Klarinet Archive - Posting 000087.txt from 1994/04

From: Steven Popper <Steven_Popper@-----.ORG>
Subj: Lurking in Brussels and Paris
Date: Tue, 12 Apr 1994 12:38:02 -0400

1) GO FORTH, MY SON, AND LURK NO MORE

I have been lurking now since the beginning of the year and have
enjoyed it enormously. I am the rankest of amateurs (for those with
interest, see my testimony below,) have virtually nothing useful or
valuable to add to the discussions, but have found them richly informative.
I will contribute what I can when I think I can add but would otherwise
wish to conserve bandwidth for those with more insight and experience.

2) HE LURKS TO CONQUER

Another reason I have been lax in contributing is that I have the
tendency to travel for business in spurts and so bank net chat until I have
time to read it, usually after the fires have long since cooled for any
given topic. But this brings me to my main query.

I will be leaving soon for a trip that will take me to Brussels and
Paris. It is conceivable, though not absolutely sure, that I may have time
to myself in both cities. I would like to ask the collective wisdom of
Klarinet where there are sites of clarinettish interest in these two
cities. I would be interested in hearing about:

1) stores with large sheet music selections
2) collections of early instruments, and
3) locales of manufacturers, retailers or other sites of
interest.
(Pretty much in that order.)

I thank you in advance for any tips.

3) I, A LURKER

My testimony, as promised, in brief:

Hello, my name is Steven P. and I am a clarinetist. I began my studies in
5th grade. By about the 7th grade I discovered that I had exhausted the
limited melodic possibilities of the instrument and so moved on to other
things.
Two years ago, my wife, an accomplished player, was asked to play
in a local band for a community 4th of July celebration. She said I should
bring along her spare and sit in. When I heard the quality of the combo, I
decided to go the the car, get the horn, and join in. It became clear that
some of the subtlties of the instrument had eluded me in the intervening
quarter century. In order not to embarass myself, I practiced. The 4th of
July came and went and I practiced. And practiced. And practiced. An
hour a day on average. On my own.

After two months went by, my wife decided I appeared to be serious,
much to the surprise of us both. She took charge. For my birthday, she
arranged for me to take ten lessons with a teacher: a member of the
section of the LA Philharmonic (!!) I told her this was lunatic, but she
said, no, she had spoken with the gentleman, described my status to him,
and he expressed interest in taking me on.

Well, needless to say it was a thrilling experience. I actually
learned something about how to play the clarinet. This was aided by the
coincident opportunity of taking a couple of months off during which time I
practiced up to 2.5 hours daily. I have been keeping on ever since, as
best as my work and family responsibilities will allow.

There. I feel better now.

Any duffers in the LA area interested in ensemble play?

*******************
Steven W. Popper
Senior Economist
Critical Technologies Institute
RAND Corporation