In this discussion I address myself only to the smallest sub-set of clarinetists: the serious and aspiring young classical artists in the United States who would like to be the soloists; recording artists; chamber musicians; preparatory, university and conservatory teachers; and top professional orchestral players of the 21st Century.

If this is your dream, I would like to challenge each of you to look deeply into your soul and ask the following questions:

WHAT: Do you really understand the musical (intellectual, emotional and tonal) demands of what we call Classical Music?

WHO: Have you absorbed the classical tradition as well as completed the necessary training in order to seriously present your interpretation of these demands in performance before a paying and discerning audience?

HOW: Do you think that your present clarinet system (mouthpiece/reed selection and adjustment/ligature/barrel/upper and lower joint/bell combination), its mechanical adjustment and your method of playing it is able to compare competitively with a
quartet of Stradivarius instruments played by master chamber musicians in a 2000 seat hall or in a studio with equipped with a nine-foot Hamburg Steinway and the lastest in digital recording technology?

WHERE: Do you have a professional position or forum from which to express your artistic views and opinions? (Soloist and chamber musician with regular bookings on concerts series, orchestral principal clarinet position, record label and distribution, university teaching position, authorship of articles and books, etc.?)

If not, then WHEN and more importantly...WHY NOT?

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