David Weber (clarinetist)
Encyclopedia
David Weber was an American classical
clarinetist known for the beauty of his tone, his inspired playing, and his influential teaching of the clarinet.
and came to the United States in 1921. His family settled in Detroit. His parents were not musical, but he liked the sound of clarinet and took it up at the age of 11. While in high school, he studied under Roy Schmidt and Alberto Luconi, principal clarinetists of the Detroit Symphony. In 1933 Ossip Gabrilowitsch
, then conductor of the Detroit Symphony, was impressed by Weber's playing and helped him get a New York Philharmonic Scholarship. This allowed Weber to study without fee in New York with Simeon Bellison
, the New York Philharmonic
's principal clarinetist. Around the same time he also studied with Daniel Bonade
, principal clarinet with the Columbia Broadcast System Symphony.
, who personally hired Weber on the spot to play in the NBC Symphony. Weber played with the orchestra for two years as associate principal and e-flat clarinet, but was replaced just before the orchestra's 1940 tour of South America for a more experienced player. He instead went on to audition for Erich Leinsdorf
, head of German repertoire at the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, who awarded him the principal clarinet position, which he held from 1940-1943.
Weber went on to serve as assistant principal in the New York Philharmonic
under former teacher Simeon Bellison
. He held this position from 1943–1944 and took part in Leonard Bernstein
's debut on November 14, 1943. He was principal clarinetist in the CBS Symphony Orchestra from 1946–1952, and then assumed the same position in the Symphony of the Air (the successor to the NBC Symphony) under Leopold Stokowski
from 1954-1957. After serving as the assistant principal for several years, in 1964, he became principal clarinetist in the New York City Ballet
Orchestra, a position he held until his retirement from performing in 1986. While he was a member of the orchestra, legendary choreographer Jerome Robbins
created a ballet to Igor Stravinsky
's Three Pieces for Solo Clarinet, featuring only Weber's playing.
Suite No. 2 and Richard Strauss
' Till Eulenspeigel's Merry Pranks. He played first clarinet in Stokowski's Symphony of the Air recordings.
In a 78 RPM set released by Musicraft Records
in early 1939, Weber and pianist Ray Lev
collaborated in the first recording of the Johannes Brahms
Sonata in F minor, op. 120 no. 1, in its original instrumentation for clarinet and piano. In 2002, Clarinet Classics released a CD entitled "A Portrait of David Weber: A Grand Master of the Clarinet," featuring recordings of David Weber from 1946 through 1978.
Weber used a double-lip embouchure
and though many of his students did not, he implored his students to strive for a "rich, liquid, legatissimo sound" that one could "reach out and touch."
and the Juilliard School of Music after leaving the New York City Ballet Orchestra in 1986. Many of his students became prominent clarinetists themselves and teachers in the United States and other countries. Former students currently occupy chairs in the Cleveland Orchestra, Dallas Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, and Milwaukee Symphony and include noted soloist Jon Manasse
and jazz clarinetist Kenny Davern
, who initially studied saxophone in the same building that Weber taught in, only to become mesmerized by the sound of the clarinet playing coming from Weber's studio. The jazz clarinetist Benny Goodman
also studied under Weber, who claimed Goodman never paid him and took his best reeds.
Weber continued teaching privately until June 2005, at which point he was a robust 92 years old.
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
clarinetist known for the beauty of his tone, his inspired playing, and his influential teaching of the clarinet.
Early life
David Weber was born in Vilna in present-day LithuaniaLithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
and came to the United States in 1921. His family settled in Detroit. His parents were not musical, but he liked the sound of clarinet and took it up at the age of 11. While in high school, he studied under Roy Schmidt and Alberto Luconi, principal clarinetists of the Detroit Symphony. In 1933 Ossip Gabrilowitsch
Ossip Gabrilowitsch
Ossip Gabrilowitsch was a Russian-born American pianist, conductor and composer.- Biography :...
, then conductor of the Detroit Symphony, was impressed by Weber's playing and helped him get a New York Philharmonic Scholarship. This allowed Weber to study without fee in New York with Simeon Bellison
Simeon Bellison
Simeon Bellison , born in Moscow, he was naturalised American after settling in the US in 1921.An early clarinet choir in the United States was established in 1927 by Simeon Bellison, then first clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic; from an initial eight members, the group's size grew by 1948...
, the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
's principal clarinetist. Around the same time he also studied with Daniel Bonade
Daniel Bonade
Daniel Bonade , a French classical clarinetist and professor of clarinet, was the most influential teacher of classical clarinet of the first generation of American-born professional clarinetists.The first teacher of Bonade was Ferdinand Capelle in Geneva Daniel Bonade (Geneva, April 4, 1896 –...
, principal clarinet with the Columbia Broadcast System Symphony.
Orchestral career
Weber's orchestral career began at age 25, with a 1938 audition for Arturo ToscaniniArturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini was an Italian conductor. One of the most acclaimed musicians of the late 19th and 20th century, he was renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orchestral detail and sonority, and his photographic memory...
, who personally hired Weber on the spot to play in the NBC Symphony. Weber played with the orchestra for two years as associate principal and e-flat clarinet, but was replaced just before the orchestra's 1940 tour of South America for a more experienced player. He instead went on to audition for Erich Leinsdorf
Erich Leinsdorf
Erich Leinsdorf was a naturalized American Austrian conductor. He performed and recorded with leading orchestras and opera companies throughout the United States and Europe, earning a reputation for exacting standards as well as an acerbic personality...
, head of German repertoire at the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, who awarded him the principal clarinet position, which he held from 1940-1943.
Weber went on to serve as assistant principal in the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
under former teacher Simeon Bellison
Simeon Bellison
Simeon Bellison , born in Moscow, he was naturalised American after settling in the US in 1921.An early clarinet choir in the United States was established in 1927 by Simeon Bellison, then first clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic; from an initial eight members, the group's size grew by 1948...
. He held this position from 1943–1944 and took part in Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
's debut on November 14, 1943. He was principal clarinetist in the CBS Symphony Orchestra from 1946–1952, and then assumed the same position in the Symphony of the Air (the successor to the NBC Symphony) under Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Anthony Stokowski was a British-born, naturalised American orchestral conductor, well known for his free-hand performing style that spurned the traditional baton and for obtaining a characteristically sumptuous sound from many of the great orchestras he conducted.In America, Stokowski...
from 1954-1957. After serving as the assistant principal for several years, in 1964, he became principal clarinetist in the New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Leon Barzin was the company's first music director. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company...
Orchestra, a position he held until his retirement from performing in 1986. While he was a member of the orchestra, legendary choreographer Jerome Robbins
Jerome Robbins
Jerome Robbins was an American theater producer, director, and choreographer known primarily for Broadway Theater and Ballet/Dance, but who also occasionally directed films and directed/produced for television. His work has included everything from classical ballet to contemporary musical theater...
created a ballet to Igor Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
's Three Pieces for Solo Clarinet, featuring only Weber's playing.
Recordings
Weber has been featured on many recordings. He can be heard performing the e-flat clarinet solos in Toscanini's recordings of the Daphnis and ChloeDaphnis and Chloe
Daphnis and Chloe is the only known work of the 2nd century AD Greek novelist and romancer Longus.-Setting and style:It is set on the isle of Lesbos during the 2nd century AD, which is also assumed to be the author's home. Its style is rhetorical and pastoral; its shepherds and shepherdesses are...
Suite No. 2 and Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
' Till Eulenspeigel's Merry Pranks. He played first clarinet in Stokowski's Symphony of the Air recordings.
In a 78 RPM set released by Musicraft Records
Musicraft Records
Musicraft Records was a United States based record label active in the 1930s and 1940s.Musicraft's catalog encompassed many different musical styles, including classical, folk, jazz, Latin, popular vocal, and calypso....
in early 1939, Weber and pianist Ray Lev
Ray Lev
Ray Lev was an American classical pianist. One year after her birth in Rostov na Donau, Russia, her father, a synagogue cantor, and mother, a concert singer, brought her to the United States.-Life:...
collaborated in the first recording of the Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
Sonata in F minor, op. 120 no. 1, in its original instrumentation for clarinet and piano. In 2002, Clarinet Classics released a CD entitled "A Portrait of David Weber: A Grand Master of the Clarinet," featuring recordings of David Weber from 1946 through 1978.
Legacy
David Weber was perhaps best known for the quality of his tone. According to the New York Times, "His sound was full, rich, resonant and pure." Current American Ballet Theater principal and acclaimed recording artist Jon Manasse described his teacher's sound as having "a unique bell-like quality". Stokowski described Weber's sound as being "like a dove cooing."Weber used a double-lip embouchure
Embouchure
The embouchure is the use of facial muscles and the shaping of the lips to the mouthpiece of woodwind instruments or the mouthpiece of the brass instruments.The word is of French origin and is related to the root bouche , 'mouth'....
and though many of his students did not, he implored his students to strive for a "rich, liquid, legatissimo sound" that one could "reach out and touch."
Teaching
Weber, who long had an interest in teaching clarinet, devoted himself to teaching at Columbia UniversityColumbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and the Juilliard School of Music after leaving the New York City Ballet Orchestra in 1986. Many of his students became prominent clarinetists themselves and teachers in the United States and other countries. Former students currently occupy chairs in the Cleveland Orchestra, Dallas Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, and Milwaukee Symphony and include noted soloist Jon Manasse
Jon Manasse
Jon Manasse is an American clarinetist.Manasse studied clarinet at the Juilliard School under David Weber. He won a prize in the International Competition for Clarinet in Munich and was the youngest winner of the International Clarinet Society Competition....
and jazz clarinetist Kenny Davern
Kenny Davern
Kenny Davern , born John Kenneth Davern, was one of the premier jazz clarinetists of his generation.-Biography:He was born in Huntington, Long Island to a family of mixed Jewish and Irish-Catholic ancestry...
, who initially studied saxophone in the same building that Weber taught in, only to become mesmerized by the sound of the clarinet playing coming from Weber's studio. The jazz clarinetist Benny Goodman
Benny Goodman
Benjamin David “Benny” Goodman was an American jazz and swing musician, clarinetist and bandleader; widely known as the "King of Swing".In the mid-1930s, Benny Goodman led one of the most popular musical groups in America...
also studied under Weber, who claimed Goodman never paid him and took his best reeds.
Weber continued teaching privately until June 2005, at which point he was a robust 92 years old.