Hi Bryan,

Please feel free to call me Andy, not Mr. Firth.
I`m glad that you enjoyed my concert at Oklahoma-it was a GREAT rhythm section on the night and that inspired me too! Regarding my CDs, we have finished the run on the 16 clarinet big band CD "Me, myself & I" but will be getting another done soon as this seems to sell out quicker than we can keep up! The other 6 CDs I`ve done over the years have sold out as well and most we don`t bother getting re-printed because its money that could be spent on new productions. Please contact me on firthaj@bigpond.net.au to discuss other possiblities though as you seem to really want one of my recordings...so we might be able to find something for you seing as they were stolen. I can`t think of anything worse than that! I`ve got 1500 CDs. At least if my instruments get stolen the inst. companies might replace them for me...but CDs-ouch!

Anyway thanks for the letter and I look forward to talking further on the above email address.

Cheers!

Andy

Hi Bryan,

You might want to try Prof. David Etheridge at Ok University seeing as he seems to have produced a CD of the concert I did? I didn`t even know that there was one...oh well its all publicity I guess.

Cheers,

Andy

Bradley and Dmitri, get a sense of humour!!!! My response was totally tongue-in-cheek (which is obviously something of which you have no concept). Selling millions of cds is neither what I want to do nor is it, I think, a mark of how good a musician you are (NOTE: Successful doesn`t necessarily mean good - the top 40 charts are an excellent example)

I never said that I thought Kenny G would care what I thought. I didn`t criticise him. I just said he`s a soprano sax player, primarily, so doesn`t count. I also never said that Acker Bilk was a classicist - I just mentioned him because of the formentioned response from someone else earlier). The topic was not `professional classical or jazz clarinettists` so why can`t he be mentioned.

To criticise me as being uneducated due to that response is both rude and humourless. I don`t happen to like Richard Stoltenberg of whom I have been exposed to numorous recordings in my 25 years in a specialist classical music business. I do not like his tone or overall style of playing - the mention of the Saint-Saens sonata is well based in fact. I listened to over 15 recordings of this sonata by different clarinettists (including 3 of my teachers at the conservatorium) before my end of year recital and it was by far my least favourite because of that point - my comment on `bodily functions` served to enhance my point. I`m not the only person that doesn`t like Stoltenberg. Just as not everyone likes Sabine Meyer. I do but that`s because she has a distinctive tonal quality and style that is closest to what I admire and aim for. But its not to everyone`s taste

I`m entitled to my opinion which I think is the whole point of this forum. Neither do I like Gervase de Peyer. I did not say he was not worthy of his music sales - I just think that in order to say he is my `favourite` clarinettist, he would have to do a hell of a lot better than that recording.

Oh and just to add one extra point, Bradley and Dmitri. I`m assuming that you are from the US. I`m not. I come from Australia. In my country, we have different views to tone and stylistic interpretation of a clarinet work than the US (ours follows closer to German than American). Not to mention different approaches to reed choice, mouthpiece choice, embouchure. Every American clarinet magazine serves to promote a different (and I`m not saying bad) approach to playing than anywhere else in the world. Not sure about teaching methods as have never attended a class in America. Therefore, what`s to say that your opinion is any more valid than mine?

I`ve been reading the "fav. clarinetist" stuff. recently. All of the people that you`ve mentioned have worked their butts off to get where they are. It doesn`t come down to criticising people or players for their efforts it comes down to just appreciating the parts of their clarinet contributions that you like and leaving the stuff that you don`t dig. I love Kenny G`s music, I also respect dear ol` Acker for his way of getting the everyday person to know what a clarinet actually is! Gees! I mean this guy is a really sweet man who hasn`t got a bad word to say about anybody. I had the honour of playing on stage with him in the UK at a jazz festival. He just plays the way he does `cause he`s Acker-and that`s the way it should be. Kenny G plays like Kenny G, Artie Shaw plays like Artie Shaw, we can learn somenthing from all of them if we keep an open mind guys. OK there are good and better recordings out there. I know people at Conservatoriums in Australia that refuse to accept Eddie Daniels as a ligit player because he plays jazz too. I love Eddie`s playing no matter what style he does. I guess my point is that perhaps we can only really make a judgement on a player`s craft when we can do what they do and in the way that they do it. Who`s to say that Acker`s contribution is any less noteworthy than Eddie`s? Both have helped promote our beloved clarinet and lifted it back in to the public`s persecptions once more and for that we should just give thanks if only for doing this in a world dominated by guitars and vocalists.
Still, this is only my point of veiw.

Cheers!

Andy

Emily- the point is that you just tore all those artists to shreds, because you don`t happen to like them. Even if you don`t like them you still can`t just go out and say all these people are horrible players, when you don`t even have half the level of their artistry. Even if you did you still shouldn`t, but what I`m trying to say is that your humour was not appreciated, and I`m sure if it was done to you or someone you respect you`d feel the same way. You didn`t even make it clear that it was humour by defending your comments in the same post, so you sounded really immature.

Bradley

I`D HAVE TO SAY BENNY GOODMAN. AND IF YOU LIKE HIM YOU`LL PROBABLY LIKE THE CLARINETIST kEN pEPLOWSKI

What about Leon Russianoff, Daniel Bonade, and Carl Baermann? lol...i like em all.....James Pyne is cool too! Check him out!!!

Lochness, I would consider that list more a list of pedagogues than performers. With the exception of Bonade of couse. Who was gifted to be incredible at both. Whereas I cannot really say that much about Baermann, I know that Russianoff was more of a teacher, having taught at The Juilliard School for years and years. Same goes for Pyne. I really see him more of a pedagogue than a perfomer, albeit he performed with Buffalo? for years.

I`m surprised not one person has mentioned Jack Brymer.

even though they are pedagogy oriented...they are great assets to the clarinet world and must be considered!!!

they have helped to develop some of the world`s best clarinetists. I insist on them bein cheered!

Then in that case...lets all throw up a toast to Stadler!

Yeah THAT`S THE NAME OF MY A CLARINET!!!!!

GO MOZART AND STADLER!

How about Elsa Ludwig-Verder up at Michigan State? She`s the first woman to make it as a professional solosit. She also has a fantastic sound and technical ability. Add to that incredible longevity in the field and you have a winning combination. Also for lovers of modern music for clarinet... be sure to check out Eric Mandat`s compositions. He has a great microtonal fingering chart and teaches at Southern Illinois University (Carbondale).

Elsa Ludwig-Verdehr is good, the Verdehr Trio performed at my university in March last year. It was a great concert.