Listening to a performance by any fine concert or opera orchestra, one can’t help but be struck by the quality of the playing in each section and by the principal players. And while we might occasionally look in the program to learn who is playing this or that solo, most of the time, the individual musicians remain virtually anonymous; they are simply members of the orchestra, be it the Toronto Symphony, the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra, or the Vancouver Symphony. Sometimes they do step forward to play a concerto, and we get to know them better, or they appear in concert as a member of a chamber music ensemble, but anonymity is more generally the lot of the gifted men and women who make their careers as orchestral musicians.
Clarinetist Stanley McCartney lived such a life and thanks to DOREMI, some of his artistry has been made available to a wider audience on this new CD.
McCartney, born in Vancouver (1930), has spent most of his professional life in Toronto, first as principal clarinet of the Toronto Symphony, and later as principal clarinet of the Canadian Opera Orchestra (1985-2010). I worked with Stan on several occasions and invariably found him to be a consummate musician and a gracious gentleman. He was the professional’s professional – always prepared, with technique beyond reproach, tone pure from top to bottom, and phrasing deeply expressive when it needed to be.
The Brahms and Mozart Clarinet Quintets are the very heart of the chamber music repertoire for every clarinettist. They have been recorded often, and indeed they have often been coupled together, as they are on two recordings that recently crossed my desk. The first features Anthony McGill, principal clarinet of the New York Philharmonic with the Pacifica Quartet ( Cedille CDR 90000147), and the second, the Scharoon Ensemble comprised of members of the Berlin Philharmonic (Tudor 7137). Both recordings are superb. McCartney’s versions with the Orford String Quartet, from more than 45 years ago, are every bit as good.
While some clarinettists may beg to differ, these quintets are not mini-concertos; rather, they are true chamber music masterpieces in which the clarinet is primus inter pares, the principal voice in an ensemble. In the Brahms especially, the clarinet must blend its tone with that of the string players for much of the time, rather than treat the string parts as a mere accompaniment. This is easier said than done, but McCartney and the Orford are as one in their phrasing and balance.
This CD is a long overdue tribute to one of the great Canadian musicians of the past half-century. It also reminds us that the Orford String Quartet is beyond question the finest string quartet ever produced in Canada.
Correction [Sept. 13, 2016]: The original article stated that Anthony McGill is Principal Clarinet of the Chicago Symphony. He is in fact Principal Clarinet of the New York Philharmonic.
MUSICALTORONTO
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