See Clarinetist Charles Neidich In Recital At Greenfield Hall At Manhattan School Of Music

The distinguished clarinetist Charles Neidich, the first clarinetist to win the Walter W. Naumburg Competition in 1985, will be presented by the Walter W. Naumburg Foundation in partnership with Manhattan School of Music in a recital at Greenfield Hall at Manhattan School of Music, Sunday afternoon February 2, 2025, 2 pm EST.

Mr. Neidich will be joined by noted flutist Carol Wincenc, who won first prize in the 1978 Naumburg Flute Award, and longtime collaborator pianist Mohamed Shams. The program, showcasing modern and contemporary clarinet and flute repertoire, will feature works by Connesson, Villa-Lobos, Sirota, Lobanov, Fauré, Matsui, Schoenfield, and Mr. Neidich himself. The full program follows:

Guillaume Connesson, Techno-Parade

Heitor Villa-Lobos, Choros No. 2

Robert Sirota, Birds of Paradise

Vassily Lobanov, Sonata for Clarinet and Piano op. 45

Adagio

Allegro (attacca)

Andantino

~ Intermission ~

Charles Neidich, Whirlwinds

Gabriel Fauré, Morceau de concours

Sato Matsui, Goldenrod Sonata

Sea of Gold

Evening Musk

Flutter By

Paul Schoenfield, Sonatina

Charleston

Hunter Rag

Jig

Admission is free for this concert, for more information please visit Manhattan School of Music's event site, clarinetist Charles Neidich's website, flutist Carol Wincenc's website, and pianist Mohamed Shams's website.

Clarinetist and conductor Charles Neidich has gained worldwide recognition as one of the most mesmerizing virtuosos on his instrument. With a tone of hypnotic beauty and a dazzling technique, Mr. Neidich has received unanimous accolades from critics and fellow musicians both in the United States and abroad; but it is his musical intelligence in scores as diverse as Mozart and Elliott Carter that has earned for Mr. Neidich a unique place among clarinetists. In the words of The New Yorker, "He's an artist of uncommon merit - a master of his instrument and, beyond that, an interpreter who keeps listeners hanging on each phrase."

An ardent exponent of new music and a composer himself, he has expanded the technical and expressive possibilities of the clarinet and has championed the works of many of the world's most important composers. He is a leading performer on period instruments and has restored and reconstructed original versions of works written by composers ranging from Mozart to Copland.

With a growing discography to his credit, Mr. Neidich can be heard on the Chandos, Sony Classical, Sony Vivarte, Deutsche Grammophon, Musicmasters, Pantheon, and Bridge labels, and most recently in the Mozart Basset clarinet Concerto on historical instruments for Bremen Radio Hall Recordings. He is publishing editions of major clarinet and wind chamber music for Lauren Keiser Music and Southern Music, has made instructional videos for Play with a Pro, and together with Ayako Oshima publishes a monthly column in the Japanese magazine, Pipers.

Under Mr. Neidich's direction, along with his wife, fellow clarinetist Ayako Oshima, the popular Wa Concert Series, held at Tenri Cultural Institute, brings lesser-known works and composers to the attention of the international music community, synthesizing Mr. Neidich's lifetime of musical knowledge, exploration, and thoughtful reflection. In recent seasons, Mr. Neidich has added conducting to his musical accomplishments. He has guest-conducted throughout the country and continues to serve as conductor of the Queens College Chamber Orchestra with whom he has performed the works of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven in historically informed interpretations.

In wide demand as a soloist, Mr. Neidich has collaborated with several of the world's leading orchestras and ensembles, including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Halle Staatsorchester, Orpheus, the St. Louis Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, Pasadena Symphony, San Diego Symphony, New City Chamber Orchestra of San Francisco, the Yomiuri and Tokyo Philharmonic, Hyogo PAC Orchestra, Tafelmusik, the Juilliard, Guarneri, American, Mendelssohn, and Parker Quartets.

A native New Yorker of Belorussian and Greek descent, Charles Neidich studied with the famed pedagogue Leon Russianoff. He received a BA, cum laude, in anthropology from Yale University. In 1975 he was granted a Fulbright grant for study in the former Soviet Union, and he attended the Moscow Conservatory for three years studying with Boris Dikov and Kirill Vinogradov.

In 1985, Mr. Neidich became the first clarinetist to win the Walter W. Naumburg Competition, which brought him to prominence as a soloist. He then taught at the Eastman School of Music, and during that tenure, joined the renowned New York Woodwind Quintet, an ensemble with which he still performs. His European honors include top prizes at the 1982 Munich International ARD Competition, the Geneva, and the Paris Accanthes International Competitions. Mr. Neidich has achieved recognition as a teacher in addition to his activities as a performer, and is currently a member of the artist faculties of CUNY Graduate School, The Juilliard School, the Manhattan School of Music, and the Mannes College of Music. He held the post of Associate Professor at the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College for many years. In 2004, he was awarded the William Schuman Award for performance and scholarship at The Juilliard School. The Kitakaruizawa Music Seminar, now in its 13th season, was co-founded by Mr. Neidich and Ms. Oshima. In 2018 he was awarded a lifetime membership in honor of his artistic achievements by the International Clarinet Society and a medal for lifetime achievement from the National Society of Arts and Letters.