Burt Hara wins LA Phil Associate Principal Clarinet chair

May 3, 2013 4 Comments

Burt Hara (photo by Nate Ryan)The first time the Los Angeles Philharmonic held auditions to fill its Associate Principal Clarinet chair, no one was hired.  During the past week, they tried again, and this time it looks like they  made an offer — and it’s a doozy.  No official word from the orchestra, but according to numerous sources, Burt Hara, Southern California native and current Principal Clarinet of the Minnesota Orchestra (MO), will be taking the job.  (Ralph Skiano, Principal with the Richmond Symphony, was the runner-up)

This is a huge coup for the LA Phil.  Mr. Hara is one of the leading clarinetists anywhere.  In addition to having held his position in Minnesota since 1987, he spent the 1996-97 season as Principal with the Philadelphia Orchestra and played some noteworthy concerts with the New York Philharmonic in 2010.

Unfortunately, this also happens to be a huge loss for the MO.  Mr. Hara has been one of the undeniable stars of that orchestra.  Just last week, he was the featured soloist in the Mozart clarinet concerto during a special concert being given by the musicians of the orchestra (a self-organized gig in the ongoing wake of their misbegotten lockout by the MO’s management).   Larry Fuchsberg, writing for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, described his playing this way:  ”Hara, at once soloistic and self-effacing, made it look easy. His was marvelously centered playing, unembellished but by no means plain.”

That Mr. Hara would be willing to take what most would consider to be a step down (from Principal in one major orchestra to Associate Principal in another) points to just how big a cluster-f*** the situation with the MO has become.  According to the most recent offer from the MO’s management, principals in that orchestra would have to take a 50% slash in their salary — and there is no indication that the MO’s musicians will agree to such a drastic cut. As a member of the musician’s negotiating committee, Mr. Hara has had a front-row seat to all that nonsense.   This past October, he seemed resigned to the situation and foreshadowed his departure:

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Catching up with the LA Phil: trying to fill empty chairs

October 27, 2012 1 Comment

It’s been an unexpectedly unruly past two weeks for yours truly.  I squeezed in a few concerts at Walt Disney Concert Hall, but unfortunately didn’t have any capacity to do much of anything else, including write, until now.

Time for me to start catching up.  Before we get into my views of the performances, let’s warm up with the matter of the Los Angeles Philharmonic trying to fill some open positions.  The orchestra recently had two open auditions for titled woodwind chairs:

  • Associate Principal Clarinet:  this is essentially downgrading the Principal Clarinet chair previously held by the late Lorin Levee, continuing the orchestra’s move away from the two principal system in place between the 1960′s to the mid-1980′s
  • Principal Flute:  the latest attempt to bring stability back to a position which, after two decades of  having the same two people hold the position, has been in constant flux.  If you count former principals Janet Ferguson (who stepped down in 2006) and Anne Diener Zentner (who retired shortly thereafter), four people have held the title in the past six years — the other two being Mathieu Dufour and David Buck.

So what happened at those two auditions?

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RIP Lorin Levee, LA Phil Principal Clarinet

February 23, 2012 3 Comments

According to KUSC’s Twitter feed, Lorin Levee, Principal Clarinet of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, has passed away.  He was 61 years old.  The information was retweeted by the LA Phil, so I’m guessing that the sad news is accurate.  Thoughts, prayers, and condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues.

No additional details, andthe orchestra has not yet issued an official media release.  As soon as they do, I’ll pass them along.

Mr. Levee joined the orchestra in 1976 as bass clarinetist.  He was promoted to principal in 1981 by Carlo Maria Giulini.

He has been prominently featured on many of the orchestras recordings, including the Rachmaninoff 2nd Symphony conducted by Simon Rattle and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas.  More recently, he could be seen on video in Gustavo Dudamel’s 2009 inaugural concert as Music Director, most especially during that concert’s performance of the Mahler 1st Symphony.

UPDATE (12:58PM PST):  This from the LA Phil’s Facebook page . . .

It is with great sadness that we pass on the news that our Principal Clarinet, Lorin Levee passed away yesterday. He fought a long and courageous battle with a fatal blood disorder; a battle so valiant that he played his final concert with us only on January 8. Lorin joined the orchestra in 1976 as our bass clarinetist and in 1981 won the position as Principal. He was a great clarinetist, a dedicated member of our New Music group, and had appeared with the orchestra as a soloist on numerous occasions. This is a real loss for us all.

UPDATE (4:04PM PST):  details from the Los Angeles Times of music to be played tonight in his honor:

A concert on Thursday at Walt Disney Concert Hall will be dedicated to Levee. The orchestra has added an extra piece to the program — Ravel’s “Le Jardin Féerique” (The Enchanted Garden) — in honor of the musician. In addition, Deborah Borda, president of the L.A. Philharmonic, is scheduled to speak.

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Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Philharmonic

Filed under Los Angeles Philharmonic, Music (News & Reviews) Tagged with , ,

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