Arthur Weisberg (April 4, 1931 – January 17, 2009) was an American

clarinetist The clarinet is a single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches. The clarinet family is the largest woodw ...

, bassoonist, conductor, composer and author.

Biography

Weisberg was born in

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. He attended The High School of Music & Art, majoring in bassoon and studying with Simon Kovar, and graduating in 1948. Soon after leaving

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, he secured the principal chairs with the

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and

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore SO has its principal residence at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, where it performs more than 130 concerts a year. In 2005, ...

s and second bassoon with the Cleveland Orchestra, before coming back to New York City. After pursuing study of conducting with Jean Morel, he again returned to the bassoon as principal for

Symphony of the Air The NBC Symphony Orchestra was a radio orchestra conceived by David Sarnoff, the president of the Radio Corporation of America, the parent corporation of the National Broadcasting Company especially for the conductor Arturo Toscanini. The NBC S ...

as well as bassoonist of the New York Woodwind Quintet for 14 years. Weisberg conducted the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the ''Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.'', and globally known as the ''New York Philharmonic Orchestra'' (NYPO) or the ''New Yo ...

, and the Sjaellands and Aalborg Symphonies of

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. Weisberg founded and conducted the Contemporary Chamber Ensemble. Weisberg also taught extensive, holding posts at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

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, Yale School of Music,

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, and

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's Jacobs School of Music. He recorded several renderings of

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, such as from Schoenberg ('' Pierrot Lunaire, Erwartung''), Varèse, Messiaen, and contemporary American composers (''e.g.'',

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, Stefan Wolpe, and

George Crumb George Henry Crumb Jr. (24 October 1929 – 6 February 2022) was an American composer of avant-garde contemporary classical music. Early in his life he rejected the widespread modernist usage of serialism, developing a highly personal musical ...

), mostly with the Contemporary Chamber Ensemble, the Orchestra of the 20th Century, and the Ensemble 21. Weisberg also conducted Charles Schwartz's 1979 jazz symphony '' Mother ! Mother !'' with Clark Terry and

Zoot Sims John Haley "Zoot" Sims (October 29, 1925 – March 23, 1985) was an American jazz saxophonist, playing mainly tenor but also alto (and, later, soprano) saxophone. He first gained attention in the "Four Brothers" sax section of Woody Herman's big ...

Books

Weisberg also authored two books: ''The Art of Wind Playing'' ( G. Schirmer) and ''Performing 20th Century Music-a Handbook for Conductors and Instrumentalists'' (

Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day and Clarence Day, grandsons of Benjamin Day, and became a department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and ope ...

) as well as composed and edited numerous scores, including the Bach Cello Suites.

"Future Bassoon" system

Weisberg introduced a new bassoon which he claimed was "absolutely unable to crack. Perfect slurs on the most problematic notes. Never having to flick again. Ease of fingering. Better quality and pitch on six of the worst notes. This is what the Weisberg System promises and delivers, and it does all of this automatically, with no new fingerings to learn." Because of Arthur Weisberg's death, Robert D. Jordan has inherited the mantel of president for "Future Bassoon" and has changed the name to "Weisberg Systems, LLC".

Selected compositions

* Duo for Bassoon and Piano (1984) * ''Piece'' for Viola Solo (1984) * ''Piece'' for Piano (1984) * Duo for Cello and Piano (1985) * Trio for Violin, Cello and Piano (1985) * Quintet for Clarinet and String Quartet (1986) * Quintet for Horn and String Quartet (1986) * Sonatina for Flute (1986) * String Quartet No.1 * ''Music for Double Woodwind Quintet'' (1987) * ''Two Pieces'' for String Quartet (String Quartet No.2) (1987) * Duo for Violin and Piano (1988) * ''Birthday Piece'' for Viola and Bassoon (1991) * ''A Song and a Dance'' for Solo Bassoon (1992) * ''From the Deep'' for Two Contrabassoons and Piano * Concerto for Bassoon and Strings (1998) * ''15 Etudes for Bassoon Written in the Style of 20th Century Music'' (2004)

References

External links

Indiana University biographyWeisberg's "Future Bassoon" system
by Bruce Duffie, April 30, 1997
Weisberg Systems, LLC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weisberg, Arthur American classical bassoonists 1931 births 2009 deaths The High School of Music & Art alumni Musicians from New York City Juilliard School alumni Juilliard School faculty 20th-century American classical musicians Educators from New York City Classical musicians from New York (state) Players of the Cleveland Orchestra