Une grande dame de la clarinette, miss Pamela Weston a décidé de nous quitter à l'âge de 87 ans pour rejoindre tous les "Virtuosi" clarinettistes du Passé qu'elle a si bien bien su nous faire aimer dans ses diverses publications depuis bientôt 40 ans.Le dimanche 20 septembre 2009, elle annonçait dans le Times les raisons de son départ pour une clinique suisse afin de bénéficier de la possibilité d'un suicide assisté. Respectons son choix et ayons une pensée pour elle et ses proches.
=> Article dans le Sunday Times :
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Elle était l'auteur depuis 1971 de plusieurs livres en anglais sur la clarinette et surtout sur les clarinettistes qui ont marqué l'histoire de cet instrument:
- Clarinet virtuosi of the past, (1971)
- More clarinet virtuosi of the past,
- the Clarinettist’s Companion,
- Clarinet virtuosi of today,
- Yesterday’s Clarinettists,
- Eight clarinet trios of the 18th century
- Heroes and heroines of clarinettistry (2008).
- More clarinet virtuosi of the past,
- the Clarinettist’s Companion,
- Clarinet virtuosi of today,
- Yesterday’s Clarinettists,
- Eight clarinet trios of the 18th century
- Heroes and heroines of clarinettistry (2008).
Son nom apparait aussi sur de nombreuses éditions de partitions pour clarinette qu'elle avait su redécouvrir dans les bibliothèques du monde entier. Elle a fait don de ses archives privées au musée d'Edinburgh en Ecosse:
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Biographie en anglais:
Pamela Weston was, for the first 20 years of her professional life, a clarinet soloist of distinction. She studied the instrument under Frederick Thurston whilst a scholarship holder at the Guildhall School of Music in London. From 1951 to 1969 she held a professorship at the School and began her considerable output of music editions for which she is well known. During this time she had an exciting performing career, including many solo broadcasts.
As a member of the Klarion Trio (soprano, clarinet and piano), whilst searching at the British Library for new repertoire for the combination, she became intrigued by names of former clarinettists on the music and this began a lifelong interest in them. Her first book on clarinet virtuosi of the past was published in 1971. This was followed by two more on the same subject and one on great players of today.
She has been fortunate in having made contact with descendants of past virtuosi. For those of today she travelled all over the world to conduct personal interviews. In the New Grove Dictionary of Music & Musicians all the articles on clarinettists are by her.
She holds honorary membership of the International Clarinet Association, Clarinet & Saxophone Society of Great Britain, Moscow's Clarinet Club and New South Wales' Clarinet & Saxophone Association.
I was very sorry to hear that Pamela Weston decided to take assisted suicide in Switzerland. However, she was ill and it was her choice.
RépondreSupprimerI first met her in about 1975 at the "National Clarinet Clinic" in Denver, Colorado. She was helpful to me in answering several questions and I hope I acknowledged her help in my books.
Albert R. Rice
Claremont, California