Klarinet Archive - Posting 000322.txt from 1994/03

From: James Langdell <James.Langdell@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: Schumann Op. 78
Date: Tue, 29 Mar 1994 17:19:30 -0500

I first heard those pieces on an RCA Victrola LP
played by Harold Wright. The tempos in that performance
must have imprinted on me, because when I came to work
on the Fantasy Pieces while studying with Rosario Mazzeo,
he drew my attention to the marked tempos (both the descriptive
words and the metronome numbers). According to Schumann,
each movement is substantially faster than the previous one.
I checked Wright's recording and found that the tempos of all
three movements were nearly identical--the first movement
a lot faster than Schumann indicated and the last movement
somewhat slower than marked.

Yes, the first movement does work well at that faster tempo, but
you lose a lot of variety that way when you perform Op. 78 as a
set.

By the way, there's an enjoyable, inexpensive CD from Naxos
with works by Schumann played on oboe and piano. Among them is
Op. 78, but also the "Five Pieces in Folksong Style" that
Schumann put out in versions for violin or cello. Hearing
the oboe rendition made me think it might be even more
effective on clarinet. Has anyone tried that? What violin
edition is good for that piece?

--James Langdell jamesc@-----.com
Sun Microsystems Mountain View, Calif.