How many people can you name who retired at the age of 80 and worked for the same company for 60 years? The only person that I am familiar with who holds that distinction is the clarinetist Stanley Drucker who recently left the New York Philharmonic. His employment with that institution is the longest in the Philharmonic's history.
He joined the Philharmonic in 1948 and lived through the changes that enveloped it throughout the years. He witnessed the admittance of women, the move from Carnegie Hall to Lincoln Center, the job expanding from seasonal to year-round, the tours to other nations, the melding of politics and music, and the rise and fall of the recording industry. He played for ten different music directors of the organization, performed 191 solos, appeared in 10,200 concerts and visited 60 countries. Only two other men have sat in the pricipal clarinet chair in the history of the institution.
Whenever the Philharmonic has been on television, I have always marvelled at his ease with the camera, his beautiful tone, his technique and exuberant personality emanating from his instrument. I have been to many concerts throughout the years and heard pieces that highlighted his attributes and were vehicles for his enormous gift and talent. He and the orchestra were nominated for Grammy awards in 1982 for Aaron Copland's Clarinet Concerto and in 1992 for John Corigliano's Clarinet Concerto. Musical America named him Instrumentalist of the Year in 1998.
The Library invites you to listen to his compact disc Stanley Drucker Plays Brahms.
