Reginald Kell: A second wind for the clarinet
A famous soloist and sought-after teacher who influenced the art of clarinet playing for generations.
British born musician Reginald Kell was not only principal clarinettist at top orchestras such as the London Philharmonic, but also an enthusiastic recording artist. His refusal to adhere to complete accuracy whilst performing certainly caught his audience’s attention.
In his later years, Kell progressed to teaching, taking up several positions at London’s Royal Academy of Music. The clarinettist deeply inspired his tutees and other young clarinet players, and brought forth a new musical purpose for the instrument.
When he was 42, Kell took the decision to move to the US, in retrospect a prudent move as he would become one of America’s most famous clarinettists, regularly playing with large orchestras and smaller ensembles. Kell continued to teach after immigrating to the US, one of his most prominent pupils being jazz legend Benny Goodman.
Reginald Kell died in 1981 at the age of 75 in the US state of Kentucky.
Reginald Kell transcribed and arranged a great number of well-known compositions for his own use — mostly for clarinet and piano, but also for clarinet and orchestra, including this piece from Debussy’s Préludes.
Antoni Szalowski was a Polish composer who mainly wrote music for strings, but whose most famous composition is his clarinet sonata as presented here by Reginald Kell and Brooks Smith.
Very early in his career, whilst he was still playing the clarinet in British orchestras, Kell was often engaged to accompany prominent artists in their recordings. Here he partners the great soprano Elisabeth Schumann in Schubert’s ‘Der Hirt auf dem Felsen’.
