Clarinet is a musical instrument which belongs to the woodwind (it is a musical instrument which produces sound when you blow wind in it) family. There are over a dozen types of clarinets in this world. It was first invented by Johann Christoph Denner from Germany in the 18th century. Since then the clarinet has been widely used in jazz and musical concerts all around the world. A person who plays a clarinet is a clarinetist.
There are two types of clarinet players - those who play classical music and those who play jazz or modern music in a band. There are some clarinet players who play both classical and modern music such as Bill Smith.
Popular Clarinet Players
- Barney Bigard
- Johnny Dodds
- Don Byron
- Benny Goodman
- Elysia Clapin (granddaughter of Benny Goodman)
- Artie Shaw
- Larry Shields
- Pee Wee Russell
- Pete Fountain
- Irving Fazola
- Larry Combs
- Frederick Thurston
- Sabine Meyer
- David Shifrin
- Jack Brymer
- Richard Muhlfeld
- Anton Stadler
- Woody Allen
- Acker Bilk
- Woody Herman
- John Helliwell
Famous Clarinetists
Anton Stadler: Perhaps one of the most famous clarinet performers, Stadler's playing inspired Mozart to write many of his compositions. He was like a mentor to Mozart.
Carl Baermann: Carl was a famous clarinet player and was Heinrich Baermann's son. Today he is popularly known as a music professor and an author of clarinet book that most of the students studying music use. He has helped in improving the mechanics of the clarinet.
Karl Leister: One of the most famous clarinet players of Germany, Karl has the most number of clarinet recordings in German music. Karl has also played with Karajan for almost 30 years. His recordings are always a delight to hear.
Sharon Kam: She was born in Israel and won a scholarship of the Jewish-American cultural society at the age of 12 and has since been performing concerts all around the world. She resides in Germany and is a perfect example of a modern flexible clarinet player who can adapt to different styles when required, rather than playing in the same fashion.
Benny Goodman: He is a Jewish-American clarinet player, who started as a jazz musician, but became a famous name in the world of clarinet music. He has made some new recordings of classical works in his own style.
Famous Clarinet Composers
Sergej Prokofiev: This name defines modern Russian music. He wrote modern musical pieces in early 1900's, and are still played today. He was convinced that Russian music needed some transformation. He wrote the most famous clarinet tune "Peter and the Wolf".
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Regarded as the most talented and the most famous clarinet music composers of all time, Mozart lived in a time when clarinet music was still new. In 1780 clarinet became his most favorite musical instrument. He wrote the most famous clarinet concertos for his infamous friend Anton Stadler.
Karl M. V. Weber: After Mozart, the most famous clarinet composer was Weber. Weber knew more about the intricacies of the musical instrument than anyone else. This makes his concertos so successful.
Francis Poulenc: Poulenc was a member of the group "Six". He had a radical approach towards modern music. His works are popular among many clarinet students. Though his pieces were never popular, he will always be known as a great composer.
Aaron Copland: A Jewish musician, Copland was a student of Rubin Goldmark in New York and Nadia Boulanger in Paris. He wrote musical pieces for both classical music, and jazz. He also wrote a composition for Benny Goodman which is regarded as a classic piece of music.
Well, there are many more famous clarinet players and composers that I haven't mentioned, which doesn't make them any less important. If you think I should have added some more names, do comment to let us know.
