Robert Marcellus (June 1, 1928 – March 31, 1996) was an American classical

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

ist and teacher. Marcellus is best known for his long tenure as principal clarinetist of the

Cleveland Orchestra The Cleveland Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded in 1918 by the pianist and impresario Adella Prentiss Hughes, the orchestra is one of the five American orchestras informally referred to as the " Big Five". T ...

Biography

Robert Marcellus was born in

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, on June 1, 1928. He began his musical studies with piano lessons at the age of four. He took up the clarinet at eleven and began serious study of the instrument at Minneapolis with Earl Handlon of the

Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra The Minnesota Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded originally as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1903, the Minnesota Orchestra plays most of its concerts at Minneapolis's Orchestra Hall. History Th ...

at twelve. His family moved to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, in 1944, and in the fall of that year, he started commuting to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

once a week for lessons with Daniel Bonade, former first clarinetist of the Cleveland and Philadelphia Orchestras. He became second clarinetist of the

National Symphony Orchestra The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1930 by cellist Hans Kindler, its principal performing venue is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The NSO regularly ...

in Washington in 1945. In 1946, he enlisted in the Air Force and played in the Air Force Band in Washington for three years. He returned to the second chair in the National Symphony in 1949 and was promoted to first a year later. He remained in this position until he was appointed principal clarinet in the

at the invitation of

George Szell George Szell (; June 7, 1897 – July 30, 1970), originally György Széll, György Endre Szél, or Georg Szell, was a Hungarian-born American conductor, composer and pianist. Considered one of the twentieth century's greatest conductors ...

in 1953. Marcellus made his debut as soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra on March 29–31, 1956, when he played

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

's Clarinet Concerto in A major, K. 622. On October 11–13, 1956, he has also played as soloist in other works, including the

concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The ...

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith ( ; ; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German and American composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advo ...

and the Concerto for Harpsichord, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Violin and Cello by

Manuel de Falla Manuel de Falla y Matheu (, 23 November 187614 November 1946) was a Spanish composer and pianist. Along with Isaac Albéniz, Francisco Tárrega, and Enrique Granados, he was one of Spain's most important musicians of the first half of the 20t ...

. He was principal clarinetist of the Cleveland Orchestra, under George Szell, from 1953 to 1973. During his tenure in Cleveland, he was clarinet department head at the

Cleveland Institute of Music The Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) is a private music conservatory in Cleveland, Ohio. The school was founded in 1920 by a group of supporters led by Martha Bell Sanders and Mary Hutchens Smith, with Ernest Bloch serving as its first dire ...

. At the height of his performing career in the 1960s, he was much in demand nationally as a soloist. In the summer of 1961, he played

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

's Clarinet Concerto at the

Casals Festival The Casals Festival is a classical music event celebrated every year in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in honor of classical musician Pablo Casals. Background The festival was founded in 1956 by Pablo Casals. It was promoted by Teodoro Moscoso and Dav ...

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. After his health forced his early retirement from the orchestra, he was professor of clarinet at

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

from 1974 to 1994. His week-long master classes, held each summer from 1974 until 1987, were one of the highlights of his teaching career. Robert Marcellus was the principal conductor of the Interlochen Arts Academy Orchestra in Interlochen, Michigan for the 1978–79 academic year. He was a National Patron of

Delta Omicron Delta Omicron () is a co-ed international professional music honors fraternity whose mission is to promote and support excellence in music and musicianship. History Delta Omicron International Music Fraternity was founded on September 6, 1909 a ...

, an international professional music fraternity. Towards the end of his career he lost his sight from diabetic retinitis. He continued to teach, remarking that the event had possibly improved his hearing. At his death he was a beloved and universally respected and admired artist and pedagogue whose conservative and highly disciplined approach to instrumental technique influenced generations of clarinetists. Robert Marcellus died on March 31, 1996.

References

External links

Interview with Robert Marcellus
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marcellus, Robert American classical clarinetists Cleveland Institute of Music alumni 1928 births 1996 deaths 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century American musicians Northwestern University faculty Players of the Cleveland Orchestra Players of the National Symphony Orchestra