Klarinet Archive - Posting 000109.txt from 1994/06
From: "Dan Leeson: LEESON@-----.EDU>
Subj: Mozart Serenade, K. 361/370a
Date: Fri, 24 Jun 1994 09:01:09 -0400
Noreen asks about the big Mozart serenade for 12 winds and a bass. It is a
very popular work because of the fact that it requires 4 clarinet players,
2 on clarinet and 2 on basset horn. It was commissioned by a clarinet
player (Stadler) and is, perhaps the most influential work for wind band
ever written. Richard Strauss loved it so much he even copied the
themes in his Happy Workshop for 15 winds, Op. Posthumous.
I don't know where to begin telling you about this joyous work, which I think
I have played close to 200 times. And each time I am requested to play it
again, my palms still get sweaty with pleasurable anticipation.
Let me ask you, Noreen, if you live near a University that has a good size
music library? If so, you want to see the new edition of the work that
was prepared for the New Mozart Edition (Neue Mozart Ausgabe) and printed
in 1979. You cannot perform the work without a knowledge of the details of
that edition. And the story behind the currently available printings would
curl your hair (assuming you have straight hair). So if you are going to
play the work, you have to decide on an edition and I would suggest that
you avoid the Broude, Kalmus, Musica Rara, and Breitkopf & Hartel editions.
They have very little to do with what Mozart wrote.
The next issue you must come to grips with is what instrumentation you
will use: string bass or wind bass. I have very strong evidence that
one is exactly what Mozart wanted, the other is not. You must decide.
And perhaps some of the Klarinet people will make suggestions.
The next issue is playing the work with basset horns. You can, of course
do the work with 4 clarinets. The Kalmus edition is so prepared. But
the piece loses texture. Though even today, 2 basset horns are not the
easiest thing to come by.
Then, there are a pile of performance practice issues that you must come
to grips with including what the 1st clarinet player should do for the
several Eingange in the fifth movement. There are also Eingange requested
in that piece that are not written out and should be improvised on the
spot, such as the one at m. 14 of the first movement (and played by the
1st clarinet, too).
I don't want to take up the board's time on this matter so perhaps it might
be best to take this discussion off line. It is a topic that is endlessly
fascinating to me, but some of the players might prefer that we not
clutter up the board with discussion of a specific work.
I envy you the opportunity to play this work. I wish that I had never
played it so that I could recapture the feeling that I had when I did it
the first time. I was so excited I almost wet my pants the first time
I heard the Adagio (which in the new edition has had several CRITICAL
changes made to the melodic line based one the autograph in the
Library of Congress). I presume that you are aware of the fact that
it was this movement of the work that was used to play Mozart's music
for the first time in the Movie "Amadeus."
A critical decision you will have to make has to do with the 5th movement.
An entire measure has been taken out of the piece and we have to talk
about that. At the 1991 Mozart colloquium held in Salzburg, I was
invited to give a talk on that measure! Can you imagine, 50 people
sitting around talking about a single measure?
Anyway, you can find that talk I gave (the title of which was "The
Gran Partitta's Mystery Measure") in the 2 volume set of colloquium
papers published in the 1991-1992 Mozart Jahrbuch. It is in English.
What are you going to do about the grace notes in the first movement?
One the beat, before the beat?
Which repeats will you take in the minuets? That's two minuets, each
of which has two trios, for a total of a billion repeats in all. There
are probably lots of people who find this work endlessly fascinating,
and if there were a club formed, I would be a member of it. In fact,
this work is the main reason why I have two basset horns. I knew that
I would never have a chance to play it if I did not have bats, balls,
and gloves for the team. So now, when I am called to play it, the
caller always asks, "And do you know where we could get another basset
horn?" and I say, "Of course, I do!!!!!"
Can I come and play it with you, please? I will pay you money to play
this work again. And I'll buy you a tuna fish sandwich and give
presents to your parents. And lend you my reeds. And sing songs.
Life is only worthwhile when one can play this piece.
Dan Leeson
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Dan Leeson, Los Altos, California
(leeson@-----.edu)
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