Gaston Hamelin (27 May 1884 – 8 September 1951) was a French clarinetist and teacher.
Born in Saint-Georges-sur-Baulche, Hamelin won the first prize for clarinet at the Paris Conservatory in 1904 under professor Charles Turban. He was a noted soloist, becoming the first to perform the Première rhapsodie for clarinet by Claude Debussy in 1919; he is also believed to be the first to record that work.[1] [2] Hamelin moved to the United States in 1926 to assume the seat of principal clarinetist for the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He performed with that group from 1926 to 1932,[3] but was reportedly not offered a contract renewal because conductor Serge Koussevitzky disapproved of his practice of playing on a metal Selmer instrument instead of one made of the more traditional grenadilla wood.[2] [4] [5] One anecdote about his dismissal records that he responded to praise on his performance in a rehearsal by waving his instrument in the air, which "enraged" Koussevitzky.[5]
In the early 1930s Hamelin returned to France, where he was active as a soloist and private teacher.[2] He published his Scale and Exercise Book in Paris. His pedagogical approach was notable for advocating a double-lip embouchure, which was less common than the single-lip variety but was credited with reduced biting and increased fluidity of tone.[2] [6] His students included Rosario Mazzeo, Joseph Allard and Ralph McLane. He is known as a founder of the "American" school of clarinet and is credited with having a significant influence on the development of performance practice in the United States.[2]
His son Armand Hamelin, born 1907, played bass clarinet in the Boston Symphony for the last two years of his father's tenure there.[7]