Clarinetist relishes humanity in a symphony performance

Richard Stoltzman will be playing Mozart with the Youngstown Symphony.

By JOHN BENSON

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

You’ll have to forgive internationally renowned clarinetist Richard Stoltzman if he can’t remember whether he’s performed with the Youngstown Symphony in the past.

While such an omission might seem egregious, the truth is this Ohio State University graduate has performed with more than 100 orchestras over the past 35 years, not to mention countless chamber groups, solo recitals and more.

Still, coming back to Ohio is something special for Stoltzman, who looks forward to perhaps making his debut (or not!) with the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra performing Mozart’s clarinet concerto Saturday at Powers Auditorium.

“I think what it does for me is it connects me with musicians around the world, and I feel like that each orchestra I play with, I make friends for the clarinet and also for the music that I’m playing,” said Stoltzman, calling from Bermuda. “Of course, Mozart has plenty of friends already but each individual performance is unique and the people that I’m going to meet in Youngstown I may have played with some of them and then others, I’ll be playing with for the first time.

“It’s always a beautiful thing to connect with your colleagues and fellow musicians. You don’t play music in one way. You play it in every way. That’s the fun thing about coming to Youngstown.”

Something else that Stoltzman said is fun about coming to the Mahoning Valley is the notion of playing what he feels is one of the greatest pieces of music of all time, Mozart’s clarinet concerto.

In fact, the 65-year-old Stoltzman, who is a member of the New England Conservatory faculty, believes this particular piece of music is transcendent for the audience, who hangs onto every note from fiddle and flute playing to the violas, cellos and, naturally, the clarinet.

“It’s not ever difficult, but the problem with Mozart is there is no better way to say what he’s saying in the music,” Stoltzman said. “So when you play his music, you need to be very simple in your mind and your heart and let the notes that he created sort of speak for themselves. What I mean is, it doesn’t need a lot of excessive technique. It doesn’t need anything except honesty.”

Speaking to such honesty is how Stoltzman views not only his clarinet playing but also the higher purposes served by orchestral concerts in particular.

“I think the thing that’s great about live classical music is that these are not exactly the happiest of times,” Stoltzman said. “It’s a troubled time for the world and when you join together in a place with fellow human beings, many of which you don’t know, and sit there seeing your fellow humans on the stage, the citizens of Youngstown making harmony together and creating something beautiful that’s from a human’s effort, it gives you a little bit of hope for why we’re still on this planet.

“It sounds like I’m giving some sermon or something but I think for me that’s what a classical concert is for me in a nutshell. It’s an affirmation of hope and beauty in a world that doesn’t always give us a chance to realize that. And Mozart is the perfect vehicle for that kind of hope.”