I’ve never seen a classical music book list for high school clarinet students. Rather than waste time looking through the bottomless Google pit, I decided to ask my book-reading, fun-loving music friends what they might suggest for eager young students. My buddies did not disappoint! Below find a wide-ranging selection from colleagues in orchestras, at universities, who have private teaching studios and from several conservatory students. I will add any books that look interesting and appropriate for high school readers, so feel free to present your ideas in the comments.
Note to teachers: vet these books carefully! I have not read everything on this list. If you notice a book that is inappropriate with foul language or other issues, let me know ASAP.
BOOKS
“Marsalis On Music” by Wynton Marsalis
“Lessons From A Street-Wise Professor: What You Won’t Learn At Most Music Schools” by Ramon Ricker *
“The Talent Code” by Daniel Coyle
“Women Composers: The Lost Tradition Found” by Diane Peacock Jezic
“Joys and Sorrows” by Pablo Casals
“The Time of Our Singing” by Richard Powers
“Gentlemen, More Dolce Please!: An Irreverent Memoir of Thirty Years in the Boston Symphony Orchestra” by Harry Ellis Dickson
“Women In Music: Source Readings From the Middle Ages to the Present” by Carol Neuls-Bates
“The Rest Is Noise” by Alex Ross *
“My Young Years” by Arthur Rubenstein *
“Moving To Higher Ground: How Jazz Can Change Your Life” by Wynton Marsalis
“The Mastery of Music” by Barry Green *
“Benny Goodman and the Swing Era” by James Lincoln Collier
“For the End of Time: The Story of the Messiaen Quartet” by Rebecca Rischin *
“With Louis and the Duke: The Autobiography of a Jazz Clarinetist” by Barney Bigard
“The Soloist” by Steve Lopez *
“Jacqueline du Pré: A Biography” by Carol Easton *
“Famous Female Clarinetists Throughout History” – a blog article by Jenny Maclay —many women are missing from this list, but it is a beginning. Click here: Jenny Maclay, Clarinet
“A Soprano On Her Head” by Eloise Ristad *
“The Inner Game of Music” by Barry Greene *
“Art of the Possibility” by Ben Zander
“Gentle Genius: Story of Felix Mendelssohn” by George Richard Marek
“What To Listen For In Music” by Aaron Copland *
“The Music Lesson” by Victor Wooten
“Indivisible By Four” by Arnold Steinhardt *
“Afternoon of a Faun: How Debussy Created a New Music for the Modern World” by Harvey Lee Snyder
BONUS — VIDEOS
“American Masters: Itzhak” — full-length feature film about Itzhak Perlman. Find more information here:
Victor Borge —with the recorder phenomenon Michala Petri. Listeners should be aware that Borge did not share his antics with performers until the performance. His improv skills were unmatched. This made for many moments of genuine laughter. Watch as Petri tries valiantly to hold it together as ‘the straight man’ while Borge, who obviously has great admiration for her, clowns around. Amazing!
CLARINET DIVAS 