Richard
Stoltzman
Photo credit: Carol Weinberg
Richard Stoltzman, clarinet
Richard Stoltzman's virtuosity, musicianship and sheer personal
magnetism have made him one of today's most sought-after concert artists.
As soloist with over a hundred orchestras, a captivating recitalist,
an innovative jazz artist and a prolific recording artist, this two-time
Grammy Award winner has defied categorization, dazzling critics and
audiences alike throughout many musical genres.
Stoltzman's unique way with the clarinet has earned him an international
reputation as he has opened up possibilities for the instrument that
no one could have predicted. He gave the first clarinet recitals at
both the Hollywood Bowl and Carnegie Hall, and became the first wind
player to receive the Avery Fisher Prize. He has performed or recorded
with such jazz and pop greats as Gary Burton, Chick Corea, Judy Collins,
Eddie Gomez, Woody Herman, Keith Jarrett, Mel Tormé and Spyro
Gyra founder Jeremy Wall.
His commitment to new music has resulted in numerous premieres, including
acclaimed clarinet concertos by Toru Takemitsu, Stephen Hartke and Einojuhani
Rautavaara and solo or chamber works by Steve Reich, Lukas Foss and
Yehudi Wyner.
www.richardstoltzman.com
Richard Stoltzman & Gary Sheldon recording Ragomania
Gary Sheldon, conductor
Gary Sheldon is the founding conductor of the Lancaster Festival
Orchestra. In 2002, he became artistic director of the Lancaster Festival.
Maestro Sheldon is also principal conductor at the Festival at Sandpoint,
Idaho and principal guest conductor for the San Francisco Ballet. His
dedication to performing new music, especially the works of living American
composers, began with the Lancaster Festival's annual Composers Symposia
and later with the Marin Symphony in California, where he served as
music director from 1990-2000 and established the Bay Area Composers
Symposium.
Important premieres conducted by Sheldon include the American premiere of the complete ballet Estancia by Alberto Ginastera, the world premiere of the gospel opera Vanqui by Leslie Savoy Burrs and the world premiere of William Bolcom's Concerto Grosso for Four Saxophones and Orchestra with the Lancaster Festival Orchestra. Sheldon's own compositions, Cole and Butterfly, ballets based on the music of Cole Porter and Giacomo Puccini, have been widely performed, as has his Klezmer Medley for Orchestra and choral arrangement of Jerusalem of Gold.
www.gsheldon.com
William Bolcom
William Bolcom (b. May 26, 1938 in Seattle, Washington) is one
of America's most performed and commissioned composers living today.
A restless eclectic, Bolcom's music is influenced by his performing
life as a virtuoso pianist, his immersion in both the European avant-garde
and the American vernacular, his encyclopedic knowledge of Western classical
music, and his passionate commitment to leaving no musical stone unturned.
His hundreds of compositions embrace the voice, orchestra, stage, keyboard and the gamut of chamber music-making with an ability to assimilate world culture, human drama and formal elegance, in forms minute and gargantuan. His special affinity for early American song provides a unique lyricism within even his most complex passages, while an energetic and mercurial personality produces a distinct edge to his music that has earned him honors from virtually every musical quarter, not least of which is the steadfast championship by many of today's most talented musical performers. Bolcom has resided in Ann Arbor, Michigan for 35 years, where he taught at the University of Michigan until his retirement in 2008.
Bolcom has composed dozens of orchestral works, including eight symphonies
and major concertos for piano (1976), two pianos (1995), violin (1983),
flute (1993) and the present Clarinet Concerto (1988).The three works
on this recording span 17 years, from Commedia (1971) to the Concerto,
with Ragomania being composed in 1982.
www.WilliamBolcom.com
Clare Fischer
Clare Fischer was born on October 22, 1928 in Durand, Michigan. His
musical ascension began with his critically acclaimed arrangements for
Dizzy Gillespie's A Portrait of Duke Ellington. In 1983, Richard Stoltzman
commissioned Fischer to write a symphonic work using Duke Ellington
and Billy Strayhorn themes, The Duke, Swee'Pea and Me. In 1986 Fischer
won his second Grammy® Award - this one for his album, Free Fall,
the first having been won in 1981 for his album, Salsa Picante plus
2 + 2. Since that time he has become a renowned jazz educator, performing
solo piano concerts and conducting clinics and master classes at universities
and music conservatories in Europe and throughout the United States.
In December 1999, Michigan State University School of Music conferred
an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts Degree on him in recognition of his
"...creativity and excellence as a jazz composer, arranger and
performer."
www.clarefischer.com
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