What an absolutely marvelous performance! I think it is a characteristic of his performances to be completely unassuming and just a conduit for the music. I wish he would let his lovely staccato loose a little more often. I have his four Spohr Concertos. Can't fault them. So lovely to see him play, rather than just hear. Puts a name to the face! Bravo!
@Tarcila62078 i agree his sound is perfect but ever think it had to do with the clarinet just sayin, im not trying to put him down just stateing an opinion
wow. i just started playing clarinet lik 2 years ago so ive been listening to alot of clarinet players on youtube. My favorite is karl leister. something about his sound. jus absolutely amazing!!!
@SpartanG600 Leister is probably NOT double tonguing. He had a very nice fast single tonguing. You can usually hear the difference - single tonguing is smoother and nicer, but double can give a much better speed boost. You basically do somthing like this - da-ga-da-ga-da-ga. Try practising on any scale, as long as for each tongue hit you are playing a different note. Playing on the same note at the beginning might lead in the wrong direction.
Sorry but Harold Wright's recording of the entire Weber quintet is the best recording around, I highly recommend it. This guy's tone is peanuts compared to Wright's HOWEVER, I still consider Leister a virtuoso clarinetist of course.
i don't particularly enjoy this interpretation.. i was used to listen to a version played by Eddie Daniels which was moe staccato.. But well, for me Eddie Daniels is the best in the world.. no ofense to this guy
i dont often go for leisters tone, but here he is really fantastic! he is sooo technically smooth, and his tone is centered and full, even in the altissimo!
I studied with Leister years ago in Berlin. I worshipped his recordings especially of the Mozart and Weber Concerti. But when I heard him play in my lessons and with the BSO, his tone was pretty but a bit muffled. He is a giant in the clarinet world but a lousy teacher. The greatest teacher of clarinet was David Weber. Mr. Tone who cared about his students like family. I will miss him very much. He passed away several years ago.
He moves the clarinet outwards on the high notes most probably to a compensation for the more piercing character of these notes, increasing the distance to the microphone, a technique that is well-known and widely employed by the all voice players in the world. As we can heard, the final effect is excelent. (Specially for mjs5155.)
lol how can anyone dislike his tone? it's Karl Leister! I mean this is a live performance and it's absolutely great but there are one or two low E's that he almost sort of honks... but still, a masterful performance by one of the greatest masters of the instrument. Did anyone else notice how sore his index finger was at about 3:57 ? Is it really necessary to push your fingers that hard? Maybe his fingers are permanently like that because he was born with a clarinet in his hands :P
LOL how can anyone like this colorless and boring tone!!!!!!!!! I prefer Reginald Kell,Gervase de Peyer and Walter Boeykens for example much more than this.
Most of the above apart from Walter Boeykens rely on Vibrato to change their sound Karl changes his using different methods e.g fingerings, throat shapes etc.
MICHaeLDIZZLE is absolutely correct Karl is amazing!!!!!!!
So if you dont like Karl Leister what are you doing watching this video?????
I prefer A SINGLE note played by KARL LEISTER that milions played by Reginald Kell, Gervaise de Peyer or Walter Boeykens... Karl Leister has a wonderful smooth deep and warm sound. In other hands, any Böhm or French clarinetist sound like a histerycal women crying!!! Its a really disgusting sound!!!
don't be hatin' Böhm :P The latest models are very well adapted to produce excellent tone across the instrument. Böhm is probably one of the most developed systems in the world actually oheiler is getting left behind and it sounds so much like a sax. About tone, Leister is great but I must say Fröst has the greatest tone of all. In fact I think he's the greatest clarinetist in recorded history. Any thoughts on that?
Personally I really loved Frost's recording of Brahms and Mozart, but not in other recordings. His Crusell didn't really show any forte, while the Weber he messed up by trying to be too expressive. Still, I agree that Frost has a very wonderful tone, which is most beautiful when he doesn't exaggerate.
He not play with colorless!!! His tone is smooth warm and deep woodent clarinet tone!!! In other hand, if you hear playing Karl Leister's old recording (in the Berliner Philharmoniker with H. von Karajan) his tone is not the same. He also has change is clarinet tone.
I haven't listened to either Kell or Boeykens but I can say for sure that Gervase de Peyer's tone isn't really good. His Brahms and Mozart were terrible. Excessive vibrato, shaky tone. But people call that the "British" style. ha.
On the other hand, listen to Karl Leister's Brahms, Spohr, or Weber with a good speaker. You can grasp the beauty of his tone.
Well with Homeblest Chocolate biscuit from Burton we say good on both sides but with Leister it's the same taste on both sides. Boring taste. The same taste from beginning to the end.
"Maybe his fingers are permanently like that because he was born with a clarinet in his hands :P"
Yes, it's true. I have read some articles about Karl Leister in 'The Clarinet' and his father played the bass clarinet in the Opera's Orchestra. His clarinet tone conception came from his father sound.
Karl Leister is a master of the orquestra due to the smooth and wood sound, but he is not as good as a soilist, the sound has not the presence of the best soilists. However, his visual coeography is good. (We must not have tabus, and give our opinion, not a copy of others.)
I'm agree with Karl Leister. In his own words: "In the time I started, the sound for the clarinet players in France was very thin and light, it was the time of Delecluse. When I met him in 1957, when I got the price at the ARD competition in Munich, he talked to
me and he said he was very impressed
about how I played the clarinet, but he said something very interesting, "but you
have a curious sound" I answered "I love this curious sound".
I thank good that we now have a new genertation of clarinetist. No more straight,smooth and boring playing in the German school of clarinet playing(but I think that school doesn't exsist any more).
uh, why are you so biased against the German school? Sorry, but the German tradition is continued by many, many young German clarinetists.
Although I agree that it might sound boring, I disagree with you in that I value the German tradition as somehing left from the oldest maestroes: Stadler, Baermann, and Mulfeld.
In an age in which everybody plays flashly and extravagantly, Karl Leister's extreme precision and beautiful tone stands out.
Nothing wrong with German school! I'd like to see ANY musican take more risk though... I admire perfection and control, but it's a high price considering that today's classical music seems to have completely lost the expressiveness of for example the great violinists (Oystrakh, Stern, Kreisler etc), who were exceptions in an already declining tradition themselves... Precision AND expressive risk (agreed: not just for the sake of standing out), that's what we admire with the great masters!
another thing is that Karl Leister ws the last to have his original playing style and tone. The tone of younger clarinettist can hardly be discerned from one another.
Although I do like Sabine Meyer's style and all, I do not like the fact that she brought about the "unification" of clarinet tone-everybody copied her tone and playing style.
I would go to a concert by Karl Leister than a 100 of those young players who disregard the basics and focus only on technique.
@klarinetta no, I'd say the German school of sound still does exist. as a young clarinetist that's EXACTLY what I aim for, is that flawless German sound.
When MINATOMIRAI hall at Yokohama in Japan, I said Danke schoen, Danke schoen! You said Bitte schoen, Bitte schoen! That girl is a specialty Es klarinetten player now.
In case of arrive my massage and read you, I wish tell you, Thank you came Japan!
I love his tone; it's so perfect. I reminds me of milk chocolate melting in your mouth, creamy and smooth. But, I also think of dark chocolate, especially when I listen to his recording of the Mozart Clarinet Concerto, tastefully rich.
he plays with what seems to be perfect intonation throughout, but I think some might find his playing somewhat boring and not very musical, but I envy his technique
it's very good!!!I have a CD whit his interpretation of the Brahms-sonate no 1 and 2,rossini, verdi and spohr no 1,2,3 and 4...........it's incredibl...
his tone is amazing. I have a CD with his interpretation of the Mozart Clarinet Concerto in A K622, and its absolutely brilliant. One of my favorite clarinetists along with Sabine Meyer.
Karl Leister is one of the best, if not the best, clarinettists I've ever heared. To hear hear him play Mozart is bliss, but that's just me. LetsReason is absolutely correct.
There is no "best" for everyone. Leister has been world reknown for his sound for decades. Whether you think it the best, very few could deny that it is at least pleasant and at most, heading towards ideal. I am a professional clarinetist and would LOVE to sound like him ANY day. We should all just enjoy and stop trying to pretend we have some secret knowledge or understanding that allows us to criticize.
You have to remember Leister is playing a German system clarinet(i think its called the Oehler System), not the commonly used French System(Boehm), so the fingerings are gonna be different. As the clarinet has developed their have been many types of fingerings, like the Albert System which is a simpler fingering system used by alot of Klezmer players.
I myself am a player of the french system, which was created and adapted to overcome some of the fingering problems that occur with the Ohler system(german), but it is not the system that dictates the tone, it's the setup and skill level of the performer, I've heard people playing the german and albert system clarinets that have great tone and technique.
@band1163 false, there is a vast difference between the two types of clarinets. it's not all about the fingering system; I think people often forget that the bore of the horn is a huge factor in sound production.
for example, the French system has easy fingerings and relative easiness to control of tone and volume, while the German system usually has a denser tone and correct pitch.
Still, if you fall asleep watching this, you don't know how to appreciate music by maestros of the time.
Ya, the Boehm system has some obnoxious intonation problems. The differing sounds for the most part has more to do with the school of playing: German, Viennese, American, French, British, etc. They all have their distinctions, though there is obviously overlap. The German sound may be "dense", but it by no means is better. I'm obviously biased when I say this but I've never found a clarinet sound as gorgeous as Robert Marcellus or Daniel Bonade (both American school).
Great I love him too have 4 cd with him and he is fantastic. But it was so sad to hear that he had one of his lounge removed because of cancer several years ago. Smoking kills.
his passages are all perfect, and his tone is lovely, while not being too romantic. it sounds so pure and effortless, probably exactly like weber would have wanted it.
possibly the most overrated player of all time. 1) he can't play in tune. 2) his sound is godawful. 3) his articulation makes ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE, and is completely pansy.
then how do you think that he was principal clarinettist of the Berliner Philharmoniker for 30 years? I bet that you're not as half as good as Herr Leister. Even professionals regard him as the best player in the "conventional style"
He is maybe a fine musician but as a clarinet player he is just so awfuly boring.For German clarinet playing I would take Sabine and Wolfgang Meyer anytime over Leister. And for the reason he was pricipal in the Berliner Philharmoniker has maybe something to do with the conductor at the time of the audition and maybe not who knows.
Maybe so. I respect your point. However, him being the principal player of the BPO signifies something important: Karl Leister embodies the "German" clarinet playing, which is representd by the repression of emotion and strictly adhering to the "originals", if you get my meaning.
I also respect your point. I then have to tell you that player like George Pieterson which I like very much played with the Concergebouw orchestra in Amsterdam one of the best orchestra in the world.
1. Not everyone thinks piano tuning for all pitches is "in tune" especially considering that the ensemble is mostly strings! Welcome to tuning chords...
2. His sound is beautiful!
3. His articulation works well to shape the phrases in this particular work. Especially consider how well he matches note lengths with the strings.
If playing clarinet was all about smooth then no problem for Leister. But it's also about painting pitcures on a wall/paper with colors which is for the first thing very difficult to do on a German system clarinet. He sounds just the same from begining to the end . It's like clear and still water nothing happening. Only if he had such tone colors like the string quartet playin with him. I would rather watch an emty tv screen or something.
Clarinetqueen--sorry for your bad experience. You seem to have let it go--great. Can you tell me if Leister plays double or single lip?? Just curious......
I fell in love with Leister's tone the summer after I graduated from High School and first heard him on a Berlin Phil. record playing the "Pines of Rome". As soon as I heard him play, I said, "THAT'S it, that's the ultimate clarinet tone". I've tried to emulate it to this day, but it's difficult with French equipment.I use a Vandoren CRYSTAL A-1 and Vandoren V-12 # 4 reeds.
My Music teacher has a book that tells what equipment different professional clarinet players use if you want I can look it up what kind of Mouthpeice he plays on. Most proffesionals in that book play on the Vandoren M13 Lyre but I can see what he plays on.
Mr Leister is playing German clarinets. The Vandoren M13 mouthpiece is not suited to fit on those clarinets but are made for "French"(Boehm) clarinets. Mr Leister will probably play on moutpieces made by Wurlitzer and/or Zinner
Karl Leister plays on a plastic mouthpiece, which has been custom-refaced to suit his reeds (of which brand I am not certain). You won't find it anywhere - not in a book, catalogue or store etc. Don't bother looking. In his younger years he played a wooden crafted mouthpiece, but found they were prone to too much warping. Hence, his choice for plastic.
True. I'm not allowed to play German system clarinets in my conservatory but I bought one (the brand that Mr Leister used to play before he entered into the Berliner Philharmoniker), with a custom German mouthpiece, lace and reed and I like it very much. It's amazing how he could record the four Sphor's Clarinet Concerts with French Eb Clarinet reed!!! (That is because German mouthpiece uses a more little reed than French mouthpieces).
Such a wonderful player, but such a mean person. I played the Mozart concerto in a masterclass for him about 2 years ago, and he treated me like crap. Everyone else he was fine with, but then again everyone else was male. Go figure. He did say that he liked my sound, and I should hope so, since I modeled my sound concept after listening to him play in the old Berlin Phil recordings.
not sure if he's using the same ideas at play here, but he seems to get it down!especially crossing the bridg!! from like a A to B! and up and down again, so smoothly!! man..that's tough!!tone, cresendos, emotion, that all comes after and with the fingers.i dunno..he seems very good to me...but i'll be catching up sooner or later =)
you guys talk about good tone and emotion...but is that what realy plays the music?man,i see this guy using his fingers like crazy it's not realy technical, but to feel every beat, gruop, entrance note...
@fjamama his sound is perfect. music is to enter through your ears and into your soul. his sound enters my ears smoothly and warms my soul (: most clarinetists can sound kinda....obnoxious.
I read an interview with Mr Leister, where he says that he does not consider his sound to be German and many German players also think this. He said that he based his tone on his father's bass clarinet sound.
Technically superb and a classic German playing style, but to me there's something missing here- emotion, engagement with the music? But then if I could ever play to anything approaching this level I would die happy!
i have always loved him but something really is missing!!!! his Crusell Concertos are so BORING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! but he is technically great!! Sabine kicks his ass though!!!!lol
I LOVE his version of Crusell's Concertos. I HATE Sabine Meyer version of Stamit's Concertos. She hasn't got Mr Leister warm and smooth sound indeed (and she plays with the same clarinet model and brand that Mr Leister).
In the time I started, the sound for the clarinet players in France was very thin and light, it was the time of Delecluse. When I met him in 1957, when I got the price at the ARD competition in Munich, he talked to me and he said he was very impressed about how I played the clarinet, but he said something very interesting, "but you have a curious sound" I answered "I love this curious sound".
Mr. Leister is the number one! I love German Clarinet sound... I have also a German Clarinet and it's a wonderful (and a difficult to play) instrument. Where I live is used to play French system, but I don't like French sound... it's an awful sound... I love Mr.Leister's sound instead.
Come on, Eddie Daniels is really good technically, but plays really corny "modern jazz," with an annoyingly thin tone. Leister is one of the greatest classical clarinetists of all time, along with Marcellus and Wright. Notice how effortless his articulations are.
As for "no emotion," at least it doesn't look as if he is having a seizure when he plays.
If there is one clarinetist that young musicians should try to emulate, it is him.
Si, de acuerdo, Creo que Leister en uno de las mejor musicos en el mundo de musica classica, de hecho. Su sonido es fantastico en mi opinion y quiero ser similarmente.
Lovely. He was always my hero. I heard him play the same piece back in the early 80's at a clarinet convention and got a chance to tell him he was my clarinet hero. Love that dark tone!
oh come on, the piece is a great one, but still he is not appealing to me. If you want a rich all you want tone, go to eddie daniels and his recording of the quintet. If you just want an another good tone you should look at kalman berkes. I agree with peterd05. AND yes i know he played with the berlin philharmonic.
i also just noticed that he doesn't play the two high notes before the runs at the end. In listening to this it seems like the high register is his weak point. Another possibility is that those notes arn't in this score. I'm basing that in the recording by Kari Kriikku
優しい(^^♪
erikaterunana 1 month ago in playlist カールライスター
The high notes are very good, the lower notes are rather uninteresting.
lamaspacos 2 months ago
His tone is musical and tender, but neither is liquid nor has light.
lamaspacos 2 months ago
Superb!
clarinete09 3 months ago
he truly is the best clarinetist ever!
fernie51296 8 months ago
This video was just added to a music playlist at JustPlay.fm
justplayfm 8 months ago
is he using a "double lip" embouchure?
Tarcila62078 8 months ago
What an absolutely marvelous performance! I think it is a characteristic of his performances to be completely unassuming and just a conduit for the music. I wish he would let his lovely staccato loose a little more often. I have his four Spohr Concertos. Can't fault them. So lovely to see him play, rather than just hear. Puts a name to the face! Bravo!
kathywilliams76 1 year ago
well he does use a german system clarinet. in fact his clarinet is a very very expensive german clarinet. and for a good reason
Tarcila62078 1 year ago
what a perfect sound. what else can anyone want from a clarinet player besides a perfect sound?
Tarcila62078 1 year ago
@Tarcila62078 i agree his sound is perfect but ever think it had to do with the clarinet just sayin, im not trying to put him down just stateing an opinion
megakrazydave1 1 year ago
@megakrazydave1 you are right about it having alot to do with the clarinet but sabine uses the same clarient but her sound isnt as pure as his.
Tarcila62078 11 months ago
@megakrazydave1 you are right about it having alot to do with the clarinet but sabine uses the same clarinet but her sound isnt as pure as his.
Tarcila62078 11 months ago
a perfect sound. what more could anyone what from a clarinet player.
Tarcila62078 1 year ago
wow. i just started playing clarinet lik 2 years ago so ive been listening to alot of clarinet players on youtube. My favorite is karl leister. something about his sound. jus absolutely amazing!!!
Tarcila62078 1 year ago
Excellent control, he is really fantastic.
randompurple35 1 year ago
grande
clarinetMakeB 1 year ago
grande!!!
clarinetMakeB 1 year ago
grande!!!
clarinetMakeB 1 year ago
Please reply as soon as possible. Is he double tounging? I need to learn it and I do not have a singe clue as to how to accomplish this feat.
SpartanG600 1 year ago
@SpartanG600 Leister is probably NOT double tonguing. He had a very nice fast single tonguing. You can usually hear the difference - single tonguing is smoother and nicer, but double can give a much better speed boost. You basically do somthing like this - da-ga-da-ga-da-ga. Try practising on any scale, as long as for each tongue hit you are playing a different note. Playing on the same note at the beginning might lead in the wrong direction.
goalexey 1 year ago
@SpartanG600 He doesn´t need double tonguing.
TrabalRipoll 1 year ago
The finest clarinettist I've ever heard!
Bassoonbme 1 year ago
Overwhelming!!
TrabalRipoll 1 year ago
omg! omg ! omg! omg! omg! omg! omg! omg! omg! omg! your tone alone is superb!!! you and sabine are like the best clarinet players ive ever heard!
DaJuanEvan 1 year ago
Leister war bis zu seiner wohlverdienten pension nicht ohne Grund bei den "Berlinern" - super!!!
klarinettendoktor 1 year ago
is he not having fun?
charmingemily 1 year ago
bravo bravo bravo!!! fantastico!!
FrenkPmli 1 year ago
Sorry but Harold Wright's recording of the entire Weber quintet is the best recording around, I highly recommend it. This guy's tone is peanuts compared to Wright's HOWEVER, I still consider Leister a virtuoso clarinetist of course.
l1sanator1 1 year ago
@l1sanator1 i 100% disgree with you, i have listened to both of them, and liesters tone is phenominal!!!! sorry, but no.
DaJuanEvan 1 year ago
bell
Lui191 2 years ago
Grande MMMMMMMMMestre!!!!!
0Carool0 2 years ago
i don't particularly enjoy this interpretation.. i was used to listen to a version played by Eddie Daniels which was moe staccato.. But well, for me Eddie Daniels is the best in the world.. no ofense to this guy
castanheira83 2 years ago
Personally I like Eddie much more in jazz but I really enjoyed Charel's Neidich version of this movement.
klarinetta 2 years ago
i sound like that when i play in an echoy gym hehe
sahand144 2 years ago
Very nice tone!
dawgbone711 2 years ago
perfettoooo!
FrenkPmli 2 years ago
50 years of experience says it all
salutes from uruguay
juang1991 2 years ago
Karl Leister is one of the greatests clarinetists ever!!! His sound is so particular....
Thanks for post.
Salutes from Brazil
NiniClarineta 2 years ago 17
in a chamber group, you can really achieve a beautiful pianissimo, but in a concerto it's not really possible with the full orchestra behind you...
danielhuntsinger 2 years ago
wonderful how full and dark his tone is in the high register.
danielhuntsinger 2 years ago
i dont often go for leisters tone, but here he is really fantastic! he is sooo technically smooth, and his tone is centered and full, even in the altissimo!
llamaboy9000 2 years ago 2
Idol for a player ! Textbook !
davideun56 2 years ago
I like Karl Leister best of the clarinetists who play classic music.
RainerStraessle 2 years ago 4
ya@@@@@@@!!!! i know right! hes skilled!
sahand144 2 years ago
Se la perfezzione avesse un nome sarebbe sicuramente quello di Karl Leister
gabymauri 2 years ago
se la perfezione avesse un nome questo sarebbe Karl Leister
gabymauri 2 years ago
I studied with Leister years ago in Berlin. I worshipped his recordings especially of the Mozart and Weber Concerti. But when I heard him play in my lessons and with the BSO, his tone was pretty but a bit muffled. He is a giant in the clarinet world but a lousy teacher. The greatest teacher of clarinet was David Weber. Mr. Tone who cared about his students like family. I will miss him very much. He passed away several years ago.
bhkolman 2 years ago 3
the best clarinet quintet
kredo550 2 years ago
He moves the clarinet outwards on the high notes most probably to a compensation for the more piercing character of these notes, increasing the distance to the microphone, a technique that is well-known and widely employed by the all voice players in the world. As we can heard, the final effect is excelent. (Specially for mjs5155.)
lamaspacos1 2 years ago
I admit that periodically I have return to listen Leister, which is not the case with other clarinet more exciting, maybe due to fast saturation.
lamaspacos 2 years ago
you can't HEAR any expression, but it really is in his eyebrows, shoulders and knees!
i also think it's a great achievement to finally bringing the clarinet back to being a piece of wood!
hadn't been done before!
konsonans 3 years ago
gran intrepretación, sin duda un gran artista
animaniacdolan 3 years ago
lol how can anyone dislike his tone? it's Karl Leister! I mean this is a live performance and it's absolutely great but there are one or two low E's that he almost sort of honks... but still, a masterful performance by one of the greatest masters of the instrument. Did anyone else notice how sore his index finger was at about 3:57 ? Is it really necessary to push your fingers that hard? Maybe his fingers are permanently like that because he was born with a clarinet in his hands :P
MICHaeLDIZZLE 3 years ago
LOL how can anyone like this colorless and boring tone!!!!!!!!! I prefer Reginald Kell,Gervase de Peyer and Walter Boeykens for example much more than this.
klarinetta 3 years ago
Most of the above apart from Walter Boeykens rely on Vibrato to change their sound Karl changes his using different methods e.g fingerings, throat shapes etc.
MICHaeLDIZZLE is absolutely correct Karl is amazing!!!!!!!
Buffersuk 3 years ago 2
So if you dont like Karl Leister what are you doing watching this video?????
I prefer A SINGLE note played by KARL LEISTER that milions played by Reginald Kell, Gervaise de Peyer or Walter Boeykens... Karl Leister has a wonderful smooth deep and warm sound. In other hands, any Böhm or French clarinetist sound like a histerycal women crying!!! Its a really disgusting sound!!!
fer77aa 3 years ago
don't be hatin' Böhm :P The latest models are very well adapted to produce excellent tone across the instrument. Böhm is probably one of the most developed systems in the world actually oheiler is getting left behind and it sounds so much like a sax. About tone, Leister is great but I must say Fröst has the greatest tone of all. In fact I think he's the greatest clarinetist in recorded history. Any thoughts on that?
MICHaeLDIZZLE 3 years ago
Personally I really loved Frost's recording of Brahms and Mozart, but not in other recordings. His Crusell didn't really show any forte, while the Weber he messed up by trying to be too expressive. Still, I agree that Frost has a very wonderful tone, which is most beautiful when he doesn't exaggerate.
dodddd29383 2 years ago
He not play with colorless!!! His tone is smooth warm and deep woodent clarinet tone!!! In other hand, if you hear playing Karl Leister's old recording (in the Berliner Philharmoniker with H. von Karajan) his tone is not the same. He also has change is clarinet tone.
In his words: "When you listen to
my CDs of the 30 years ago, you can
hear how my sound changed : this time,
I'm looking for a round, warm, deep
sound".
feraa12 2 years ago
I haven't listened to either Kell or Boeykens but I can say for sure that Gervase de Peyer's tone isn't really good. His Brahms and Mozart were terrible. Excessive vibrato, shaky tone. But people call that the "British" style. ha.
On the other hand, listen to Karl Leister's Brahms, Spohr, or Weber with a good speaker. You can grasp the beauty of his tone.
dodddd29383 2 years ago 2
Well with Homeblest Chocolate biscuit from Burton we say good on both sides but with Leister it's the same taste on both sides. Boring taste. The same taste from beginning to the end.
klarinetta 2 years ago
"Maybe his fingers are permanently like that because he was born with a clarinet in his hands :P"
Yes, it's true. I have read some articles about Karl Leister in 'The Clarinet' and his father played the bass clarinet in the Opera's Orchestra. His clarinet tone conception came from his father sound.
feraa12 2 years ago
Karl Leister is a master of the orquestra due to the smooth and wood sound, but he is not as good as a soilist, the sound has not the presence of the best soilists. However, his visual coeography is good. (We must not have tabus, and give our opinion, not a copy of others.)
lamaspacos 3 years ago
Have you heard his records of Sphor's, Weber and Mercadante's Clarinet Concertos?? He is an excellent soloist player.
feraa12 2 years ago
I like so much Karl Leister
aannggeellofmusic 3 years ago 3
aghhhh!!! Thats a master in action... Man this is awesome.
Santalucesguy 3 years ago 5
Karl Leister is great, just leave it to the clarinetists to decide who's 'poor'
sushimcsquish 3 years ago 4
I dont like his tone. Very poor compared with others. No color, no expression.
lamaspacos 3 years ago
you're kidding, who has a better tone?
zelrods 3 years ago
Gervase de Peyer,Reginald Kell,Walter Boeykens just to name few
klarinetta 3 years ago
LOL Walter Boeykens probably has the worst clarinet sound in the world!!
feraa12 3 years ago
Please tell me who you like ? I couldn't agree more with you.
klarinetta 3 years ago
I'm agree with Karl Leister. In his own words: "In the time I started, the sound for the clarinet players in France was very thin and light, it was the time of Delecluse. When I met him in 1957, when I got the price at the ARD competition in Munich, he talked to
me and he said he was very impressed
about how I played the clarinet, but he said something very interesting, "but you
have a curious sound" I answered "I love this curious sound".
feraa12 2 years ago
I don't know why youtube put my messages in the wrong place!!!
Karl Leister's words: "It was so far away from the idea of sound of the French clarinet players, but the biggest
changing happened at the origin of
French clarinet players and some of them
have now a wonderful sound : darkness,
velvet, warm sound, and they changed a
lot since the last 40 years."
feraa12 2 years ago
An old video...but Karl's tone is still in flexable and borrrring!
oldjarhead 3 years ago
meraviglioso, come sempre
salmo67 3 years ago
Oh, very good!
Kell1930 3 years ago
Is this the only video of him in Youtube? I wish to see more.
rankfrankrank 3 years ago
one of the best clarinetists ever...
but as an "ordinary" orchestra clarinetist with the Berlin Philharmonic he was even better than as a soloist. His sound is unique.
hotuser2 3 years ago 4
I thank good that we now have a new genertation of clarinetist. No more straight,smooth and boring playing in the German school of clarinet playing(but I think that school doesn't exsist any more).
klarinetta 3 years ago
uh, why are you so biased against the German school? Sorry, but the German tradition is continued by many, many young German clarinetists.
Although I agree that it might sound boring, I disagree with you in that I value the German tradition as somehing left from the oldest maestroes: Stadler, Baermann, and Mulfeld.
In an age in which everybody plays flashly and extravagantly, Karl Leister's extreme precision and beautiful tone stands out.
dodddd29383 3 years ago 16
Nothing wrong with German school! I'd like to see ANY musican take more risk though... I admire perfection and control, but it's a high price considering that today's classical music seems to have completely lost the expressiveness of for example the great violinists (Oystrakh, Stern, Kreisler etc), who were exceptions in an already declining tradition themselves... Precision AND expressive risk (agreed: not just for the sake of standing out), that's what we admire with the great masters!
konsonans 3 years ago
another thing is that Karl Leister ws the last to have his original playing style and tone. The tone of younger clarinettist can hardly be discerned from one another.
Although I do like Sabine Meyer's style and all, I do not like the fact that she brought about the "unification" of clarinet tone-everybody copied her tone and playing style.
I would go to a concert by Karl Leister than a 100 of those young players who disregard the basics and focus only on technique.
dodddd29383 3 years ago 5
@klarinetta no, I'd say the German school of sound still does exist. as a young clarinetist that's EXACTLY what I aim for, is that flawless German sound.
shaylenmusic 9 months ago
great sound!!!!!I like german sistem!!!and Mr. Leister playing great!!!how old he is now??????pleas tell me if now anione!!!
green291 3 years ago
Hello.. mr Leister was born in 1937...
shbosch 3 years ago
@green291 it is a german system. its a fritz wurlitzer clarinet, get it right
megakrazydave1 1 year ago
Mr.leister, Do you remenber me?
When MINATOMIRAI hall at Yokohama in Japan, I said Danke schoen, Danke schoen! You said Bitte schoen, Bitte schoen! That girl is a specialty Es klarinetten player now.
In case of arrive my massage and read you, I wish tell you, Thank you came Japan!
chibitamanoyume 3 years ago
K.L. is the best clarinetist in the world!!!
fer77aa 3 years ago 4
asuuuuuuu k lokazo k envidia ojala algun dia
PunKErGirL666 3 years ago
I had the pleasure of meeting Karl Leister (AND Leon Russianoff!) at KlarFest 1981 in Washington, D.C.
babbalucci 3 years ago
I love his tone; it's so perfect. I reminds me of milk chocolate melting in your mouth, creamy and smooth. But, I also think of dark chocolate, especially when I listen to his recording of the Mozart Clarinet Concerto, tastefully rich.
clarinetfanatic 3 years ago
Well put. I'm looking foreward to seeing this one live. :)
KaitouMusic304 3 years ago
he plays with what seems to be perfect intonation throughout, but I think some might find his playing somewhat boring and not very musical, but I envy his technique
overlord1294 3 years ago
it's very good!!!I have a CD whit his interpretation of the Brahms-sonate no 1 and 2,rossini, verdi and spohr no 1,2,3 and 4...........it's incredibl...
green291 3 years ago
his tone is amazing. I have a CD with his interpretation of the Mozart Clarinet Concerto in A K622, and its absolutely brilliant. One of my favorite clarinetists along with Sabine Meyer.
bboyedvardo 3 years ago
Karl Leister is one of the best, if not the best, clarinettists I've ever heared. To hear hear him play Mozart is bliss, but that's just me. LetsReason is absolutely correct.
mozartisgodly 3 years ago 2
There is no "best" for everyone. Leister has been world reknown for his sound for decades. Whether you think it the best, very few could deny that it is at least pleasant and at most, heading towards ideal. I am a professional clarinetist and would LOVE to sound like him ANY day. We should all just enjoy and stop trying to pretend we have some secret knowledge or understanding that allows us to criticize.
LetsReason 3 years ago 6
y este!!! de los mejores clarinetistas de mundo.
brickska 3 years ago
powerful ！
eddycl01 3 years ago
Joe.T...Beautiful sound : It does'nt get any better than that.
jt31jt 3 years ago 2
il miglior clarinettista al mondo!!
984neo984 3 years ago
This guy is probably the most effortless clarinet player I've ever heard. Much better than even the best players in the U.S.
eet73 3 years ago 2
wow see the asian violinist he's the principal violinist of Berlin Phil!
a quintet of famous ppl
emilycharmante 3 years ago
Fantastic!!!!
neildc 3 years ago
her is very good, but im amazed how he can play that fast with his fingers so high off the keys!! nice one
sarsie66 3 years ago
why does Mr leister play the c above the stave with his index finger down? it doesnt work on my clarinet
dunedinnz91 4 years ago
You have to remember Leister is playing a German system clarinet(i think its called the Oehler System), not the commonly used French System(Boehm), so the fingerings are gonna be different. As the clarinet has developed their have been many types of fingerings, like the Albert System which is a simpler fingering system used by alot of Klezmer players.
band1163 4 years ago 2
french system is the best!
it has a variety of tone to keep audience away from sleep
emilycharmante 3 years ago
I myself am a player of the french system, which was created and adapted to overcome some of the fingering problems that occur with the Ohler system(german), but it is not the system that dictates the tone, it's the setup and skill level of the performer, I've heard people playing the german and albert system clarinets that have great tone and technique.
band1163 3 years ago
@band1163 false, there is a vast difference between the two types of clarinets. it's not all about the fingering system; I think people often forget that the bore of the horn is a huge factor in sound production.
shaylenmusic 9 months ago
each system has its own qualities....
for example, the French system has easy fingerings and relative easiness to control of tone and volume, while the German system usually has a denser tone and correct pitch.
Still, if you fall asleep watching this, you don't know how to appreciate music by maestros of the time.
dodddd29383 3 years ago 3
Ya, the Boehm system has some obnoxious intonation problems. The differing sounds for the most part has more to do with the school of playing: German, Viennese, American, French, British, etc. They all have their distinctions, though there is obviously overlap. The German sound may be "dense", but it by no means is better. I'm obviously biased when I say this but I've never found a clarinet sound as gorgeous as Robert Marcellus or Daniel Bonade (both American school).
bene951 3 years ago
I like the sound of Mr. Leister but with a French clarinet nobody can get it. French clarinet is to much bright...
fer77aa 3 years ago
@dunedinnz91 what clarinet system you play with? That only works with german system clarinets.
fernie51296 8 months ago
fantastic, although my hero is still Walter Boeykens
michaelrusman 4 years ago
Great I love him too have 4 cd with him and he is fantastic. But it was so sad to hear that he had one of his lounge removed because of cancer several years ago. Smoking kills.
klarinetta 3 years ago
what, does he plays with only one lounge?
iClarinetzero 3 years ago
Wenn der Gott eines Tages Klarienette spielen wolte,würde er genauso spielen.Gottlich
rooyan1 4 years ago 2
I dont know how people can play music like this on a German system clarinet.. Thats amazing..
Mussso 4 years ago
bravissimo
come al solito karl leister!
yoshiclarinet 4 years ago 2
his passages are all perfect, and his tone is lovely, while not being too romantic. it sounds so pure and effortless, probably exactly like weber would have wanted it.
ixchaos 4 years ago
possibly the most overrated player of all time. 1) he can't play in tune. 2) his sound is godawful. 3) his articulation makes ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE, and is completely pansy.
abrsh1 4 years ago
then how do you think that he was principal clarinettist of the Berliner Philharmoniker for 30 years? I bet that you're not as half as good as Herr Leister. Even professionals regard him as the best player in the "conventional style"
dodddd29383 4 years ago 4
He is maybe a fine musician but as a clarinet player he is just so awfuly boring.For German clarinet playing I would take Sabine and Wolfgang Meyer anytime over Leister. And for the reason he was pricipal in the Berliner Philharmoniker has maybe something to do with the conductor at the time of the audition and maybe not who knows.
klarinetta 4 years ago
Maybe so. I respect your point. However, him being the principal player of the BPO signifies something important: Karl Leister embodies the "German" clarinet playing, which is representd by the repression of emotion and strictly adhering to the "originals", if you get my meaning.
dodddd29383 4 years ago
I also respect your point. I then have to tell you that player like George Pieterson which I like very much played with the Concergebouw orchestra in Amsterdam one of the best orchestra in the world.
klarinetta 3 years ago
1. Not everyone thinks piano tuning for all pitches is "in tune" especially considering that the ensemble is mostly strings! Welcome to tuning chords...
2. His sound is beautiful!
3. His articulation works well to shape the phrases in this particular work. Especially consider how well he matches note lengths with the strings.
gwie21 3 years ago
If playing clarinet was all about smooth then no problem for Leister. But it's also about painting pitcures on a wall/paper with colors which is for the first thing very difficult to do on a German system clarinet. He sounds just the same from begining to the end . It's like clear and still water nothing happening. Only if he had such tone colors like the string quartet playin with him. I would rather watch an emty tv screen or something.
klarinetta 3 years ago
My mums maiden name is leister x
mistie101 4 years ago
Big Karl!!!
7050n 4 years ago
seems rushung
cumstud25 4 years ago
Thank you SO MUCH for posting this! I've admired him for years but never had the chance to see him in person. GREAT!
globalmuse 4 years ago 2
you're welcome! Thats the reason i posted it! :)
shbosch 4 years ago
karl leister is one of the best..his articulation are good. knowing webbers articulations are very hard..his sound is very good...
krisciacute16 4 years ago
Clarinetqueen--sorry for your bad experience. You seem to have let it go--great. Can you tell me if Leister plays double or single lip?? Just curious......
ipmoic 4 years ago
single lip...
shbosch 4 years ago
@ipmoic he played single lip while he was in the berlin philharmonic. but now he has switched to double lip.
fernie51296 8 months ago
I fell in love with Leister's tone the summer after I graduated from High School and first heard him on a Berlin Phil. record playing the "Pines of Rome". As soon as I heard him play, I said, "THAT'S it, that's the ultimate clarinet tone". I've tried to emulate it to this day, but it's difficult with French equipment.I use a Vandoren CRYSTAL A-1 and Vandoren V-12 # 4 reeds.
talon1812 4 years ago
My Music teacher has a book that tells what equipment different professional clarinet players use if you want I can look it up what kind of Mouthpeice he plays on. Most proffesionals in that book play on the Vandoren M13 Lyre but I can see what he plays on.
stiltonchees 4 years ago
Mr Leister is playing German clarinets. The Vandoren M13 mouthpiece is not suited to fit on those clarinets but are made for "French"(Boehm) clarinets. Mr Leister will probably play on moutpieces made by Wurlitzer and/or Zinner
shbosch 4 years ago
Come to think of it that makes sense but i'm still planning on looking it up.
stiltonchees 4 years ago
No he doesn't. He plays custom mouthpieces.
fer77aa 3 years ago
Karl Leister plays on a plastic mouthpiece, which has been custom-refaced to suit his reeds (of which brand I am not certain). You won't find it anywhere - not in a book, catalogue or store etc. Don't bother looking. In his younger years he played a wooden crafted mouthpiece, but found they were prone to too much warping. Hence, his choice for plastic.
clairannette 4 years ago 2
True. I'm not allowed to play German system clarinets in my conservatory but I bought one (the brand that Mr Leister used to play before he entered into the Berliner Philharmoniker), with a custom German mouthpiece, lace and reed and I like it very much. It's amazing how he could record the four Sphor's Clarinet Concerts with French Eb Clarinet reed!!! (That is because German mouthpiece uses a more little reed than French mouthpieces).
fer77aa 3 years ago
Such a wonderful player, but such a mean person. I played the Mozart concerto in a masterclass for him about 2 years ago, and he treated me like crap. Everyone else he was fine with, but then again everyone else was male. Go figure. He did say that he liked my sound, and I should hope so, since I modeled my sound concept after listening to him play in the old Berlin Phil recordings.
clarinetqueen79 4 years ago
Hey at least you got to meet see him. I wish I was there.
stiltonchees 4 years ago
not sure if he's using the same ideas at play here, but he seems to get it down!especially crossing the bridg!! from like a A to B! and up and down again, so smoothly!! man..that's tough!!tone, cresendos, emotion, that all comes after and with the fingers.i dunno..he seems very good to me...but i'll be catching up sooner or later =)
fjamama 4 years ago
you guys talk about good tone and emotion...but is that what realy plays the music?man,i see this guy using his fingers like crazy it's not realy technical, but to feel every beat, gruop, entrance note...
fjamama 4 years ago
@fjamama his sound is perfect. music is to enter through your ears and into your soul. his sound enters my ears smoothly and warms my soul (: most clarinetists can sound kinda....obnoxious.
fernie51296 8 months ago
O_O waaao
zapted174 4 years ago
I read an interview with Mr Leister, where he says that he does not consider his sound to be German and many German players also think this. He said that he based his tone on his father's bass clarinet sound.
stickwagger 4 years ago
leister is my idol. Is the best clarinet player in the world
clarinetto2000 4 years ago 2
LEISTER IS MY IDOL
clarinetto2000 4 years ago 2
What is great is that he doesn't move too much like many soloists and can really concentrate on the piece!
moretg 4 years ago
Excellent, I wish I ever get to be even as half good as he is =)
studywar 4 years ago
Great!!!Beautiful sound !!!
leister87 4 years ago 2
Karl Leister is the best clarinet in the world I have never listen to a such beuatiful sound with clarinet.More videos !!!!!
sczdome 4 years ago 2
Technically superb and a classic German playing style, but to me there's something missing here- emotion, engagement with the music? But then if I could ever play to anything approaching this level I would die happy!
somwotan 4 years ago
i have always loved him but something really is missing!!!! his Crusell Concertos are so BORING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! but he is technically great!! Sabine kicks his ass though!!!!lol
tallrob11 4 years ago
I LOVE his version of Crusell's Concertos. I HATE Sabine Meyer version of Stamit's Concertos. She hasn't got Mr Leister warm and smooth sound indeed (and she plays with the same clarinet model and brand that Mr Leister).
fer77aa 3 years ago
WOW!! Really good, but wtf is up with all the little spasms and seizures while playing
jujufag728 4 years ago
wow so good~
yewnaasam 4 years ago
In the time I started, the sound for the clarinet players in France was very thin and light, it was the time of Delecluse. When I met him in 1957, when I got the price at the ARD competition in Munich, he talked to me and he said he was very impressed about how I played the clarinet, but he said something very interesting, "but you have a curious sound" I answered "I love this curious sound".
I totally agree with Mr. Leister...
feraa12 4 years ago
This is a fragment of an interview to Mr. Leister:
The sound is very personal, you can not copy my sound and I can not copy your sound.
feraa12 4 years ago
MORE KARL LEISTER'S VIDEOS, PLEASE!!!!!!
Mr. Leister is the number one! I love German Clarinet sound... I have also a German Clarinet and it's a wonderful (and a difficult to play) instrument. Where I live is used to play French system, but I don't like French sound... it's an awful sound... I love Mr.Leister's sound instead.
feraa12 4 years ago 2
Respect for that man, he is a living legend.. No ! after MR. GOODMAN.
pavtchinskii 4 years ago
Come on, Eddie Daniels is really good technically, but plays really corny "modern jazz," with an annoyingly thin tone. Leister is one of the greatest classical clarinetists of all time, along with Marcellus and Wright. Notice how effortless his articulations are.
As for "no emotion," at least it doesn't look as if he is having a seizure when he plays.
If there is one clarinetist that young musicians should try to emulate, it is him.
NihilismGod 4 years ago 4
i cant stand this man. hes so boring. i hate the way he plays. he shows no emotion at all, and his tone is very plain.
peterd05 4 years ago
Si, de acuerdo, Creo que Leister en uno de las mejor musicos en el mundo de musica classica, de hecho. Su sonido es fantastico en mi opinion y quiero ser similarmente.
Gandalfgrayhame 4 years ago
Lovely. He was always my hero. I heard him play the same piece back in the early 80's at a clarinet convention and got a chance to tell him he was my clarinet hero. Love that dark tone!
debbie94510 4 years ago
oh come on, the piece is a great one, but still he is not appealing to me. If you want a rich all you want tone, go to eddie daniels and his recording of the quintet. If you just want an another good tone you should look at kalman berkes. I agree with peterd05. AND yes i know he played with the berlin philharmonic.
longhornlonghorn 4 years ago
the eddie daniels recording of the quintet is my favorite recording of that piece lol.
peterd05 4 years ago
Great playing!I've already heard better though...
chris910314 4 years ago
Only Karl Leister...Nobody more
Luchito1479 4 years ago
excellent!!!!no necessery coments by amators!!
diskboss 5 years ago
i also just noticed that he doesn't play the two high notes before the runs at the end. In listening to this it seems like the high register is his weak point. Another possibility is that those notes arn't in this score. I'm basing that in the recording by Kari Kriikku
mjs5155 5 years ago