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Revision as of 14:46, 7 January 2022

Dale Clevenger
Born(1940-07-02)July 2, 1940
Chattanooga, Tennessee, U.S.
DiedJanuary 5, 2022(2022-01-05) (aged 81)
Italy
GenresClassical
InstrumentFrench horn

Dale Clevenger (July 2, 1940 – January 5, 2022) was an American musician who was the Principal Horn of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 1966 until his retirement in June, 2013.[1] Before joining the CSO, he was a member of Leopold Stokowski's American Symphony Orchestra and the Symphony of the Air directed by Alfred Wallenstein. He was also principal horn of the Kansas City Philharmonic.[2] Prior to his passing, he taught horn at the Jacobs School of Music in Indiana University.[3]

Musical career

He started playing trumpet at age 11 and switched to horn at age 13.[1] Clevenger's father was President of the Chattanooga Opera Association, and he was exposed to live orchestral music at an early age. He attended Chattanooga High School, aka "City High" when the band program was under the leadership of Richard Casavant, a scholar of marching band history. Clevenger received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, in 1962.[4][5] Clevenger considered Arnold Jacobs and Adolph Herseth, former principal brass instrumentalists of the CSO, to be his mentors.

Clevenger performed with many ensembles worldwide, including the Berlin Philharmonic (under Daniel Barenboim). He took part in many music festivals including the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Florida Music Festival, Sarasota, Marrowstone Music Festival, Bellingham, Washington, and Affinis Music Festival, Japan.[6]

He won a Grammy Award for "The Antiphonal Music of Gabrieli," which he recorded with members of the Chicago Symphony brass section, as well as the brass sections of the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Cleveland Orchestra.[2] His recording of Mozart's horn concertos was named Record of the Year in Hungary on the European label Hungaraton.[2] He also was a featured soloist in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's Grammy-winning Strauss Wind Concertos album, on which he plays Strauss's first horn concerto, as well as Andante for horn and piano in C major with Daniel Barenboim accompanying on piano.

In 2003, Clevenger premiered John Williams' Concerto for Horn and Orchestra, a work written for him.

In addition to performing, Clevenger was an experienced conductor. He was the Music Director of the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra from 1981 to 1995.[7] He expanded his conducting career with numerous orchestras in North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, recently leading the Orquestra Sinfonica de Castilla y Leon with Daniel Barenboim as soloist.[8]

Dale Clevenger was President of the Italian Brass Week and taught at Roosevelt University.[9] He also taught at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University.[3]

Personal life and death

Clevenger married Alice Anne Render of Louisville, Kentucky, also a skilled hornist. The couple had two sons, Mac and Jesse. His wife died in 2011. He also had two children from his first marriage, Michael and Ami. He died on January 5, 2022, at the age of 81.[10][11]

Reviews by music critics

Over the years, critics have written of his playing as being "satin smooth (1975),"[12] as having "mellow radiance and gentle flow...despite a few inconsequential fluffs (1978),"[13] and of his "pianissimo trills and daredevil octaves (1981)."[14] He has also been said to have "an unfailing sense of direction in phrasing (1983)",[15] "well drawn legato phrases" despite "regrettable lapses of intonation in the fast ornamental section (1984)"[16] and "smooth control (1991)."[17] In 2010, his horn solos received some negative reviews from music critics at The New York Times and the Chicago Tribune, with the latter describing his work as "unpredictable horn solos, some firm, others faltering.[18][19][20] Flaws in a performance of Mahler's 3rd Symphony on November 1, 2012, were cited in three separate reviews,[21][22] with the Chicago Sun-Times calling his performance "saddening".[23]

Discography

References

  1. ^ a b [1] Strini, Tom "Clevenger the horn master provides tips aplenty," The Milwaukee Journal, January 16, 1983, page 7, Entertainment section. Retrieved November 8, 2010
  2. ^ a b c Chicago Symphony Orchestra - CSO Musicians Roster - Performer Bio
  3. ^ a b [2]
  4. ^ [3] International Horn Society biography of Dale Clevenger. Retrieved March 25, 2011
  5. ^ [4] Carnegie Mellon University, "Orchestra ties." Retrieved March 25, 2011
  6. ^ Dale Clevenger
  7. ^ [5] Archived 2012-03-01 at the Wayback Machine History of the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra
  8. ^ [6] Archived 2012-04-25 at the Wayback Machine Dale Clevenger: Conductor
  9. ^ "The Music Conservatory - Faculty". Archived from the original on 2008-08-08. Retrieved 2008-02-29.
  10. ^ "Dale Clevenger (1940–2022)". International Horn Society. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  11. ^ Help, Daily News (2022-01-07). "American Musician Dale Clevenger has Died At the Age of 81". DailyNewsHelp. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
  12. ^ [7] Kenngott, Louise, "Leinsdorf puts luster into Chicagoans' opener," The Milwaukee Journal, October 14, 1975, page 3. Retrieved November 8, 2010
  13. ^ [8] Goodfellow, William S., "Symphony, thunder combine for festival," The Deseret News, August 14, 1978, page 6C. Retrieved November 8, 2010
  14. ^ [9] Johnson, Lawrence B., The Milwaukee Sentinel, March 3, 1981, page 10, part 1. Retrieved November 8, 2010
  15. ^ [10] Strini, Tom "Players shine in brief bursts," The Milwaukee Journal, January 10, 1983. Retrieved November 8, 2010
  16. ^ [11] Fisher, Florence, "New college music festival ends with a flourish," Sarasota Herald-Tribune, June 18, 1984. Retrieved November 8, 2010
  17. ^ [12] Fisher, Florence "Students shine at festival," Sarasota Herald-Tribune, June 11, 1991, page 2E. Retrieved November 8, 2010
  18. ^ [13] von Rhein, John "Bychkov takes CSO audience on absorbing journey from darkness to light," Chicago Tribune, Mat 21, 2010. Retrieved November 8, 2010.
  19. ^ [14] von Rhein, Jon, "At 85, Boulez pays brilliant homage to modern times." Chicago Tribune, January 23, 2010. Retrieved January 23, 2010
  20. ^ [15] Smith, Steve, "Whole Orchestra Shines, Nurtured by a Deft Touch." The New York Times, February 1, 2010. Retrieved February 1, 2010
  21. ^ http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/chi-cso-bychkov-mahler-symphony-20121102,0,5643045.column [bare URL]
  22. ^ http://chicagoclassicalreview.com/2012/11/bychkov-and-cso-serve-up-a-mahler-third-raucous-and-sublime/
  23. ^ http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/music/16112786-421/cso-semyon-bychkov-still-settling-in-for-the-mahler-third.html
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