Charles Neidich
Charles Neidich Clarinetist, Conductor
Bio
Charles Neidich (U.S.A.) Hailed by the New Yorker as " a master of his instrument and beyond a clarinetist� Charles Neidich has
been described as one of the most mesmerizing musicians performing
before the public today. He regularly appears as soloist and as
collaborator in chamber music programs with leading ensembles including
the Saint Louis Symphony, Minneapolis Symphony, Orpheus Chamber
Orchestra, I Musici di Montreal, Tafelmusik, Handel/Haydn Society,
Royal Philharmonic, Deutsches Philharmonic, MDR Symphony, Yomiuri
Symphony, National Symphony of Taiwan, and the Juilliard, Guarneri,
Brentano, American, Mendelssohn, Carmina, Colorado, and Cavani String
Quartets. Mr. Neidich has performed throughout Europe, Asia, and the
United States, and is a sought after participant at many summer
festivals such as the Marlboro and Sarasota festivals in the USA, the
Orford and Domaines Forget festivals in Canada, BBC Proms in England,
Festival Consonances and Pontivy in France, Corsi Internazionali di
Perfezionamento in Italy, Kuhmo, Crusell Week, Turku, and Korsholm
festivals in Finland, the Apeldoorn Festival in Holland, Music from
Moritzburg in Germany, the Kirishima and Lilia summer festivals in
Japan, and the Beijing Festival in China. When Charles Neidich began
studying clarinet with his father, Irving Neidich at the age of 7, he
had already started piano lessons with his mother, Litsa Gania Neidich.
He continued studying both instruments, but the clarinet gradually won
out, and he went at the age of 17 to continue studying with the noted
clarinet teacher, Leon Russianoff. After 4 years at Yale University
where he majored in Anthropology, Charles Neidich went to the Moscow
State Conservatory as the first recipient of a Fulbright grant to study
in the Soviet Union. He studied in Moscow for 3 years as a student of
the clarinetist, Boris Dikov, and the pianist, Kirill Vinogradov. Known
as a leading exponent of period instrument performance practice (he is
the founder of the noted period instrument wind ensemble,
“Mozzafiato�) Charles Neidich was one of the first soloists to
improvise cadenzas and ornament classical concertos. He has performed
his restoration of the Mozart Concerto throughout the world both on
modern and period instruments. Mr. Neidich has been influential in
restoring original versions of works and bringing them before the
public. A list of the clarinet classics he has restored to their
original form includes works as diverse as the previously mentioned
Mozart Concerto, Concerti of Weber and Copland, the Soireest cke of
Robert Schumann and the Andante and Allegro of Ernest Chausson. Mr.
Neidich is also an ardent exponent of new music and has premiered works
by Milton Babbitt, Elliott Carter, Edison Denisov, Helmut Lachenmann,
William Schuman, Ralph Shapey, Joan Tower, Katia Tchemberdji, Vasilii
Lobanov and others. He has championed John Corigliano's Concerto,
performing it throughout the United States notably with the Syracuse
and Jacksonville Symphonies in performances many have called
definitive. His recordings are available on the sony Classical, Sony
Vivarte, Deutsche Grammophon, Musicmasters, Hyperion, and Bridge
labels. For Aaron Copland's centennial, he released the world premiere
recording of his reconstruction of the original version of Copland's
Clarinet Concerto with “I Musici di Montreal�for the Chandos label.
Mr. Neidich has turned his attention in a serious way to conducting, and has appeared with the Avanti chamber Orchestra, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Helsinki, at the B??stad Festival in Sweden, the Kirishima Festival in Japan, with the New World and the San Diego Symphonies (in a triple role of conductor, soloist, and composer), and in Bulgaria with the Plovdiv State Philharmonic. Very active in education, Charles Neidich is on the faculties of the Juilliard School, Queens College of the City University of New York, the Manhattan School, and the Mannes College of Music, and has held visiting positions at the Sibelius Academy in Finland, the Yale School of Music, and Michigan State University. He is in demand for master classes around the world and for innovative lecture concerts he has devised such as "Old is New: how playing old music on period instruments is like playing new music on modern instruments," and "Craft and Drama: how understanding how Brahms composed makes for a more compelling performance." With his wife, Ayako Oshima, he has published a book on the basics of clarinet technique for the Japanese publisher, TOA Ongaku inc. Last Spring, Charles Neidich was the recipient of the William Schuman Award given by the Juilliard School for outstanding performance and scholarship.
Mr. Neidich has turned his attention in a serious way to conducting, and has appeared with the Avanti chamber Orchestra, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Helsinki, at the B??stad Festival in Sweden, the Kirishima Festival in Japan, with the New World and the San Diego Symphonies (in a triple role of conductor, soloist, and composer), and in Bulgaria with the Plovdiv State Philharmonic. Very active in education, Charles Neidich is on the faculties of the Juilliard School, Queens College of the City University of New York, the Manhattan School, and the Mannes College of Music, and has held visiting positions at the Sibelius Academy in Finland, the Yale School of Music, and Michigan State University. He is in demand for master classes around the world and for innovative lecture concerts he has devised such as "Old is New: how playing old music on period instruments is like playing new music on modern instruments," and "Craft and Drama: how understanding how Brahms composed makes for a more compelling performance." With his wife, Ayako Oshima, he has published a book on the basics of clarinet technique for the Japanese publisher, TOA Ongaku inc. Last Spring, Charles Neidich was the recipient of the William Schuman Award given by the Juilliard School for outstanding performance and scholarship.