Richard Leslie Stoltzman

Clarinetist. Richard Stoltzman's virtuosity, musicianship and sheer personal magnetism have made him one of today's most sough-after concert artists. As soloist with over a hundred orchestras, a captivating recitalist, an innovative jazz artist, and a prolific recording artist, this two-time Grammy Award winner as defied categorization, dazzling critics and audiences alike throughout many musical genres. Stoltzman's unique way with the clarinet has earned him an international reputation as he has opened up possibilities for the instrument that no one could have predicted. He gave the first clarinets recitals at both the Hollywood Bowl and Carnegie Hall, and became the first wind player to receive the Avery Fisher Prize. He has performed or recorded with numerous jazz and pop greats, and his commitment to new music has resulted in numerous premieres, including acclaimed clarinet concertos of Toru Takemitsu, Stephen Hartke and Einojuhani Rautavaara. Richard Stolzman's discography numbers well over fifty recording and he has won two Grammy Awards for his recordings of the Brahms Sonatas with Richard Goode and Trios of Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms with Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel Ax. Music has been written for him, all of which he has recorded for RCH, BMG, Sony, Albany, Naxos, BMOP, and Parma by Bill Douglas, Chick Corea, Carl Fischer, Lukas Foss, William Thomas McKinley, Steve Reich, and Yehudi Wyner. For Master Musicians Collective he made the first recordings of over thirty American composers' works for clarinet with orchestra. In October 1991, the city of Vienna invited him to play Mozart's Clarinet Concerto, k. 622, at the Konzerthaus on the 200th anniversary of its first performance there, October 1991.