The panorama of clarinet artistry in the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries is spectacular. How can one possibly select just a few individuals to highlight in an essay such as this, when there are hundreds of players whose achievements might warrant their inclusion? Any survey of important clarinetists must necessarily be selective, and to some extent personal. Therefore, besides their excellence as performers, the individuals discussed in this chapter have made additional significant contributions to the field in one or more of the following areas.

• 1 Recording: Performers from the early history of recording technology, and later individuals whose recording activities were notable in terms of quality, quantity, and repertoire.

• 2 Repertoire expansion: Serving as the dedicatees or commissioners of clarinet repertoire from important composers; premiering new works or rediscovering lost or forgotten clarinet repertoire.

• 3 Ensembles: Founders and/or members of important chamber ensembles.

• 4 Breaking barriers: Members of historically underrepresented groups in the profession who have made significant careers as clarinetists.

• 5 Popularizers: Clarinetists who have especially contributed to the visibility of the clarinet with the general public.

Even these criteria could potentially allow for the inclusion of many more clarinetists than those who appear in this chapter. For readers disappointed that their favorite clarinetist has been excluded, there are several sources one may consult to read about these individuals. First and foremost among this biographical literature are the numerous books by Pamela Weston (1921–2009). She also contributed over thirty articles on clarinetists to The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, as well as many reports in the journals of the International Clarinet Association and the Clarinet & Saxophone Society of Great Britain. To avoid duplication, I have chosen—with a few exceptions— to omit players who are already discussed in Weston's Clarinet Virtuosi of Today (1989), a number of whom are still at the forefront of the profession as of this writing.

While many general books about the clarinet contain brief biographical sketches of historical clarinetists, one must look to journal articles, along with academic theses and dissertations, to find in-depth biographies of specific players. Among the most useful is “A Biographical Dictionary of Twentieth-Century American Clarinetists” (2011) by Tracey Lynn Paddock, a large thesis which is nevertheless limited to a particular nationality.