RCEditions

Conductors

A. Clyde Roller
Clyde Roller was one of the finest people to ever set foot on planet earth. He educated us with humor and patience for well over 60 years, at Interlochen, Eastman School, and University of Houston, while maintaining professional positions at Houston Symphony as resident conductor under Barbirolli, Stokowski and Previn), New Zealand, Arkansas, Amarillo, etc. etc. At the University of Houston, the orchestra played as well as some of the really fine professional orchestras of the time, because Clyde was such a fine musician, and he taught us to listen as if we were playing chamber music together. He heard everything. It was my chance to play the greatest music, on clarinet, and a reminder that as a saxophonist, the only way to grow was to play the music of all eras. We maintained a nice friendship until his death a few years ago, with me visiting him and his wife Moreland in the summers at Interlochen, where he was my daughter's orchestra director!

Frank Battisti
Frank was the New England Conservatory Wind Ensemble Director during my graduate degree, and for many years after I joined the faculty. He had a long history of commissioning pieces at Ithaca High School, and with Don Sinta as a soloist; luckily he continued the tradition of using a saxophone soloist, and gave me so many opportunities to play concerti, that it felt right, and I continued to pursue it outside of the school venue.

Harry Dickson was the Associate Conductor of the Boston Symphony, who conducted children's concerts and conducted the very first time I played anything at the BSO. It was a Sousa march, and I prepared it in advance with the same care that I have used for every date I have played since.

Seiji Ozawa allowed us to play 'in the cracks,' finding the gray area between the notes. He was technically as complete as any conductor I have ever worked with, but he let us shape our solos. His 'Bolero,' I believe, offered the greatest freedom to the soloists of any conductor with whom I worked. And I modeled mine after the great Sherman Walt, who played the bassoon solo just 2 before mine.

Sir Colin Davis conducted the BSO in Vaughan-Williams 6th Symphony, with the two performances 25 years apart. I played both of them. The first performance contained great attention to detail and was as heartfelt and as emotional as any performance I have ever played. It is a powerful work. The next set showed the even deeper passion, yet same youthful exuberance he had, as he came over to my spot to tell me about the piece, and the wonderful saxophonist in the youth orchestra he had just conducted in England. He was in his eighties, but still had the spark, just as I noted in Clyde Roller, Masur, Schuller, Previn, and all the great ones. None of them ever gave less than 100% all the time.

Eugene Ormandy conducted me in 'Pictures at an Exhibition,' one of my first times at BSO. He wanted it his way, with long grace notes, on the beat. I didn't like it, couldn't do it, and so decided I wouldn't do it. He shot me a look (with daggers in his eyes) while I played that indicated I should never ever do that again. And I played it HIS way the next and all subsequent nights. Since then, I have always embraced the conductor's interpretation, even if I disagreed. It was a good lesson.

John Williams

A Salute to (My) Teachers

4. Conductors, Pianists, Composers and other related inspirations