Reginald Kell

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Reginald Kell (born York, England 1906, died 5 Aug 1981, Frankfort, Kentucky, USA) was a British clarinettist.

He was reputedly the first clarinettist who could play in tune from top to bottom and he was the first prominent player to apply vibrato consciously and consistently to his tone, in which respect he modelled himself on his colleague the oboist Leon Goossens. (Jack Brymer was another pioneer of vibrato, but came to prominence later than Kell.) Inspired by the great singers with whom he came in contact, notably Kirsten Flagstad, Kell sought to emulate their warm expressive sounds on the clarinet.

He was Sir Thomas Beecham’s choice as first clarinet for the London Philharmonic before WW2 and the Royal Philharmonic after it. He was succeeded in the LPO by Bernard Walton and in the RPO by Jack Brymer.

His recording of the Brahms Clarinet Quintet with the Busch Quartet was regarded as a benchmark. His solo repertoire extended from Corelli and earlier to twentieth century works.

Kell emigrated to the USA in 1947 where he made a successful concert career. He retired at the early age of 51.