I heard two concerts last week–one by the clarinetist Karl Leister and another by Sir James Galway, the consumate entertainer. Two legendary player and two very different concerts. Mr. Leister, the former principal clarinetist of the Berlin Philharmonic, played an exquisite recital that included Brahms’ F minor Sonata, op. 120, no. 1. His tone is pure and stays consistent throughout the entire range of the clarinet. And his intonation was immaculate. These two factors helped me overlook his somewhat conservative music making.

In stark contrast, Sir James was sheer flamboyance. He played a concert of French music to a sold-out Hill Auditorium. Some of my flute friends write off Sir James for one thing or another about his playing, but I went into the concert with an open mind, wanting simply to be moved by a consumate artist. Unfortunately, there was nothing special about the concert, including the music–two Paris Conservatory concours pieces on the same program? In addition, Sir James played severely sharp through the entire concert despite tuning before each work. He sures knows how to work a crowd though.