Legacy of Clarinet

One of the preeminent teachers of the early 20th century, Bonade taught a profusion of American clarinetists at Curtis who would fill positions in prominent orchestras throughout the country, including Robert McGinnis (’35), Bernard Portnoy (’37), and Anthony Gigliotti (’47), who all followed in his footsteps both as principals in the Philadelphia Orchestra and as faculty at Curtis.

The generation of clarinet faculty that came after Bonade was in large part composed of Curtis graduates who enjoyed prominent and varied careers. Bonade’s immediate successor, McGinnis, had come to the school as a student when he was only 14 years old; he joined the Philadelphia Orchestra immediately upon graduation, played in the U.S. Navy Band during World War II, and joined Paul LaValle’s Band of America at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York. Portnoy had a similarly multifaceted career as both an in-demand orchestra soloist and pit musician on Broadway; he can be heard on the original cast recording of My Fair Lady featuring Julie Andrews and Rex Harrison. Ralph McLane, who was known for his legendary tone, followed Portnoy as both Curtis faculty and Philadelphia Orchestra principal, and gave the first non-broadcast performance of Aaron Copland’s Clarinet Concerto (1949). Gigliotti, who interrupted his studies at Curtis to serve in the Navy during World War II, performed as principal for the Philadelphia Orchestra for a remarkable 47 years. He also consulted with Selmer, helping to develop the Series 10G clarinet, and later produced his own mouthpieces and ligatures for clarinet and saxophone. Donald Montanaro (’54), who studied with Gigliotti, similarly reflected the Curtis clarinet tradition of combining a prestigious orchestra career with advancing the instrument itself: he was associate principal of the Philadelphia Orchestra for nearly 50 years and consulted with the Vandoren company to develop new mouthpieces.

The clarinet players on the school’s current faculty were themselves Curtis students. They embody their predecessors’ commitment to excellence in their playing and pedagogy and mirror their diverse professional accomplishments for the school’s four current clarinet students. Michael Rusinek (’92), principal clarinet of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, preserves the proud legacy of excellent woodwind chamber music established at Curtis by Tabuteau. Anthony McGill broke ground as the first Black principal of the New York Philharmonic, and works as an advocate for social justice and music education in underserved communities, embodying the ideal of the Curtis artist- citizen; he was awarded the Avery Fisher Prize for his efforts. In recognition for his accomplishments, McGill was recently appointed to the William R. and Hyunah Yu Brody Distinguished Chair, a newly created endowed chair held by a member of the Curtis faculty who brings distinction to the school through their musical art and pedagogy. Other illustrious clarinet alumni include Samuel Caviezel (’96), associate principal clarinet of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and David Shifrin (’71), a fellow Avery Fisher Prize winner who has served as principal for several prominent orchestras and has been a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center since 1989.