My Favorite Clevenger Recording

Dale Clevenger. Very few musicians have had as much of an impact on as many musicians as Dale Clevenger has. Over the course of his 47 years as Principal Horn of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, he helped create the horn sound that is heard today in orchestras across America. His sound: warm in softs, broad in lyrical passages, brilliant in heroic moments, and even breaking glass in the extreme louds that he could project over the entire orchestra. Clevenger's recordings are works of art that will continue to inspire brass players for as long as brass players continue to make music through a metal pipe.    

I have my own personal favorite recordings of Clevenger's musicianship. Examples that come to mind include his Mahler 1, Don Juan, Alpensinfonie, Zarathustra, or Heldenleben with Solti, all of which are riveting and awe inspiring. But my FAVORITE would have to be the Abbado Mahler 5 that was recommended to me by a friend years ago. Clevenger always played this piece beautifully, but THIS recording contains his greatest Scherzo. The character, power, phrasing, edge, and tenderness that he exhibited on this recording is sheer genius. It must be heard. I highly recommend that every brass player buy this recording. The entire CD is wonderful, but the Scherzo has to be heard. It is truly my all-time favorite Clevenger recording, and I think you might agree...