Klarinet Archive - Posting 000053.txt from 1994/04

From: "Dan Leeson: LEESON@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: Verdi
Date: Sat, 9 Apr 1994 10:20:50 -0400

It is mentioned that the Verdi Rigoletto fantasy is published in the
back of an important method book. True, but that is only the clarinet
part. The piano part is not available, so the presence of the solo
line printed in some publication does not solve the problem of the
original party who wanted to perform the work.

Jim Langdell wrote about this arrangement. He believes it to be
very good, provided one played it with the kind of care and sensitivity
that Gerry Schwartz did when he played music of this nature on his
trumpet (or was it a cornet?). I don't disagree with Jim that there
are pleasant things about this entire epoch from ca. 1875 to ca. 1940,
but I find that its purpose is inherently unmusical; i.e., instead of
the soloist bringing service to the music, this kind of piece is designed
to bring service to the player and reduces music to a vain display of
mechanical skill. It is olympic music: FASTER, HIGHER, FURTHER. But
when one has a great artist who can bring it off, it can be thrilling
to listen to despite my assertion about the purpose of such music being
inherently unmusical. Such music is an outgrowth of the era of
spontaneous improvisation in which there were no limitations placed
on the solo improvisor and skill became more important that musical
content.

I would think that the library of the clarinet society should have a copy
that one may have access to. I believe their policy is to make copies
of works that are no longer in print at the request of someone willing
to pay for the copy. I have never used the service but I donated a lot
of rare solo material to them for just this purpose, and I presume that
the library still exists.

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Dan Leeson, Los Altos, California
(leeson@-----.edu)
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