Paul Cohen (clarinetist)
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| Paul Cohen (clarinetist) | |
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| Name | Paul Cohen |
| Background | non_vocal_instrumentalist |
| Birth date | 1950s |
| Birth place | Brooklyn, New York City |
| Instrument | Clarinet |
| Genre | Classical music |
| Occupation | Clarinetist, educator |
| Years active | 1970s–present |
| Associated acts | Boston Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Juilliard School |
Paul Cohen (clarinetist) is an American clarinetist, chamber musician, and educator noted for his performances with major orchestras, his advocacy of contemporary music, and his extensive pedagogical influence. He has appeared with leading ensembles and institutions across the United States and Europe and has taught at prominent conservatories and summer festivals.
Early life and education
Cohen was born in Brooklyn, New York City, and raised in a family engaged with Jewish music and New York's cultural institutions. He studied clarinet with teachers linked to the New York Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Opera school systems before entering conservatory. He attended the Juilliard School where he studied under faculty connected to Curtis Institute of Music alumni networks and pursued advanced studies at institutions associated with the Tanglewood Music Center and the Aspen Music Festival and School. During his student years he participated in masterclasses with artists from the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Performance career
Cohen's orchestral engagements include appearances with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Cleveland Orchestra. He has performed as principal and guest clarinet with ensembles linked to the Metropolitan Opera, the San Francisco Symphony, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. As a chamber musician he has collaborated with members of the Guarneri Quartet, the Juilliard String Quartet, and soloists associated with the Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Cohen has appeared at festivals such as Tanglewood Music Festival, the Aspen Music Festival and School, and the Spoleto Festival USA, and has toured in Europe with ensembles connected to the BBC Proms circuit and the Salzburg Festival.
Repertoire and musical style
Cohen's repertoire spans standard works of the clarinet literature such as concertos by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Carl Maria von Weber, and Johannes Brahms as well as twentieth-century works by Igor Stravinsky, Béla Bartók, and Aaron Copland. He is an advocate for contemporary composers including Elliott Carter, John Adams, Philip Glass, Steve Reich, and Olly Wilson, commissioning and premiering works tied to American compositional centers like New Music USA and the Fromm Music Foundation. His chamber programming frequently pairs canonical pieces by Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Schubert with modern works by György Ligeti and Henri Dutilleux. Critics have described his playing as combining the lyricism associated with the French clarinet tradition—linked historically to performers from the Conservatoire de Paris—with the projection and agility prized in the American orchestral school.
Recordings and broadcasts
Cohen's discography includes solo and chamber recordings on labels affiliated with Deutsche Grammophon, Naxos Records, and independent contemporary-music publishers. He has recorded clarinet concertos, chamber cycles, and premiere recordings of works by living composers connected to Bang on a Can and the American Composers Orchestra. His performances have been broadcast on networks and platforms such as National Public Radio, the BBC, and regional public-radio stations linked to WQXR and WGBH. Selected releases have been reviewed in periodicals including The New York Times, Gramophone (magazine), and The Boston Globe.
Teaching and mentorship
Cohen has held faculty positions at conservatories associated with the Juilliard School network, the New England Conservatory, and university music departments with ties to the Ithaca College and the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance. He has served on summer-festival faculties at Tanglewood Music Center, the Aspen Music Festival and School, and the Marlboro Music Festival, and has been a guest professor at institutions connected to the Royal Academy of Music and the Conservatoire de Paris. His students have gone on to positions with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and international ensembles centered in Berlin, Vienna, and London. Cohen has also given masterclasses and adjudicated competitions such as the International Clarinet Association events and concerto competitions affiliated with Carnegie Hall.
Awards and recognition
Cohen's honors include prizes and recognitions from organizations tied to the Naumburg Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He has received fellowships from the Bogliasco Foundation and grants associated with the Fromm Music Foundation and Meet the Composer. His recordings and premieres have been cited in year-end lists by Gramophone (magazine) and have been acknowledged by panels of the International Clarinet Association.
Category:American clarinetists Category:Classical clarinetists Category:Juilliard School alumni