Leon Russianoff

Leon Russianoff (August 19, 1916 – September 16, 1990) was an American clarinetist, primarily known for his teaching career. Widely considered one of the most important clarinet teachers of his time, Russianoff's students included many orchestral principals and soloists in the United States. He was a founding member of the International Clarinet Society, serving as the organization's first vice-president from 1973 to 1976 and contributing to the early International Clarinet Clinics.

Leon Russianoff
Born	(1916-08-19)August 19, 1916 Brooklyn, New York
Died	September 16, 1990(1990-09-16) (aged 74) St. Luke's–Roosevelt Hospital Center, Manhattan, New York
Occupation	Music teacher
Instrument	Clarinet

After studying in his youth with Dominic Tramontano, Russianoff won a scholarship from the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York to study with Simeon Bellison. Russianoff never studied music at a college, but continued his lessons with Bellison while studying at the City College of New York from 1933 to 1938. During this time, he took on his first students, who were referred to him by Bellison. Russianoff parted ways with Bellison in 1940 and began teaching at the Third Street Music School Settlement and The Contemporary Music School. He was the principal clarinet with the orchestra of the Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo for two seasons, but left partially due to performance anxiety. In decade following, Russianoff opened a teaching studio but continued to perform, now on Broadway. After a bad experience playing for Martha Graham and Fe Alf, he tried to save his performing career by studying with Daniel Bonade in 1950, but quit after less than a year to devote himself to teaching. Russianoff subsequently served on the faculties of the Manhattan School of Music (from 1955) and the Juilliard School (from c. 1970), among others.

Russianoff's teaching was based on the fundamentals of technique, as described in his Clarinet Method. His teaching philosophy was strongly influenced by his second wife, Penelope, a psychologist and socialite; Russianoff aimed to create a relationship built on mutual respect and positive reinforcement so individuality and creativity could be preserved. Joan Waryha Porter remarked in The Clarinet that he was "considered by many to be the Godfather of American clarinetists":^[1] his pupils include Stanley Drucker, Charles Neidich, Franklin Cohen, Larry Combs, Jimmy Hamilton, David Krakauer, Bob Wilber, Michele Zukovsky, and Edward Palanker, among many others.

Early life and education

Russianoff grew up near Hester Street, Manhattan (pictured in 1903)

Leon Russianoff was born to Sarah and Isadore Russianoff on August 19, 1916 in Brooklyn, New York. His parents were Jewish immigrants who settled near Hester Street in Manhattan, which provided shelter while Isadore trained to become a dentist.^[2] At his mother's persuasion, the young Russianoff tried violin, piano, drums, and xylophone before he started learning clarinet at age 14. He first studied with Dominic Tramontano,^[3] a vaudeville and fiesta player, before winning a scholarship from the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York to study with Simeon Bellison around c. 1933. According to his biographer Stephen Lee Clark, these rigidly structured lessons with Bellison were a significant source of anxiety for Russianoff, and ultimately contributed to him becoming a teacher instead of a performer.^[4] Besides his formal studies, Russianoff played B♭ clarinet alongside Kalman Bloch in the Bellison Ensemble, a clarinet choir.^[1]

Russianoff never took a college-level music class,^[5] but continued his lessons with Bellison and successfully auditioned for the National Orchestral Association while studying for a Bachelor of Science in English and Sociology at the City College of New York (1933–June 1938).^[6][7][8] It during these college years that Russianoff took on his first two students, both referred to him by Bellison.^[9] Some time before 1940, he became an active member of Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians (Greater New York) and remained a part of the union for more than 50 years.^[10]

Career

After amicably ceasing lessons with Bellison in 1940, Russianoff began teaching at the Third Street Music School Settlement and The Contemporary Music School.^[11] In 1945, he won his audtion for the Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo's orchestra and became their principal clarinet for two seasons on an extended European tour.^[12] During these years he suffered from recurring performance anxiety and left in 1946, later expressing his dislike of the tension he felt.^[13] After leaving the orchestra, Russianoff moved more towards teaching, opening a studio on 1595 Broadway that he later shared with Daniel Bonade and Simon Kovar.^[1] Now on Broadway, he continued to perform from 1947 to 1950 with little success – he self proclaimed record of "eleven flop shows in a row", with the only successful show he played for being Song of Norway.^[13] Russianoff's performance anxiety again affected his playing; he admitted that that "[the] feeling of getting up and being totally transported and unaware of the audience never came to [him] easily" as a consequence of his low confidence.^[14] His confidence took a further hit when he performed with Martha Graham and Fe Alf around c. 1950; he left after only a week after a severely struggling with the mixed time signatures in Graham's music and "almost gave up playing from that point on".^[15][16] By studying with Bonade in 1950, Russianoff hoped to save his performing career. However, learning was uncomfortable as they had incompatible political and philosophical views.^[a] This conflict led Russianoff to quit after less than a year.^[17] He resolved to devote himself to teaching, partially due to confidence issues, but also due to familial undertakings.^[18]

In 1955, Russianoff became a faculty member of the Manhattan School of Music, a post he held for 35 years.^[1][19] His career progressed again when he became a faculty member at the Juilliard School in the following decade.^[b] Along with Michele Zukovsky and Hans-Rudolf Stalder, Russianoff was a contributor to the early International Clarinet Clinics as a presenter and performer;^[20] after a successful debut in 1972, he was invited back to deliver his "rapid-fire energetic monologues" and "Russianoff Hours" at every clinic held in the 1970s.^[21][22] At the 1973 clinic, Russianoff helped found the International Clarinet Society,^[c] and was unanimously elected its first vice-president;^[23][24] he resigned in 1976 as the nescesarry commitment rose higher than the time he had available.^[25]

Late in his 60s, Russianoff returned from his long hiatus to perform a series of at least seven concerts (including one for the Aeolian Chamber Players). According to Judith Pauley Markovich, a student of Russianoff, his return was mainly due to the support of his wife, who "pinpointed a missing element in Leon's heart [...] that was necessary for him to win against the critical tide of pedantic opinion".^[26] He continued to lecture into the 1980s, including at the University of Oklahoma Clarinet Symposiums in 1982 and 1987.^[27][28] Together with Michael Getzin, David Hite, and Allen Sigel, Russianoff had helped found ClariNetwork International, the organization that sponsored the international Clar-Fest in the same year.^[c] By this time, he had attained teaching positions at Brooklyn College, the Catholic University of America, and Queens College.^[29][1] In addition to these, Russianoff taught at Teachers College, the State University of New York at Purchase, and the music school of 92nd Street Y at some point in his career.^[1]

Teaching method

The studies of Cyrille Rose, Carl Baermann, and Ernesto Cavallini (L–R) form the basis of musical examples in Russianoff's Method

Russianoff's teaching methodology was based on the fundamentals of technique, and is exemplified by his Clarinet Method, published in 1982 by G. Schirmer and now out of print.^[30][31] The Method uses existing études (including those by Carl Baermann, Ernesto Cavallini and Cyrille Rose^[32]) and orchestral excerpts to teach concepts including dexterity, articulation, and breath control, which he considered to be the most important facets of playing.^[30] Russianoff included a number of techniques in the Method to aid learning, including counting a passage aloud, singing passages to "da", actively observing fingerwork, using a "tongue cue", blowing without playing, and playing with as empty a head as possible: the Russianoff biographer Stephen Lee Clark links these to the "inner game" methodology developed by Timothy Gallwey.^[33] Other methods used by Russianoff include the "backswing", "beat-to-beat", and "add-a-note" techniques for fingerwork, and his "pyramid" study for tone.^[34] In a positive review of the Method for The Clarinet, Ann McCutchan described it as "a major contribution to the clarinetist's library", and predicted it would become as "dog-eared and marked-up as Klose's [Méthode complète de clarinette]".^[32] Writing in The American Music Teacher, Norma V. Disinger was similarly supportive, praising its affordability and usefulness for both teachers and students.^[35]

The primary influence on Russianoff's philosophy was the pschological studies of his second wife;^[1] other inspirations included the teaching of Simon Kovar^[36] and the works of Gallwey, Albert Ellis, Erich Fromm, Karl Marx, and Friedrich Engels.^[37] Cultivating a good teacher-student relationship based on mutual respect was one of Russianoff's main aims, as he believed that traditional teaching methods quashed his valued attributes of individuality and creativity.^[38][39] Lessons were very tailored, and aimed to promote confidence through positive reinforcement:^[40] he often composed exercies for problems faced by individual students, many of which were later used in the Method. Students spoke of his kindly and passionate temperment,^[41] a method he adopted instead of "harsh criticism of the student by the teacher".^[38]

Personal life, death, and legacy

On August 14, 1940, Russianoff married Alice Kahn. Kahn, who worked on Wall Street for only $15 a week, provided Russianoff with the impetus to expand his teaching studio to financially support the marriage.^[11] Together they adopted two children: Charlie in 1950 and Sylvia in 1956;^[42] shortly after adopting Charlie, they moved from Manhattan to Valley Stream, Long Island.^[18] After having an affair with Russianoff's friend, Kahn committed suicide out of guilt in 1963.^[36] Russianoff married again on November 2, 1966, this time to his former student Penelope Russianoff, a psychologist and socialite who was the daughter of Raymond Pearl.^[1][19][43]

After a short illness, Russianoff died on September 16, 1990 at the St. Luke's–Roosevelt Hospital Center.^[d][19] His funeral was held privately on September 18 in Manhattan, with music provided by Naomi and Stanley Drucker, and a eulogy delivered by Naomi. In memory, tribute concerts were held at the Juilliard School on December 3,^[1] and at the Manhattan School of Music on April 30, 1991, with Charles Neidich as soloist.^[44] The latter also set up the Leon Russianoff Memorial Scholarship.^[1] In 2016, a commemorative concert on the centenary of his birth was held by some of his former students, featuring performances from David Krakauer, Neidich, Stanley Drucker, and others.^[10]

Russianoff is often cited as one of the best, most influential and most renowned clarinet teachers of his time:^[45][1][10] on the occasion of his death, Joan Waryha Porter remarked in The Clarinet that he was "considered by many to be the Godfather of American clarinetists".^[1] At one point, the clarinet section of the New York Philharmonic was composed entirely of his pupils – namely Stanley Drucker, Peter Simenauer, Steve Freeman and Michael Burgio.^[46] His other students included many orchestral principals and soloists, such as Neidich,^[19] Franklin Cohen, Larry Combs,^[1] Jimmy Hamilton, Krakauer, Bob Wilber, Michele Zukovsky,^[47] and Edward Palanker.^[48] Russianoff is listed as a "legend" of the International Clarinet Association^[49] and recognised as a "clarinet pedagogue legend" by the World Clarinet Alliance.^[50]