Klarinet Archive - Posting 000127.txt from 1994/03

From: SCOTT MCCHESNEY <MCCHESS4641@-----.EDU>
Subj: Mozart's work
Date: Tue, 8 Mar 1994 14:28:50 -0500

Well, we've all been talking about Mozart and "the right way to play", so I
took this subject up with my dad over the weekend. His Master's degree is in
Music History, so I figured he might be a good source to go to. He brought up
some interesting observations:

(1) Mozart didn't really write the music. Because of the thinking of the
times, and because he did finish 626 pieces of music, he didn't write the
score. Rather, he sketched the piece and gave it to his scoring students with
notes that said "do this this way." In many instances, the voicings used were
entirely up to the scorer. They were the same as all the others because the
scorers needed a fast way to get the music done - Wolfgang was writing fast.
So, whose music are we playing? Mozart's, or his scorers'?

(2) Wolfgang wrote down the piece for a clarinet that is not used at this time.
He knew exactly (or pretty close) what he wanted, and he wrote for that
instrument. But, more specifically, he wrote for that PLAYER. He knew that if
he wrote this line, Stadler would play it this way. So, in essence, he wrote
down STADLER'S interpretation of what he wanted. He did this quite often in
his career - writing for a specific person instead of a general voice. It was
quite common during the day.

(3) People on the list seem to be arguing as to which INTERPRETATION - or, more
specifically, how to go about getting said interpretation - is correct.
Interpretations are subjective, human, emotional statements. They are not
points of fact. There have been periods in time when people tried to make
interpretations points of fact and law. This has always proved impossible.
People still do it now, as is evidenced by this thread. When you hear the
Mozart Clarinet Concerto played, you hear your interpretation of the player's
interpetation of Mozart's interpretation of what he heard in his head. Count
them up, and we have a fourth generation hearing - and that's not counting if
the player did any research on how to play the Concerto "correctly".

I'm not saying that this discussion should stop. On the contrary, the more we
discuss, the more ideas that come about. The more ideas there are to choose
from, the better we can play Mozart's work. But, I think to look for "the
correct interpretation" is, ultimately, fruitless. It would seem to me to be
better to look for "others' interpretations" in light of using them to improve
our own.

Just my thoughts...

-- Scott