Famous Musicians Throughout History Who Played the Clarinet
www.firstclarinet.com on October 16th, 2011
The Clarinet was invented around 1700, and is still a popular instrument today. It can be heard in all styles of music such as symphonic, popular, dance, jazz and pop. The clarinet inspired the famous composers Mozart, Weber, and Beethoven to write many concertos. There is a long list of famous clarinetists throughout history that have, and still are, delighting our ears with their beautiful music.
Anton Stadler, born 1753, was the famous clarinet player who inspired Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart, who favored the clarinet above all other instruments, wrote his most famous concertos for Stadler.
Heinrich Baerman was born in 1784 and played the clarinet for King Ludwig’s court. He traveled through Vienna and London, and all over Europe, on concert tours. During his travels he met composer Carl Maria von Weber, and he began to write concertos for Baerman. The two became very famous together.
Benny Goodman, also known as the King of Swing, first picked up a clarinet at the age of 10 years old. By the age of 14 he was in a band, and at the age of 16 he was asked to join a California band that he played in for four years. Benny Goodman went on to play for the Music Hall and NBC, and most notably Carnegie Hall. At the time, Carnegie Hall had never had a Jazz player, so Goodman’s performance there was a debut for jazz. In his lifetime Goodman played with famous musicians like Bix Beiderbecke, Ben Pollack, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald.
Today, Richard Stoltzman is the most popular clarinetist in America. He has made dozens of hits CD’s. He is the first in history to give solo recitals at Carnegie Hall and the Hollywood Bowl. He has won many awards, including the first wind player to win the Avery Fisher Prize. He has also won two Grammy Awards for his music.
The clarinet has the power to move and inspire, and for those of us who appreciate music, we can not get enough of the beautiful sounds this instrument creates.
