CD REVIEW:
Bryan Crumpler's offering of seldom-performed works from the clarinet choir repertoire brings new meaning to the notion of I did it my way. All of the [instruments on all of the] tracks were played, recorded and mixed to his satisfaction and now available on CD for clarinet enthusiasts and esoteric music lovers alike.
The result is not without its problems, but the rendering of Peter Schickele's Monochrome III is worth the purchase price on its own. Like Victor Borge, Schickele is best known for his hilarious send up of all things classical. AKA PDQ Bach black sheep and deranged musicologist of the most gifted musical family of the Baroque and Classical periods like the exquisitely gifted Danish pianist, his jokes only ring true because he knows whereof he speaks. Perhaps, too, this work is the pick of the litter because it features nine soprano clarinets, which provides a density not found in Bertouille's brief Adagio expressive (from Concertino for Clarinet Quartet a bit of filler, it seems) and a much more mature compositional palette.
"Moderate cool" is compelling from the outset, replete with an echo of Dvorak's "New World Symphony" in the theme and carefully balanced with homophonic sections that come across beautifully. Further contrast is the spicy fun of a vif segment, where nine Crumplers' keys click in exactly the same manner as the passages unfold.
Even more engaging is "Gentle flowing." Not unexpectedly, the unisons are most certainly so. The composer mocks his own title with the second section before easing back into a jazzy episode that is notable for Crumpler's technical pizzazz that seldom betrays him on any of the tracks. Memorable are the final measures with an oh-so-quiet adieu.
The collection opens with Desportes' charming Caracteres. "The Warm Welcomer" initially surprises as the "sextet" inhales, exhales and "leaks" its breath in exactly the same "pitch” - astonishing at first, annoying ere too long. "The Loner" features Crumpler's magnificent mastery of the contra bass clarinet. The title couldn't be more appropriate.
"Nonchalant" begins amiably and manages an engaging lilt from stem to stern. The trills are brilliant even if the E-flat clarinet is far too present.
"Hothead" is reedily grumpy, yet despite its Gershwin-esque references, can't keep the ensemble tight. "Dreamer" lays down a wondrous bed of colour for the sopranos as they chat amongst themselves. The dying moment is especially fine. "The Joker" eschews Bartok snaps for Crumpler foot-stomps. His E-fer sauciness reveals spot-on characterization and is near coquettish in its delivery.
The final offering (Dondeyne's Symphonie des clarinettes) further displays Crumpler's considerable skills (especially his forays into the lower terrain- always pitch perfect and heart-felt), but suffers from balance problems in the mixdown and compositional letdowns in the writing.
Nonetheless, the disc is a tremendous achievement and serves to whet the appetite for what Crumpler can achieve when truly "seul."
- James Wegg
(excerpted from the James Wegg Review http://www.jamesweggreview.org)
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Internationally acclaimed clarinettist Bryan A. Crumpler (b. September 9th, 1979, Greenville, NC, USA) is one of America's most forthcoming young performers in the world. As a top prize winner in over a dozen competitions of regional, national and international standing; he is a leader for minority classical musicians and a pioneer for young artists around the globe. He has brought a sense of life and music to stages unprecedented by clarinettists of his generation, and makes a particular effort to showcase new, underplayed, and rarely performed works of young and/or living composers.
Since beginning the instrument at age 13, he has dazzled public and private audiences from dozens to thousands throughout the United States and Western Europe with his incomparably refined musicality, overwhelming technical facility, and mesmerizing stage presence. At age 14, he remarkably learned the Mozart Clarinet Concerto from having only listened to a tape bought from a local gas station. A year later he toppled the competition at his local symphony's concerto competition, still having never seen the actual sheet music. Resultantly, he made his solo debut with orchestra of the Mozart Concerto at age 15 €“ just two and a half years after beginning the instrument. The evolution of his young career since has taken him to concert stages big and small as a soloist and chamber musician in England, Switzerland, France, Germany, Belgium, Holland, Spain, and the United States.
Crumpler's performances - described as charismatic, personal, emotional, dizzying, and dazzling in pure artistry - have earned some of the highest critical acclaim from critics and audiences around the world. They have also earned him a series of concert invitations and a mass of prizes and medals in highly competitive music competitions. To note in particular, he received 3rd place and a special jury prize at the 2006 Dos Hermanas International Clarinet Competition with such adjudicators as Karl Leister, Guy Dangain, and Ronald Van Spaendonck. Additionally, he received the Bronze Medal and Selma Neumann Memorial Award in 2004 in the Houston Symphony's Ima Hogg Young Artist Competition €“ boasting judges such as Anne Marie McDermott, Sidney Harth, Vlademir Ashkenazy, and Andre Previn; and a trail of prize winners (now leading international artists) such as Van Cliburn, David McKelway, Hakan Rosengren, and Ralph Kirshbaum. His laundry list of prizes ranks him among some of the best international talent in classical music, including Avery Fisher Career Grantees and laureates of the Geneva International Competitions, Neilson Competitions, ARD Munich Competitions, Queen Elisabeth Competitions, and Concert Artists Guild.
Born to a family of athletes, Bryan's countless awards and prestigious scholarships - musical and academic alike - make him the undisputed family nerd. After graduating in 1997 from New Hanover High School (Wilmington, NC) with highest honours he was awarded a prestigious Morehead Scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. There, he began private Clarinet study with Professor Donald Oehler and also received specialized graduate level training in Computer Graphics and Virtual Reality research under Professor Mary Whitton and Turing Award Winner Dr. Fred Brooks. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in 2001 in Computer Science while nearly completing a minor in Chemistry and coursework in Clinical Laboratory Science and Music Performance. In the 2004-05 season, Crumpler received a full academic fellowship from the Ministry of the Flemish Community to do graduate study and an artist residency in Belgium €“ this after having mastered the Dutch language in less than a year.
As for clarinet, Crumpler has also trained privately with distinguished artists around the world, including Andrew Marriner (Principal, London Symphony), Freddy Arteel (Ret. Principal, Royal Philharmonic of Flanders), and David Campbell (Canterbury Christ Church College of England). and Eddy Vanoosthuyse (Flemish Radio Symphony). He has also been coached by Jimmy Gilmore (Principal, North Carolina Symphony), Todd Palmer (YCA artist), Dr. Nathan Williams (Interlochen/former Professor of Clarinet, East Carolina Univ.), Dr. Ray McClellan (UMSC President's Own & Univ. of Georgia), and Dr. Kelly Burke (Professor of Clarinet, UNC-Greensboro). Moreover, he has participated in master classes conducted by Howard Klug (Indiana Univ. at Bloomington), Marie Picard (Asst. Principal Clarinet, Quebec Sym. Orch.), Nancy Ambrose King (Oboe, Univ. of Michigan), Giorgy Kurtag, and Yo-Yo Ma.
Aside from music, Crumpler has been actively involved in theatrical arts since childhood for both stage and television productions. In the past 18 years, he has played a hand-full of roles in musicals, operas, and made-for-TV movies starring noteworthy actors as Jason London, Tia Carrere, Susan Dey, and Jerry O´Connel. In spring 2005, played his first major supporting role in a feature film produced by Belgian filmmakers Fixed Odds Productions. He also made a cameo appearance in De Puta Madre, an independent film scripted and directed by Eva Cools, which was recently featured in the Film Festival of Flanders. He has also been invited on multiple occasions by the Royal Marine Band of Belgium to perform the role of the principal actor/narrator for Jacob De Haan's "The Book of Urizen", which received its Belgian premiere in the spring of 2005 by him and soprano Joke Cromheecke accompanied by the Wind Symphony of the Royal Conservatory of Ghent.
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