltzman met pianist Irma Vallecillo who at the time was the
wife of another clarinet instructor at the California Institute of the Arts where Stoltzman
taught from 1970 to 1976. Stoltzman has performed and recorded with Vallecillo several
times since. Another pianist that Stoltzman would meet and perform with was Richard
Goode who was another client of Salomon Associates. Stoltzman and Goode recorded
the CD entitled Brahms: Sonatas for Clarinet, Op. 120 which was released by the RCA
label in 1982 and won a Grammy in 1983.
58
Stoltzman met Frank Salomon through the Tashi quartet. Information on the Tashi quartet is located in
the next section (page 16). Frank Salomon was the promotions manager for the Tashi quartet.
59
Stock, SM29.
60
Stock, SM26.
61
Stock, SM29.
62
15
In 1982, Stoltzman was the first person to give a solo clarinet recital at Carnegie
Hall. He dedicated the performance to his clarinet role model Benny Goodman. (In a
1983 interview, Stoltzman called Goodman his only clarinet role model.63) The
performance was a mixture of classics and jazz. He also gave performances at Carnegie
Hall in 1984 and 1986.
In September 1985, he presented the first clarinet recital to be given at the
Hollywood Bowl.64 Stoltzman soloed with Woody Hermans big band, The Thundering
Herd, which was celebrating their 50th year anniversary with Woody as the bandleader.
Stoltzman played Stravinskys Ebony Concerto (composed for Woody in 1945),
Debussys The Maid With Flaxen Hair, Stravinskys Solo Clarinet Pieces, Woody
Herman and Don Raders Greasy Sack Blues, and Coplands Fanfare For The Common
Man. Following this performance Stoltzman played a series of concerts with The
Thundering Herd and recorded Stravinskys Ebony Concerto with the group.65
Other jazz and pop artists that Stoltzman has performed with include Eddie
Gomez, Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, and Mel Torm. Stoltzman has also
performed with chamber groups such as the Beaux Arts Trio; and the Amadeus, American
String, Cleveland, Emerson, Guarneri, Tokyo, and Vermeer quartets.66 And it was a
chamber group that sent Stoltzman on his way to a solo career back in the early 1970s. 67
That group was called Tashi.
63
Stock, New York Times, 31 Jul 1983.
64
Bouchard, 61.
65
Weston, 296.
66
Current Biography Yearbook, 554; International Whos Who In Music and Musicians Dictionary, 620.
67
16
Tashi
The group Tashi was a four person chamber music group with the instrumentation
of piano, violin or viola, cello, and clarinet. It formed when pianist Peter Serkin (whom
Stoltzman had met at Marlboro Music Festival) asked Stoltzman to get together with his
friends cellist Fred Sherry and violinist/violist Ida Kavafian to rehearse for a concert that
would include Messiaens Quartet for the End of Time.68 During the fall of 1972 they
rehearsed on and off when Stoltzman (living in California) and Serkin (living in Vermont)
were in New York.69 They performed the concert in March of 1973 at the New School
for Social Research in New York.70 The quartet and the audience liked it so much that the
quartet decided to continue.71
After about a year of playing together with no name for the group, they finally
settled on naming the group after Peter Serkins dogTashi.72 The word tashi is of
Tibetan origin and means "good fortune" or "auspiciousness."
Other than Sherry missing one tour in 1978 and Serkin missing several concerts
for illness, the four original members remained together until 1980 when Serkin dropped
out.73 When Serkin was unable to play due to illness, the other three members continued
with the scheduled concerts and played with guest artists. 74 During those concerts the
68
Weston, 294.
69
Kraus, Tashi Survived Some Wrenching Upheavals, New York Times, 27 Feb 1983, H19.
70
Current Biography Yearbook, 554; Kraus, H19.
71
Kozinn, D15.
72
Kraus, H19.
73
Kraus, H19, H26.
74
Kraus, H19.
17
group was called Tashi: Clarinet and Strings.75 After Serkin dropped out in 1980, they
adopted this name formally.76
Tashi and Tashi: Clarinet and Strings have recorded several albums. The
ensembles first recording was Messiaens Quartet for the End of Time. It was followed
by recordings of Stravinsky, Beethoven, Mozart, Takemitsu, Weber, and Webern. All of
the albums released as LPs have since been reissued on CD. The most recent recording
of Tashi: Clarinet and Strings was released on CD by RCA Victor Gold Seal in 1989 and
is entitled Rendezvous. This CD includes works by Hindemith, Gershwin, Foss, and
Schulman. (See appendix C for a list of Tashi recordings.)
Several works have been written for Tashi. Tru Takemitsu composed Quatrain
in 1975 and Quatrain II in 1977 for the original quartet. Both Quatrain and Quatrain II
can be heard on recordings done by Tashi. Charles Wuorinen wrote Tashi in 1975/6 and
Fortune in 1979 for the original quartet.
Through the years, several guest players performed in the group. Other members
of the group included violinist Theodore Arm, violist/violinist Toby Appel, and violist/
violinist Steven Tennenbom.77 Stoltzman is the only member of the group who remained
a part of the ensemble for the entire time. In 1983, after having played with the quartet
for ten years Stoltzman commented to Lucy Kraus of the New York Times:
I doubt that anybodys going to find in his or her career more fulfilling,
meaningful playing. It might be more lucrative playing, or it might make one
75
Kraus, H19.
76
Kraus, H26.
77
Kraus, H26; Weston, 294.
18
more famous, but I have a feeling it will be hard to come up with something better
than Tashi.78
Recordings
Stoltzman has produced over fifty solo CD releases, a laser disc, and a VHS
video. He signed an exclusive recording deal with RCA (now Sony BMG) by 1980. 79
Over forty CDs of Stoltzman from Sony BMG have been released. Two of the CDs have
received Grammy Awards80 and three have received Grammy Nominations.81
In the VHS series entitled Dudley Moore Introduces Concerto!,82 Stoltzman plays
and talks about Coplands Concerto for Clarinet. This video is part of a television series
about various concertos of various instruments accompanied by the London Symphony
Orchestra and conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas.
Stoltzmans laser disc is entitled 1791-1891-1991 and includes a performance
with Rafael Frhbeck de Burgos in Viennas Konzerthaus of Mozarts clarinet concerto
two hundred years to the day after its premierealong with Brahmss clarinet quintet and
the premiere of Takemitsus Fantasma/Cantos.83
78
Kraus, H26.
79
Ericson, C11.
80
Brahms: Sonatas for Clarinet, Op. 120 with pianist Richard Goode (1982) and Brahms/Beethoven/
Mozart with cellist Yo-Yo Ma and pianist Emanuel Ax (1995).
81
Bartok/Ives/Stravinsky (1990, out of print), The Essential Clarinet: Corgliano/Copland/Bernstein/

Stravinsky (1992), and Ebony: Woody Hermans Thundering Herd (1990, out of print)
82Dudley
Moore Introduces Concerto! Copland Clarinet Concerto, Videocassette, Produced and directed by
Dudley Moore, Performed by Richard Stoltzman and the London Symphony Orchestra, 51 min., (RCA
Victor, 1993).
83
Frank Salomon Associates (website), accessed 15 Jan 2010. http://www.franksalomon.com/

presskits.php?aid=17&pkid=61
19
Since the mid-1990s, Stoltzman has been recording music for the Master
Musicians Collective (MMC). The project was started in 1992 by Stoltzmans life-long
friend and composer William Thomas McKinley whom he met at Yale where they were
both students. The project was started in order to help contemporary composers record
their music, both well known and the not yet known. Stoltzman can be found on over
twenty-five of the MMC CDs many of them including works written for Stoltzman.
In 2010, Stoltzman was featured in a film called Bach & Friends. This two DVD
set was produced and directed by Michael Lawrence. The first DVD is a documentary
which includes Stoltzman discussing J.S. Bach and the second DVD contains a complete
performance of him playing Chromatic Fantasy in D minor (BWV 903a).
Published Song Books

Stoltzman has published two song books through the publisher Carl Fischer. The
first book was published in 1998 and is entitled Aria. The accompanying CD is
purchased separately and was released in 1997. The songs in the book for clarinet and
piano are transcriptions of opera solos including songs from composers Gounod, Puccini,
Bizet, Gershwin, Massenet, Rossini, Thomas, Verdi, and Lehr.
The second book which is entitled The Richard Stoltzman Songbook for clarinet
and piano was published by Carl Fischer in 2002. It is a compilation of contemporary
classical, jazz, pop, and classical transcriptions. It contains some of Stoltzmans all-time
favorite pieces which include several pieces from Stoltzmans composer friend Bill
20
Douglas. It also contains, among others, several transcriptions of J.S. Bach and George
Gershwin.
Teaching
In 1969, Stoltzman was invited to join the faculty at California Institute of the
Arts (CalArts).84 He took the offer and taught clarinet lessons there from 1970 to 1976.85
During this time he also helped found the Tashi quartet, worked on getting his solo career
off the ground, and taught adjunct at Yale while his former teacher Keith Wilson was on
sabbatical.86 Stoltzman resigned from teaching at CalArts in 1976 to pursue his solo
career (also married Lucy Chapman that year).
Stoltzman finds teaching to be a challenge and one that he doesnt really have
time to do well. His thoughts from his 1981 interview with McCutchan were:
. . . its very difficult to teach its very, very demanding. Its much harder than
performing. Its not nearly as rewarding, in the short term. Students very rarely
say bravo to you after you give them a lesson, and in fact sometimes you can
give great lessons and they wont even know it for twenty years. Youre always
giving; almost always. . . . Youre the one that has to constantly be lifting the
students and inspiring them. If you do that every day its a pretty big challenge.
My heart goes out to professors; I think they are amazing in doing that. No one
could be a musician without fine teachers.87
84
Petersen, D5.
85
Kozinn, D15; Petersen, D5; Current Biography Yearbook, 553. Weston, 297, writes 1970-1975.
86
Kozinn, D15.
87
21
Throughout Stoltzmans career, he has taught very little since his traveling schedule does
not allow for consistent lesson times. He has, however, given many masterclasses while
traveling. Currently, Stoltzman is on the faculty at the New England Conservatory.88
Awards
Over the years, Stoltzman has accumulated many awards for his performing. In
1973, he received the Martha Baird Rockefeller Award which was given to a young solo
artist in need of funding.
In 1977, he was awarded the Avery Fisher Recital Award (now called Avery
Fisher Career Grant) which at the time paid $2,500 to exceptionally talented younger
instrumentalists in order to further their musical career.
In 1983, Stoltzman received his first Grammy Award for best chamber music
performance with his recording of Brahms: Sonatas for Clarinet, Op. 120, with pianist
Richard Goode (released by RCA Red Seal in 1982).
In 1986, Stoltzman was awarded the Avery Fisher Prize for outstanding
achievement in classical music. He was the first wind player to win the prize and at the
time the award came with a $25,000 tax-free gift. I felt that it was a validation.
Stoltzman said, I realized that there was a community of musicians out there who
considered the clarinet to be more than just another color in the orchestra.89
88
Stoltzmans wife, Lucy Chapman, is currently the chair of the string department and chamber music at
New England Conservatory.
89
Blum.
22
Stoltzman received his second Grammy Award in 1996 for best chamber music
performance with pianist Emanuel Ax and cellist Yo-Yo Ma. The CD was titled Brahms/
Beethoven/Mozart: Clarinet Trios (released by Sony Classical in 1995).
In 2005, Stoltzman was presented with the Yale School of Music's Sanford Medal
which recognizes celebrated concert artists and distinguished members of the music
profession.
Expansion of the Clarinet Repertoire

Throughout his career, Stoltzman has contributed to the clarinet repertory through
commissioning new works for clarinet and inspiring composers to write for him. Two
composers that have been mentioned are Stoltzmans friends from Yale William Thomas
McKinley and Bill Douglas. McKinley has written more works for Stoltzman than any
other composer and many of them can be heard in MMC (Master Musicians Collective)
recordings. The recordings include Alchemy (1997), New American Works for Clarinet
(2007), New American Works for Clarinet - Volume 2 (2008). Some of Bill Douglas
works for Stoltzman are published in The Richard Stoltzman Songbook (Carl Fischer,
2002) including Begin Sweet World, Feast, Infant Dreams, Lullaby, Morning Song, and
Open Sky.
Other composers who have composed for Stoltzman include Lukas Foss
(Concerto No. 2, 1990-1991), Stephen Hartke (Landscape and Blues, 2001), Meyer
Kupferman (Moonflowers, Baby!, 1986), Einojuhani Rautavaara (Concerto, 2001), Steve
23
Reich (New York Counterpoint, 1985), and Tru Takemitsu (Fantasma/Cantos for
clarinet and orchestra, 1991).
24
PART B
PERSONAL APPROACH
25
CHAPTER IV
SOUND
Vibrato doesnt mean that every note vibrates. Your reed vibrates, your body
vibrates. You couldnt live if you werent vibrating. So everything is in vibration.
There wouldnt be any sound if air didnt vibrate. So vibrato, I dont know what
that means. You breathe, dont you?
Stoltzman, The Clarinet90
Stoltzman is capable of producing a vast array of sounds while playing the

clarinet. His personal choices in the way he forms his embouchure, the way he colors his
tone, and the way he uses vibrato all contribute to his sound.
Embouchure
Stoltzman uses a double-lip embouchure in which both lips are curled over the
teeth as opposed to the single-lip embouchure where the top teeth are placed on the
mouthpiece and the bottom lip is curled over the bottom teeth. He switched to the
double-lip embouchure when he was a student at Teachers College of Columbia
University in New York. At the time he was working on his doctorate with the well
known clarinet pedagogue Kalmen Opperman who himself used the double-lip
embouchure. Stoltzman has commented that he prefers the double-lip embouchure to the
single-lip embouchure because it enhances subtleties. 91 He also indicates that the
double-lip embouchure has helped to prevent him from tonguing too hard since the
90
Richard Stoltzman, An Interview with Richard Stoltzman, interview by Mark G. Simon, The Clarinet
30 (June 2003): 67.
91
Elizabeth Venant, Marching to a Different Clarinet, Los Angeles Times/Calendar, 13 May 1984, 4.
26
clarinet will move in ones mouth if you do so, and it has also prevented him from
banging down his fingers too hard on the clarinet since this also causes the clarinet to
move in the mouth. 92 Therefore he continues to use the double-lip embouchure to keep
his technique in check and for the added tonal subtleties that he feels he can produce.
Tone
There is a lot of variety in Stoltzmans tone. He is capable of producing sounds
like a vocalist, a string instrument, or another woodwind instrument. It is clear from the
many quotes from Stoltzman that he is most interested in sounding like the voice. This
idea began at an early age for Stoltzman. During the first year of Stoltzmans relationship
with the clarinet, Stoltzmans father would take his son to church choir practice:
My dad . . . brought me into the choir and sat me next to the altos with my
clarinet, and said just play along with them and help them keep their pitch, and
so I did . . . as a result I was trying to play the clarinet like a voice, trying to make
it sound as close as I could to what the voice sounded like so that I wouldnt stick
out.93
This idea of sounding like a voice was further developed during Stoltzmans student
years at Yale where he had many conversations with string players who would speak of
trying to play and be expressive in a way that mimicked the voice. This attraction to the
voice is further explored in his first published song book, Aria (Carl Fisher, 1998).
Predictably, this fascination with the voice and the string players tendency to
imitate the voice signifies that Stoltzman can often sound like a string player and perhaps
even consciously make an effort to sound like a string player. This sounds convincing
92
Petersen, D5; Venant, 4.
93
Stoltzman, interview by Simon, 67.
27
when Stoltzman is playing with a group of string players in a chamber group setting. It
can also be heard in performances with an orchestra. Stoltzman will add vibrato to
imitate what the strings are doing and he will make inflections in his tone that can be
characteristic of a string instrument, such as a change in the volume or the length of his
sound which on a string instrument would be natural because of bowing. Stoltzman said:
Thats the whole thing of chamber music, youre not the soloist, you have to fit in
as a member of the ensemble. I love the fact that the clarinet can do this, can
almost become another voice in a string chord. It doesnt have to, but it has that
possibility.94
Stoltzmans sound has also been described as sounding like a different woodwind
instrument. This characteristic of Stoltzmans sound can happen as a fleeting moment or
as a feature during a particular piece of music. One of his longer term sounds is often
that of a saxophone. Stoltzmans composer friend William Thomas McKinley finds the
saxophone sound to be apparent in Stoltzmans playing often: He has a great big sound
reminiscent of a saxophone.95 This saxophone sound is likely influenced by Stoltzmans
background of playing the saxophone while growing up and his experience with jazz.
Yet, at other times, he mimics the fluttery delicacy of a flute or a bassoons dark,
melancholy air. 96 Stoltzman has said, I dont really set out saying Im going to make
this sound like a flute, but I try to borrow from all the instruments.97
94
95
Kandell.
96
Swan.
97
Venant, 5.
28
Stoltzman is less concerned about what instrument he is sounding like than how
he is playing like the other instruments around him or representing the music with the
best sound for that particular piece of music. Stoltzman contends: I think what Ive
tried to do with the clarinet is make the tone my own and let the instrument speak that
way, rather than through some mind-boggling facility . . . 98
Vibrato
One of the more distinguishable aspects of Stoltzmans sound is his use of vibrato.
Many classically trained American clarinetist considers the use of vibrato to be
unacceptable. Stoltzman, however, uses vibrato not only when playing jazz music but
while playing classical music as well. Perhaps even more offensive to the more
traditional clarinetists is that he often does it with an untamed flare.
Frequently Stoltzman takes his vibrato to an extreme by making it slower or wider
than would be considered acceptable by many professional clarinet players. An example
of this can be found on a recording of Stoltzman playing the Copland Concerto (Copland
Clarinet Concerto, RCA Victor Red Seal, 1993). In the opening slow section of the
concerto Stoltzman adds vibrato to most of the longer notes. The vibrato is slow and
often wide to the extreme with three pulses per beat at a tempo of quarter note equals 69.
The listener is immediately aware of the vibrato which is at times more prominent than
the musical line. Clarinet pedagogue Carmine Campione writes in his book Campione on
Clarinet that vibrato should not be more obvious to the listener than the music itself.99
98
99
Carmine Campione, Campione on Clarinet, (Fairfield, OH: John Ten-Ten Publishing, 2001), 67.
29
Stoltzman has said that he learned about vibrato from string players and how they
try to portray the human voice. 100 It seems that during the Copland Concerto Stoltzman
tries to emulate the strings that are in the accompaniment. Many clarinetists play this
section with no vibrato, creating a clear and smooth sound that floats above the strings
rather than Stoltzmans approach of trying to blend with the strings. Stoltzman contends
that since vibrato is a characteristic of the human voice, Why should we shy away from
it?101
100
Blum.
101
Blum.
30
CHAPTER V
TECHNIQUE
Technical Facility
Stoltzman indicates that his technical facility is owed to the instruction he
received from his teacher Kalmen Opperman.102 When Stoltzman started doctoral work
with Opperman, Opperman told Stoltzman that he moved his fingers like a country
bumpkin.103 Ever since that time Stoltzman has embraced Oppermans technique
concepts and practice method. Opperman wrote over 10 study books for the clarinet
including his multi-volume Daily Studies and Velocity Studies. The goal of Oppermans
method is to be as efficient as possible so that the best results can be achieved regarding
smoothness and speed of technical facility.
For the most part Stoltzman achieves a fairly smooth technical facility. However,
Stoltzmans technique can be affected by his persistent use of rubato and his lack of
discipline for being rhythmically accurate which will be discussed later in Chapter VI.
With Stoltzmans unsteady beat, some notes sound quicker or slower within the beat.
This is not due to his technical facility but rather his personal perception of time within
music.
His ability to produce a smooth technical facility is surprising when learning that
Stoltzmans left pinky finger was injured with a knife, causing damage that was
102
Stoltzman has worked alongside Opperman to teach others Oppermans method in masterclass type
settings. Two articles have been written in The Clarinet about the Clarinet Summit that Opperman and
Stoltzman created for the purposes of teaching Oppermans method. John Hamann, Life at Richard
Stoltzmans and Kalmen Oppermans Clarinet Summit, The Clarinet (December 1998): 42-46. P. Mason,
The Second Annual Kalmen Opperman-Richard Stoltzman Clarinet Summit, The Clarinet (March 2000):
13-14.
103
Swan.
31
irreversible. In an interview with Stock in 1983 Stoltzman confessed while holding up
his left hand:
I cut the pinkie washing dishes years ago. One doctor told me Id never play
again. . . . A surgeon said he could put muscle back in so the finger could move
up and down, but not sideways. I brought the clarinet in and showed him where
the pinkie comes down on the keys, and he fixed me up that way.104
When Stoltzman is observed playing up close a slight awkwardness of his left hand can
be seen. This was observed by this writer during a masterclass given by Stoltzman on
February 23rd, 2007, at the University of Iowa. Stoltzmans left pinky is held a bit
straighterand as a consequence his ring and middle fingers are straighterthan would
be considered optimal for smooth, fast technique. However, Stoltzman produces
remarkably smooth technique despite this disadvantage.
Tonguing
Stoltzman encourages the use of variety when tonguing. In The Richard
Stoltzman Songbook (Carl Fischer, 2002) Stoltzman writes notes to the performer about
each song that is included. When commenting on En Prire by Gabriel Faur, Stoltzman
writes Your tongue, with great variety (using d, n, t, h), must imply a sense of
speech. . . . Of course, not all notes need to be started with the tongue. . .105
Since Stoltzman approaches tonguing as if it were like speech he is frequently
thinking of words when he is playing. He will change his tongue placement on the reed
and in the mouth to accomplish a unique sound in the phrase. In his Aria (Carl Fischer,
104
Stock, SM28.
105
Richard Stoltzman, The Richard Stoltzman Songbook (New York: Carl Fischer, 2002), 5.
32
1998) book, Stoltzman writes about his approach to tonguing while giving his advice for
playing the aria:
Because a great tenor has the medium of words to propel the meaning of repeated
notes, we clarinetists must make full use of vowel formations and tongue
placement on the reed and in the mouth to insure that each tone continues a
musical line which has direction and implication.106
106
Richard Stoltzman, Aria, (New York: Carl Fischer, 1998), 8.
33
CHAPTER VI
MUSICALITY
I dont like how the clarinet sounds most of the time. In the official style, you
dont have enough freedom to wander.
Stoltzman, Time107
Stoltzmans musical interpretations seem to be more from his own personal

emotional response at the moment than a pre-calculated cognitive decision. In an
interview from 2003 in The Clarinet Stoltzman said Part of doing the performance is not
to just go with some kind of pre-program. You want to live in the music as its
happening.108 His spontaneity has been noted by other musicians: Hes somewhat
different from all the dozens of people weve played with. Theres so much spontaneity, I
was confused at first, said an Emerson Quartet member after rehearsing with Stoltzman
for a concert. 109
According to Stoltzman, when playing music, the performer should be flexible
with the written music. In a 1991 interview Stoltzman compared playing music to his
baking hobby:
Its the same with baking. Its not some rigid formula. Of course, you cant
decide to bake a cake at 600 degrees instead of at 300 degrees, but you can
certainly vary the seasonings, change the kind of nuts and make other adjustments
that happen to appeal to you. 110
107
Swan.
108
109
Stock, SM28.
110
Florence Fabricant, With Flair for Music and Baking, New York Times, 1991, accessed 31 December
2009, http://www.nytimes.com/1991/07/31/garden/with-a-flair-for-music-making-and-baking.html?
ref=richard_stoltzman.
34
Some notable clarinet pedagogues have indicated that Stoltzman does indeed bake the
cake at too hot of a temperature on occasion. Mitchell Lurie commented that Stoltzman
uses an excessive use of rubato, at times. 111 James Gillespie said His bel canto style
maybe exceeds the bounds of good taste.112 And Harold Wright remarked that
Stoltzman went out on a limb with some of his interpretations. 113
While playing classical music Stoltzman adheres to the notes on the page,
however, he often changes articulations, speeds, and dynamics from what is written.
These things contribute to a one-of-a-kind performance which even Stoltzman is
unlikely to reproduce in future performances. Stoltzman sums up his philosophy on
musicality in his Note to Performers found in The Richard Stoltzman Songbook (Carl
Fischer, 2002) by directing the performer to: [express] each song without slavishly
following printed suggestions, which can too easily substitute for a personally considered
approach.114 In addition to his use of vibrato which was discussed in Chapter IV,
Richard Stoltzmans musicality can be described by how he shapes his phrasing with
articulations, dynamics, tempo, and rubato.
111
Venant, 4.
112
Stock, SM27.
113
Stock, SM27.
114
Stoltzman, The Richard Stoltzman Songbook, 3.
35
Articulations
Articulation refers to the attack or decay of single tones or groups of tones and
the means by which these characteristics are produced.115 Clarinet pedagogue Paul
Harris defines articulation as the starting or separation of notes. 116 For the clarinetist,
articulations are produced through use of ones tongue and air. Stoltzman is able to
produce a variety of articulation sounds. As explored in the tonguing section, Stoltzman
uses a variety of consonants when starting notes which all contribute to an assortment of
attack sounds.
Yet, what he seems to be remembered for is what is perceived by many to be a
lack of beginning to his notes. Oh, youre the guy who has no beginning to your
notes, a recording engineer once commented to Stoltzman.117 Stoltzman often starts
notes with a large and quick increase of volume and ends notes with a large and quick
decrease in volume. From the listeners point of view it can at times sound as if he is
beginning the note out of thin air and ending the note with a fade into nothing.
At other times a line of notes seems to intensify and wane repeatedly. This
signature playing tactic of Stoltzmans is used time after time in music with a melodic
singing style. Clarinet pedagogue Peter Hadcock refers to this type of playing as
football-shaped notes. 118 Hadcock comments in his book The Working Clarinetist that
football notes happen when the player is trying to play several most important notes
115
The Harvard Dictionary of Music, 4th ed., s.v. articulation.
116
Paul Harris, Teaching the Clarinet in The Cambridge Companion to the Clarinet, ed. Colin Lawson
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001), 128.
117
118
Peter Hadcock, The Working Clarinetist (Cherry Hill, NJ: Roncorp, 1999), 164.
36
in a row. 119 Stoltzman has admitted that he tends to get over-emotive when playing.120
This manner of playing several important notes in a row is conceivably a product of
Stoltzmans immense enjoyment of the music he is playing. Below is an example of
Stoltzman playing football notes as heard in a recording of the Mozart Clarinet
Concerto, K. 622.121 In the second movement Stoltzman repeatedly plays football
notes throughout entire phrases while also creating longer crescendos and decrescendos
simultaneously.
Example 1: Mozart, Concerto, K. 622, Mvt. II, mm. 17-24, Stoltzman
Sometimes Stoltzman can be heard using softened attacks in more rhythmic music
as well. Donal Henahan, a New York Times music critic who attended many concerts by
Stoltzman, once described Stoltzmans articulations in general by writing: He tends to
phrase languidly and to temper his attacks on notes so as not to produce a raucous or
gutty sound. Henahan then continued by commenting on Stoltzmans approach to
playing Brahms Sonata, Op.120, No. 1 by saying Stoltzman had . . . a tendency to
119
Peter Hadcock, The Working Clarinetist (Cherry Hill, NJ: Roncorp, 1999), 164.
120
Stock, SM29.
121
Stoltzman, Mozart Clarinet Concerto, K. 622; Bassoon Concerto, K. 191, RCA Victor Gold Seal 60379.
37
smooth out accents and soften phrase endings in a way that weakened the musics
rhythmic appeal and obscured its structural design.122
Dynamics
Stoltzman is capable of producing a wide range of dynamics on the clarinet. In
1982, Henahan of the New York Times wrote:
There are few musicians on any instrument capable of making such fine
distinctions, for instance, among half a dozen shadings below mezzo-forte. Mr.
Stoltzman sounds at times as if he were setting records for soft playing, so that at
times on this occasion, pianissimos slipped off into subliminal regions of
audibility.123
Stoltzmans dynamics are chosen in order to give the music, composer, and audience
everything he has to produce a special and unique experience. Stoltzman said, Ive
never gained anything . . . from being an ostrich, with my head in the sand. The most
important thing is to get out there and put myself on the line . . .124
Stoltzmans varieties of loud and soft dynamics have sometimes been criticized
for being too animated. After listening to Stoltzman play Mozart, Holland of the New
York Times wrote: Mr. Stoltzmans extraordinary technique produced subtleties of loud
and soft that each took on a life of its own, a life that was not necessarily Mozarts.125
122
Donal Henahan, Clarinetist: Stoltzman Gives Recital, New York Times, 29 April 1982, C16.
123
Henahan, Clarinetist: Stoltzman Gives Recital, C16.
124
Bouchard, 61.
125
Bernard Holland, On a Sticky Night, Mozart, Cooling Brow and Brain, New York Times, 31 July 1995,
accessed 31 December 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/31/arts/music-review-on-a-sticky-nightmozart-cooling-brow-and-brain.html?ref=richard_stoltzman.
38
Stoltzman commonly does more dynamic variances than other clarinet players.
When comparing recordings of Stoltzman, Sabine Meyer, and David Shifrin playing the
Weber Concertino, Stoltzman is heard altering the dynamics more often.126 Examples 2,
3, and 4 below show Stoltzman constantly changing dynamics while Meyer and Shifrin
both take time to stay at one dynamic level in measures 229-230 and again in 233-234.
Stoltzman also changes dynamics in a shorter amount of time. This can be seen in
measures 231-232 where Stoltzman decrescendos, crescendos, and decrescendos again in
the same space that Meyer and Shifrin crescendo and decrescendo.
Example 2: Weber, Concertino, mm. 229-238, Stoltzman
126
Stoltzman, Phoenix in Flight, Navona 5801; Meyer, Weber: Clarinet Concertos, EMI Classics 67989;
Shifrin, Clarinet Concertos by C.M. von Weber, Delos 3220.
39
Example 3: Weber, Concertino, mm. 229-238, Meyer
Example 4: Weber, Concertino, mm. 229-238, Shifrin
Tempo
In general, Stoltzman is willing to go a bit further than other clarinet players when
it comes to deciding on a tempo. Slow pieces are the most likely to be affected by
Stoltzmans exaggerated tempos, but sometimes even a tempo that is not intended to be
slow will be played slow by Stoltzman. For example, when a recording of the first
movement of the Saint-Sans Sonata played by Stoltzman is compared to recordings of
40
the same movement played by clarinetists James Campbell, Gervase de Peyer, and
Ricardo Morales, there is a significant difference in the tempo and subsequently the
duration of the movement.127 Stoltzman plays at around a tempo of dotted-quarter note at
66 beats per minute, while Campbell plays around a tempo of dotted-quarter note at 78
beats per minute, and de Peyer and Morales both play around a tempo of dotted-quarter
note at 84 beats per minute. Consequently, while the average duration of the movement
for Campbell, de Peyer, and Morales is 4 minutes and 16 seconds, the duration for
Stoltzman is 5 minutes and 48 seconds.
Table 1: Durations of Saint-Sans Sonata, Mvt. I

Stoltzman
5 minutes 48 seconds
Campbell
de Peyer
4 minutes 9 seconds
Morales
4 minutes 5 seconds
Another example of Stoltzmans unique tempos can be found when comparing a

recording of the second movement of the Poulenc Sonata by Stoltzman to the same
movement played by clarinetists James Campbell, Gervase de Peyer, Stanley Drucker,
127
Richard Stoltzman, Romance, RCA Victor Red Seal 60198. James Campbell, Debussy and Saint-Sans,
Cala Records 1017. Gervase de Peyer, French Music for Clarinet and Piano, Chandos 8549. Ricardo
Morales, French Portraits, Boston Records 1064.
41
Ricardo Morales, and Karl Leister. 128 While Stoltzman takes a languid 6 minutes and 54
seconds to complete the movement, the other clarinetists duration for the movement
averages to a time of 5 minutes and 9 seconds. The fastest time by the other clarinetists is
4 minutes 42 seconds by Morales and the slowest time is 5 minutes and 36 seconds by
Campbell.
Table 2: Durations of Poulenc Sonata, Mvt. II

Stoltzman
Campbell
Leister
Drucker
5 minutes 6 seconds
de Peyer
Morales
Rubato
In addition to his exaggerated tempos, Stoltzman habitually incorporates rubato
pervasively. As discussed earlier in the section entitled Technique, this excessive use of
128
Stoltzman, Romance, RCA Victor Red Seal 60198. Ricardo Morales, French Portraits, Boston Records
1064. James Campbell, Ravel and Poulenc, Cala Records 1018. Gervase de Peyer, French Music for
Clarinet and Piano, Chandos 8549. Karl Leister, Francis Poulenc Chamber Music, Deutsche
Grammophone 4276392. Stanley Drucker, Berstein/Corigliano/Debussy/Poulenc/Siegmeister, Cala
Records 0509.
42
rubato has a tendency to make his technique sound uneven. Rhythmic flexibility comes
naturally to Mr. Stoltzman, wrote Blum of the New York Times, He is a born risk
taker.129 It is common for Stoltzman to prolong a note in a run, to start a run late, or to
speed through a run ending it early.
There are several occasions that Stoltzman will prolong notes to the extreme. In
measure 306 of Example 5 below he prolongs the highest notesE and D. In measure
307 he prolongs the first note of the run followed by a prolonged note on the down beat
of measure 308. Then in measures 309 and 310 he prolongs the first note of each beat.
And again in measures 319 and 320 he prolongs the first note of each beat.
129
Blum.
43
Example 5: Mozart, Concerto, K. 622, Mvt. III, mm. 301-322, Stoltzman
Sometimes, Stoltzman will prolong one or more notes preceding a downbeat in order to
highlight the downbeat as he does in measures 47, 49, 52, 55, and 57 of Example 6
below.
44
Prolonged notes in Stoltzmans playing are common in both fast and slow music as
shown in Examples 5 and 6 above.
Many listeners find Stoltzmans use of rubato to be intriguing since it can be
difficult to predict what he will do and others simply find his use of rubato to be
excessive. Many have found his incessant use of rubato to be too much to listen to. After
attending one of Stoltzmans performances Holland commented, Passage work surged
and ebbed against the basic pulse, leaving the listener with a sometimes queasy
feeling.130 While this surge and ebb can be found at any time during a piece of music,
it seems to be used to a greater extent at the end of pieces. In Examples 7 and 8 below,
Stoltzman accelerates through the end of note groupings repeatedly thus creating the
surge and ebb feeling that Holland spoke of.
130
Holland, On a Sticky Night.
45
Example 7: Weber, Concertino, mm. 211-238, Stoltzman
46
When comparing Example 8 above with other clarinet players it can be concluded
that Stoltzman does far more rubato than others. Examples 9, 10, 11, and 12 below show
the amount of rubato used by clarinetists Jack Brymer, Karl Leister, David Shifrin, and
Robert MarcellusBrymer is the most animated of these four and Marcellus essentially
adds no rubato.
47
Example 9: Mozart, Concerto, K. 622, Mvt. II, mm. 83-98, Brymer
Example 10: Mozart, Concerto, K. 622, Mvt. II, mm. 83-98, Leister
48
Example 11: Mozart, Concerto, K. 622, Mvt. II, mm. 83-98, Shifrin
Example 12: Mozart, Concerto, K. 622, Mvt. II, mm. 83-98, Marcellus
49
CHAPTER VII
REPERTOIRE
Im always surprised when people expect stodgy programs, since with all the
repertory that is available . . . theres no excuse for predictability.
Stoltzman, Los Angeles Times131
Stoltzmans repertoire includes an array of styles and genres which includes both
standard clarinet literature and transcriptions. His CDs include Baroque, Classical,
Romantic, 20th-Century, opera, jazz, and commercially oriented songs. His published
song books include opera, recently composed clarinet pieces, classical transcriptions, and
jazz. Stoltzman has also commissioned many works.
It is common for Stoltzman to play standard literature, new compositions, and
jazz at the same performance. For Stoltzman, this is a necessity since he performs so
often:
. . . the clarinet repertory is just dandy if youre going to give a few concerts a
year, which is all most clarinets play. Ive been very lucky though, in that I have
been able to do more than the usual amount of concerts. And I cant keep playing
the Brahms sonatas over and over. 132
Stoltzmans diversity in repertoire has led many to label him as a cross-over artist
referring to his ease in playing both classical and jazz. Stoltzman, however, finds the
term cross-over to be meaningless since the clarinet has a history of being used for
different styles and also the versatility that the clarinet naturally has for playing in
131
Daniel Cariaga, Clarinetist Stoltzman: The Music and Musician, Los Angeles Times, 19 January 1982,
Part VI, 1.
132
Kozinn, D20.
50
different styles such as classical, jazz, Klezmer, etc.133 Stoltzman considers his variety to
be a conglomeration of his lifes journey. For me, Stoltzman argues, its a coming
together of influences that have always been with me. I dont think Ive crossed
anyplace.134
Stoltzman also makes use of works transcribed from the repertoire of other
instruments. Transcriptions make it possible for Stoltzman to play in styles that would
not otherwise be possible on the clarinet. For example, Stoltzman has transcribed many
pieces by J.S. Bach from the Baroque era. Another example would be Stoltzmans
transcriptions of vocal arias which he published in his songbook entitled Aria (Carl
Fischer, 1998). The transcriptions include arias by Gounod, Puccini, Bizet, Gershwin,
Rossini, and Verdi. Stoltzman contends that:
. . . the clarinet is . . . simply the vehicle through which I play music. There are
pieces that lend themselves to my playing, that were not written for the clarinet.
But I dont see any reason why I shouldnt play them. 135
Besides adding to his repertoire through transcriptions, Stoltzman has contributed

substantially to the clarinet repertoire in general with the commissioning and inspiring of
many works by contemporary composers. (See Expansion of the Clarinet Repertoire,
page 22.) For a performer, Stoltzman said, thats probably the greatest achievement
to inspire music that has not yet been created. 136
133
Onstage, 59.
134
Weston, 296.
135
Kozinn, D20.
136
Onstage, 65.
51
Stoltzman plays a varied repertoire of many styles and many people question how
he should be classified, but Stoltzman has a clear idea of who he is. He is a product of
his personal life journey and it is the classical side of music which has financially
supported him. When asked to label himself as an artist, he said My life is in classical
music.137
137
Don Heckman, Have Clarinet, Will Noodle, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sept 1998, 50.
52
CHAPTER VIII
PERFORMING
When I was in college . . . [I thought about] how fantastic it would be to play the
Brahms Clarinet Quintet at least once before I retired from teaching a high-school
band somewhere in Ohio.
Stoltzman, New York Times138
Stoltzman has been successful at solo clarinet performing, having created a career
out of thin air. A solo career playing the clarinet is something many clarinetists dream
about, but very few throughout history have been able to achieve. In the article
Musician of the Month: Richard Stoltzman published in High Fidelity and Musical
America, Jack Hiemenz wrote that Stoltzman can be said to be improvising a career.139
Stoltzman is aware of his unique career and has spoken of how happy he is to be
able to do what he does.140 He has also commented on how his training had nothing to do
with being a soloist since the job doesnt really exist for clarinet players.
I was never trained to be a soloist. Why should I have been? Being taught to play
concerti from the age of 5 to 10 is something that happens more to violinists and
pianists than to clarinetists. If my teachers had trained me to be a soloist they
would probably have been at fault as teachers, because they would have trained
me for a job that doesnt exist.141
Since a solo clarinet career is so rare and training for the job is not practical, it seems
reasonable that Stoltzman would need to develop his own way of navigating such a
138
Kozinn, D15.
139
Jack Hiemenz, Musician of the Month: Richard Stoltzman, High Fidelity and Musical America, June
1978, MA27.
140
Petersen, D5.
141
Onstage, 57.
53
career. And that is what Stoltzman has done, to the pleasure of the masses and the
irritation of many notable clarinetists.
Stoltzmans mass appeal seems to be enhanced by his personality. He has said
that he chose music as a career because he wanted to spend his life doing something that
gave people enjoyment.142 The pleasure he receives from making others happy is evident
in many of the quotes that Stoltzman has given over decades of interviews. One of his
earliest clarinet playing memories was revealed in an interview:
I remember the first time I played a solo in public. It was at a P.T.A. evening,
when I was in the fifth grade. . . . everybody liked it. . . . If everyone had said,
Get that clarinet out of here, you stink, I probably would not be a clarinet
player today.143
Stoltzman takes pleasure in making others happy and also being recognized. This can
also be compared to his life long hobby of baking.144 He doesnt just bake anything;
rather he chooses to bake things that will create an emotional response from the people
receiving the food. I learned to make showoff desserts, Stoltzman said.145
Stoltzmans mass appeal also seems to be affected by his generation. Mel Powell,
pianist/composer, CalArts, Yale:
At the end of the 60s there was a torrential wave of populism. It brought in the
idea of egalitarianism between performers and audiences. The ritualistic formal
barriers were broken down. Stoltzman is a child of the 60s. He admits poorly
educated audiences into the sanctum sanctorum of high culture.146
142
Fabricant.
143
Kozinn, D15.
144
Stoltzman began baking in the late 1960s after taking a brief cooking course at the Cordon Bleu school
in London. Fabricant.
145
Fabricant.
146
Venant, 4.
54
This connection with general audiences is done naturally through Stoltzmans
unassuming demeanor which he refuses to change no matter how often the critics and
well known clarinet pedagogues and performers comment on negatively.
Stoltzmans performances include a large amount of showmanship. Music critics
have often commented on his exaggerated physical gestures while performing. In 1983,
Stock of the New York Times wrote that Stoltzman was Lifting his clarinet, literally
reaching out to the audience. In 1987, Page of the New York Times wrote that during
Stoltzmans performance there was more than a hint of pure, old-fashioned show biz to
the presentation. And in 1990, Holland of the New York Times wrote:
Mr. Stoltzman is at once the most engaging and distracting of clarinetists. His
tone, agility and distinctive ideas attract, but he is also a creature of the stage, one
who not only throught his body language but in his music seems to yearn for
attention. . . . [which] inevitably centers ones attention more on the player than
the played. Music was not always the better for it. 147
Stoltzman is aware of his tendency to overdo things and consciously tries to

control them. I tend to get over-emotive about what Im playing. So I try to concentrate
on where Im going to take a breath or how I put my fingers down. You dont want to
enjoy a performance more than the audience.148 Despite his tendency to overdo things
he is compelled to give everything he has to each piece of music he plays. Stoltzman
commented:
I feel vulnerable and fragile when I play. Im terribly nervous because I have no
idea whats going to happen. Im constantly searching for ways to express
147
Bernard Holland, Riches of the Clarinet, Familiar and Strange, New York Times, 25 April 1990,
accessed 31 December 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/1990/04/25/arts/review-music-riches-of-the-clarinetfamiliar-and-strange.html?ref=richard_stoltzman.
148
Stock, SM29.
55
everything thats in a piece; yet I know that in certain places I may fail, that I may
overshoot the mark or have to make compromises. 149
Stoltzmans comments reveal that he is willing to put his own comfort on the line in order
to serve the music and the composer to the best of his abilities no matter what the
circumstance. His thought process involves a dedication to the music and composer that
is unwavering. However, his dedication is not limited to the music and composer, as he
further extends his dedication to the audience. Stoltzman said:
My ideal when performing is to serve the music in such a way that the listener
forgets what instrument is being played. Whether the playing is flawless or full of
flaws is secondary, and whether it sounds like a clarinet or not is secondary. What
matters is to be truthful to the essence of the music.150
Stoltzmans enthusiasms for the music, composer, and audience have led many to
label him as a virtuoso. Violinist Isaac Stern once said Rarely have I heard such a
virtuoso use of the clarinet. He has searched out its possibilities, and he has the sort of
solo quality about him that makes him equal to any performer.151 Likewise, clarinet
historian Pamela Weston said He gives to his performances a highly original and
virtuosic flavour.152 And former president of the International Clarinet Society, Jerry
Pierce compared Stoltzman to the well known flute virtuosos Rampal and Galway when
he said Hes doing to a degree for the clarinet what Rampal and Galway did for the
flute.153
149
Blum.
150
Blum.
151
Petersen, D1.
152
Weston, 290.
153
Venant, 4.
56
Despite all of the aspects of Stoltzmans playing that have been called into
question by other clarinetist throughout Stoltzmans career, he has been recognized as an
influential force for the clarinet in the lives of the public. Clarinet pedagogue Leon
Russianoff remarked Sometimes it takes a particular individual, whatever his abilities, to
cause a revolution.154
154
Stock, SM29.
2000s
1990s
1980s
1970s
1960s
b. Margaret Anne (daughter) 1983
Married Lucy Chapman 1976

b. Peter John (son) 1977
Clarinet Teachers
Professional Life
1950s
b. 12 July 1942
By 1980 Signed with RCA
1970-76 Taught at CalArts

Early 1970s Signed with
Frank Salomon Associates
1956-58 William R. Gasbarro

1956-60 Jimmy Wilbur
1960-63 Donald McGinnis
1960-63 Robert Titus
Robert Marcellus
1964-67 Keith Wilson
1967-70 Kalmen Opperman
Howard Thompson
Education
Awards & Performance
1940s
2005 Sanford Medal
1996 Grammy
1982 First Carnegie Performance

1983 Grammy
1986 Avery Fischer Prize
1973 Tashi's First Performance

1973 Rockefeller Award
1977 Avery Fischer Award
1964-67 Yale University

1967-70 Columbia University
1967-76 Marlboro Festival
1960-63 Ohio State University
57
APPENDIX A
CHRONOLOGY
Personal Life
58
APPENDIX B
DISCOGRAPHY
LPs.................................................................................................................................... 58
CDs from Sony BMG/RCA, Bis Koss, Classics, Albany,
Windham Hill, Naxos, Ondine, and Private Labels......................................... 59
CDs from Master Musicians Collective............................................................................ 62
Audiovisual....................................................................................................................... 64
LPs
1973
A Gift of Music for Clarinet

Schubert/Serkin/Douglas
Orion
73125
1976
Brahms
Clarinet Quintet, Op. 115; Cleveland Quartet
RCA Red Seal

1993
1977
The Art of Richard Stoltzman

Saint-Sans/Honegger/Debussy/Poulenc
Desmar
1014
1981
Mozart (Reissued on CD in 1989)

Clarinet Concerto, K. 622; Bassoon Concerto, K. 191
RCA Red Seal

3934
1982
Brahms (Reissued on CD in 1989)

Clarinet Sonatas, Op. 120
RCA Red Seal

4246
1983 Weber/Rossini/Mozart
Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra
RCA Red Seal

4599
1983 Weber/Schubert
Grand Duo Concertant; Arpeggione Sonata
RCA Red Seal

4825
1986
Begin Sweet World (Reissued on CD in 1990)

Douglas/Thelonious Monk/Faur/Debussy, etc.
RCA Red Seal

7124
1988
Ebony (Reissued on CD in 1990)

Woody Hermans Thundering Herd
RCA Victor Red Seal

6486
1988
New York Counterpoint (Reissued on CD in 1991)

Steve Reich/Douglas/Jenkins/Ives, etc.
RCA Victor Red Seal

5944
1989
Innervoices (Simultaneously released on CD)

w/Judy Collins
RCA Victor
7888
59
CDs
from Sony BMG/RCA, Bis, Koss Classics, Albany,
Windham Hill, Naxos, Ondine, & Private Labels
1987
Schumann/Schubert
Richard Goode, piano
RCA Victor Red Seal

6772
1989
Brahms
Clarinet Sonatas, Op. 120; Richard Goode, piano
RCA Victor Gold Seal

60036
1989
Innervoices
w/Judy Collins, voice
RCA Victor
7888
1989
Mozart
Clarinet Concerto, K. 622; Bassoon Concerto, K. 191

60379
1990
Bartk/Ives/Stravinsky
Contrasts, Songs, LHistoire du Du Soldat
Sony BMG
60170
1990
Begin Sweet World

Douglas/Thelonious Monk/Faur/Debussy, etc.
RCA Victor
7124
1990
Ebony
Woody Hermans Thundering Herd
RCA Victor Red Seal

6486
1990
Romance
Debussy/Poulenc/Saint-Sans/Satie
RCA Victor Red Seal

60198
1991
Brasil
Villa-Lobos/Nascimento/Faur/Wayne Shorter
RCA
60782
1991
Finzi/Ashmore
5 Bagatelles, Clarinet Concerto, 4 Seasons, etc.
RCA Victor Red Seal

60437
1991
New York Counterpoint

Steve Reich/Douglas/Jenkins/Ives, etc.
RCA Victor Red Seal

5944
1992
Hark!
Christmas
RCA
61272
1992
The Essential Clarinet

Concertos; Corgliano/Copland/Bernstein/Stravinsky
RCA Victor Red Seal

61360
60
1993
Copland/Bernstein/Gershwin
Concerto, Sonata, 3 Preludes
RCA Victor Red Seal

61790
1994
Dreams
RCA Victor
61936
1994
Mozart: Clarinet Concerto

Flute Concerto w/Galway
RCA
68024
1994 Takemitsu
Fantasma/Cantos, Waves, Quatrain II
RCA Victor Red Seal

62537
1995
Brahms/Beethoven/Mozart
Trios; Yo-Yo Ma, cello; Emmanuel Ax, piano
Sony
57499
1995
Brahms/Weber
Quintets with the Tokyo String Quartet
RCA Victor Red Seal

68033
1995
Donald Erb
Concertos: Clarinet, Violin, Trombone
Koss Classics
3302
1995
Impressions - Debussy/Ravel
RCA Victor Red Seal
Tokyo String Quartet w/Stoltzman, Galway (flute), etc. 62552
1995
Visions
w/Eddie Gomez, etc.
RCA Victor
68072
1996
Amber Waves
Gershwin/Bernstein/Amazing Grace, etc.
RCA Victor Red Seal

62685
1996
Foss/Englund/McKinley
Concertos
RCA Victor Red Seal

61902
1996
Spirits
RCA
68416
1997
Aria
RCA Victor Red Seal

68817
1998
Danza Latina
RCA
String Quartet w/Brazilian rhythms; Clare Fischer, pno. 63281
61
1998
Open Sky
Bill Douglas
RCA
63112
2000
Garden of Sounds
Improvisation with NEXUS percussion ensemble
Bis
1108
2000
WorldBeat Bach
Flamenco, Samba, Bossa Nova, & Jazz Groves
RCA
63554
2001
Lamento
BMG Japan
099193
2001
Lutoslawski/Prokofiev/Nielsen
RCA Victor Red Seal

63836
2001
Rautavaara: Clarinet Concerto, etc.
Ondine
1041
2001
Stanislaw Skrowaczeski
Albany
481
2002
Rautavaara: Angels & Visitations

Various Artists
Ondine
1079
2003
Father & Son

Clarinet and Piano
Stoltzman Studios
962426
2003
Hartke: Clarinet Concerto Landscapes with Blues
Naxos
8559201
2004
Mozart: Clarinet Concerto & Quintet

Tokyo String Quartet/English Chamber Orchestra
RCA
60866
2004 Yehudi Wyner
Naxos
8559423
2009
Mementos: Modern Orchestral Works

Krammer/Yip/Barabba/Crough
Navona
5816
2009
Phoenix in Flight
Weber/Bottesini/Debussy/Tchaikovsky
Navona
5801
62
2009
Ragomania
William Bolcom/Clare Fischer
Marquis Classical
81397
CDs
from Master Musicians Collective
1997
Alchemy: Richard Stoltzman

McKinley/Fenner/Carbon
MMC 2031
1998
Fredrick Kaufman
Clarinet Concerto; Marc Drobinsky, cello
MMC 2074
2000
Mildred Fink & Alfred Hoose
MMC 2093
2001
Jerome David Goodman

Jana Herajnova, violin; Raymond Davis, cello
MMC 2097
2001
Richard Stoltzman and the Seattle Symphony Orchestra

Brouwer/Nelson/Nytch/McKinley
MMC 2080
2001
Richard Stoltzman and the Warsaw National Orchestra

Concertos for Clarinet and Orchestra: Phillips/Stewart, etc.
MMC 2078
2002
Frank Graham Stewart

Clarinet Concerto; Karen Dreyfus, viola
MMC 2102
2003 Walter Ross - Three Concertos

Marjorie Mitchell, piano; Svend Ronning, violin
MMC 2100
2003
MMC 2094
Wild-Wood: Richard Stoltzman

Clarinet Concertos by Women
2004 Andy Jaffe - An Imperfect Storm
MMC 2132
2004
Roger Davidson - Mandala

Jeffrey Silberschlag, trumpet
MMC 2131
2005
Reflections: Richard Stoltzman

Perlongo/Lay/Goodwin/Iannaccone/Stiller
MMC 2105
63
2005
Still Life - Karen Amrhein

Various Artists
MMC 2136
2006
New Century Volume 19

Various Artists
MMC 2150
2006
Xtreme Classical - A. Paul Johnson

Malcolm Smith, oboe; Ed Stanbach, clarinet
MMC 2145
2007
New American Works for Clarinet - Davidson/McKinley/Sacks
MMC 2157
2007
State of the Union - Roger Rudenstein

Clarinet Sonata; Various Artists
MMC 2161
2007
Universal Spirit - Davidson & McKinley

Choral Music
MMC 2154
2008
Jacks Fat Cat - Carl Vollrath (featuring Stoltzman)

w/Michael Finegold, flute and Karolina Rojahn, piano
MMC 2174
2008
Music for Woodwind Vol. 1 - John Mitchell

Sonata for Clarinet & Piano, Op. 3; Various Artists
MMC 2164
2008
New American Works for Cl. Vol. II - Marcus/McKinley/Vollrath

Michele Gingras, Kim Ellis, Stoltzman (clarinets)
MMC 2173
2008
Painted Shadows of Childhood - Donald Betts

Donald Betts, piano; Heather Netz, violin; Tim Betts, viola
MMC 2163
2008
Perspectives
Various Artists
MMC 2162
2008 William Stalnaker

Sara Stalnaker, cello
MMC 2166
2009
MMC 2179
Bodine/McKinley/Rudenstein
Pedro Carneiro, marimba; Paul Dykstra, piano
64
Audiovisual
1993
Dudley Moore Introduces Concerto! Copland Clarinet Concerto. Produced and

Directed by Dudley Moore. Performed by Richard Stoltzman and the
London Symphony Orchestra. 51 min. RCA Victor, 1993. Videocassette.
1996
1791-1891-1991. Mozart Concerto, Brahms Clarinet Quintet, Takemitsu

Fantasmo/Cantos. BMG, 1996. Laserdisc.
2010
Bach & Friends. Produced and Directed by Michael Lawrence. Michael

Lawrence Films, 2010. 2 DVD set.
*Disc 1: Two hour documentary. 116 min.
Includes Richard Stoltzman discussing Bach.
*Disc 2: Bonus DVD including complete performances. 90 min.
Richard Stoltzman plays Chromatic Fantasy in D minor (BWV 903)
65
APPENDIX C
TASHI DISCOGRAPHY
Tashi LPs
1976
Messiaen (Reissued on CD in 1989)

Quatuor Pour La Fin Du Temps
RCA Red Seal

1567
1977
Stravinsky (Reissued on CD by BMG Japan in 2006)

L'histoire Du Soldat; Three Pieces for Clarinet
RCA Red Seal
1978
Beethoven (Reissued on CD by BMG Japan in 2006)

RCA Red Seal
Quintet for Piano & Winds, Op. 16; Trio in Bb, Op. 11 2217
1978
Mozart (Reissued on CD by BMG Japan in 2006)

Clarinet Quintet, K. 581; Piano Quintet, K. 452
RCA Red Seal

2683
1980 Takemitsu (Reissued on CD in 2005)

Quatrain, A Flock Descends into the Pentagonal...
Deutsche Grammophon
2531210
1980 Takemitsu (Reissued on CD in 1994)

Fantasma/Cantos, Water-ways, Waves, Quatrain II
RCA Red Seal

3483
1982 Weber (Reissued on CD by BMG Japan in 2006)

Clarinet Quintet
RCA Red Seal

4328
1983 Webern/Takemitsu (Reissued on CD, BMG Japan 2006) RCA Red Seal
Quartet, Op. 22
4730
Tashi CDs
1989
Messiaen

7835
1989
Rendezvous
Hindemith/Gershwin/Foss/Schulman
RCA Victor Red Seal

7901
1994 Takemitsu
Fantasma/Cantos, Water-ways, Waves, Quatrain II
RCA Victor Red Seal

62537
2005 Takemitsu
Quatrain, A Flock Descends into the Pentagonal...
Deutsche Grammophon
4775381
66
2006
Beethoven
BMG Japan
Quintet for Piano & Winds, Op. 16; Trio in Bb, Op. 11 644751
2006
Messiaen
BMG Japan
648178
2006
Mozart
Clarinet Quintet, K. 581; Piano Quintet, K. 452
BMG Japan
648184
2006
Stravinsky
L'histoire Du Soldat; Three Pieces for Clarinet
BMG Japan
648181
2006 Weber
Clarinet Quintet
BMG Japan
648186
2006 Webern/Takemitsu
Quartet, Op. 22
BMG Japan
648187
67
BILIOGRAPHY
Blum, David. Teaching the Clarinet to Speak with His Voice. New York Times, 16
August 1992. Accessed 31 December 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/1992/
08/16/arts/classical-music-teaching-the-clarinet-to-speak-with-his-voice.html?
Bouchard, Fred. Richard Stoltzman: Clarinet Crossover. Downbeat, October 1986,
20-22+.
Campione, Carmine. Campione On Clarinet. Fairfield, OH: John Ten-Ten Publishing,
2001.
Cariaga, Daniel. Clarinetist Stoltzman: The Music and Musician. Los Angeles Times,
19 January 1982, Part VI 1+.
Davis, Peter G. Virtuosos of the Woodwinds and Horn. New York Times, 2 December
1979, D22-23.
Dudley Moore Introduces Concerto! Copland Clarinet Concerto. Volume 5. Produced
and directed by Dudley Moore. Performed by Richard Stoltzman and the London
Symphony Orchestra. 51 min. RCA Victor, 1993. Videocassette.
Ericson, Raymond. Richard Stoltzman: Virtuoso Clarinetist. New York Times, 11
January 1980, C11.
Fabricant, Florence. With Flair for Music and Baking. New York Times, 1991.
Accessed 31 December 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/1991/07/31/garden/witha-flair-for-music-making-and-baking.html?ref=richard_stoltzman.
Feather, Leonard. The Best of Both Worlds for Richard Stoltzman. Los Angeles Times,
29 June 1986, 63.
Frank Salomon Associates. Website. http://www.franksalomon.com.
Hadcock, Peter. The Working Clarinetist. Cherry Hill, NJ: Roncorp, 1999.
Hamann, John. Life at Richard Stoltzmans and Kalmen Oppermans Clarinet Summit.
The Clarinet (December 1998): 42-46.
Harris, Paul. Teaching the Clarinet in The Cambridge Companion to the Clarinet, ed.
Colin Lawson. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
Heckman, Don. Have Clarinet, Will Noodle. Los Angeles Times, 6 September 1998,
50-52.
Henahan, Donal. Clarinetist: Stoltzman Gives Recital. New York Times, 29 April
1982, C16.
__________. Concert: Mostly Mozart at Its Most. New York Times, 29 June 1976, 25.
__________. Stoltzman Excels on Clarinet. New York Times, 23 July 1977, 10.
68
__________. Wanted: Perfect Mozart Performers. New York Times, 26 July 1990.
Accessed 31 December 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/1990/07/26/arts/reviewmusic-wanted-perfect-mozart-performers.html?ref=richard_stoltzman.
Hiemenz, Jack. Musician of the Month: Richard Stoltzman. High Fidelity and
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Richard stoltzman: defying categorization

Copyright 2011 Amy Turnbull

Follow this and additional works at: http://ir.uiowa.edu/etd

RICHARD STOLTZMAN: DEFYING CATEGORIZATION

An essay submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the

Essay Supervisor: Professor Maurita Murphy Mead

This is to certify that the D.M.A. essay of

Amy Alizabeth Turnbull

Essay Committee: ____________________________________________

Durations of Saint-Sans Sonata, Mvt. I................................................... 40

Durations of Poulenc Sonata, Mvt. II........................................................ 41

Mozart, Concerto, K. 622, Mvt. II, mm. 17-24, Stoltzman....................... 36

Weber, Concertino, mm. 229-238, Stoltzman........................................... 38

Weber, Concertino, mm. 229-238, Meyer................................................. 39

Weber, Concertino, mm. 229-238, Shifrin................................................ 39

Mozart, Concerto, K. 622, Mvt. III, mm. 301-322, Stoltzman................. 43

Mozart, Concerto, K. 622, Mvt. II, mm. 47-58, Stoltzman....................... 44

Weber, Concertino, mm. 211-238, Stoltzman........................................... 45

Mozart, Concerto, K. 622, Mvt. II, mm. 83-98, Stoltzman....................... 46

Mozart, Concerto, K. 622, Mvt. II, mm. 83-98, Brymer........................... 47

Mozart, Concerto, K. 622, Mvt. II, mm. 83-98, Leister............................ 47

Mozart, Concerto, K. 622, Mvt. II, mm. 83-98, Shifrin............................ 48

Mozart, Concerto, K. 622, Mvt. II, mm. 83-98, Marcellus....................... 48

Stoltzmans first wife was Yoko Matsuda, violinist.

Current Biography Yearbook, 554.

Kozinn, D15; Weston, 293.

Current Biography Yearbook, 552.

Current Biography Yearbook, 553.

Stoltzman, interview by Schnabel, 182.

Stoltzman, interview by McCutchan, 14.

Stoltzman, interview by Schnabel, 184.

Ohio State University

Ericson, C11; Petersen, D5; Weston, 292.

Weston, 292; Stoltzman, interview by McCutchan, 14.

Kozinn, D15; Stock, D27; Current Biography Yearbook, 553.

Stock, SM27; Current Biography Yearbook, 553.

Petersen, D5. Also in Stock, SM27; and Blum.

Marlboro Music Festival

Weston, 292; Stoltzman, interview by McCutchan, 14.

Weston, 293; Petersen, D5.

Current Biography Yearbook, 553.

Stoltzman, interview by McCutchan, 14.

Onstage 57, 59.

Current Biography Yearbook, 553.

Stock, SM27; Weston, 295.

Stock, SM28; Weston, 295.

Current Biography Yearbook, 554.

Current Biography Yearbook, 553.

Current Biography Yearbook, 554.

Stock, New York Times, 31 Jul 1983.

Current Biography Yearbook, 554.

Current Biography Yearbook, 554; Kraus, H19.

Kraus, H19, H26.