Klarinet Archive - Posting 000065.txt from 1994/07

From: HardReed@-----.COM
Subj: Re: Which instrument?
Date: Tue, 5 Jul 1994 15:43:56 -0400

A couple of thoughts pertaining to WHICH instrument to use WHEN:

I don't pretend to have any historical (or any other, for that matter!)
expertise that dictates which clarinet I should be playing at any given time,
but rather, I (as do a majority of my colleagues across the US orchestra
world) look at the practicality of a given situation.

Pitch, or rather the level of pitch, is an important aspect in this regard.
Obviously we change instruments often throughout the course of a concert (or
a single compostition!), and we must, of course, attempt to keep our
instruments close to the level of pitch "in play".....However, there are many
times when we will NOT pick up a cold instrument to play a solo if we can
just as easily play it on the instrument on which we are already playing, one
that is fully warmed up and does not have the likelihood of being a little
under the pitch level of the rest of the 'band'.....An example might be the
second movement of Brahms 1st....While I can't speak for anybody else reading
this right now, I originally learned this piece on the B-flat clarinet
COMPLETELY, the second movement played on the B-flat (rather than the A
clarinet) for reasons of intonation only....Is it easier to play on one
instrument or the other? I don't know....but I do know that I feel more
secure playing it on B-flat. How about the beginning of Brahms 3rd? There's
a big solo for A clarinet, but precious little time to change from B-flat
after the intro...What to do? I play the beginning on A--and feel little, if
any, guilt whatsoever in doing so! Is there ANY orchestral clarinetist who
DOESN'T play the second movement of "The Pines of Rome" on the A clarinet
(rather than the B-flat which is called for) so that the instrument is warmed
up and in tune for the big solo in the third movement? Sometimes we change
instruments for means of facilitating a passage more cleanly (excerpt from
"Carmen", for example). Are we deliberately disrepecting the composer's
wishes? I don't think so.

Did the composer write for a certain 'sound' or did the composer choose the
various keyed clarinets to make it easier for the performer (easier key in
which to play?). What I DO know is that I try my best--as do most--to always
sound like the same player, regardless of whether I'm playing A OR B-flat.
We try to match the sounds of our instruments when playing, when selecting
them...We don't try to pick out an A or a B-flat for their CONTRAST to each
other (well, at least, I don't!).

Yes, I DO try to respect the composer's wishes at most times, but there's an
instance here or there where practicality takes over, so to speak.

So what about C clarinet parts? Yes, C is a different animal, and no, I
don't have one of my own (sad to say!). Would I want to play the Beethoven
1st Piano Concerto on C clarinet? I don't think so....I would want my B-flat
in tune for the second movement, therefore I play the ENTIRE concerto on
B-flat. How 'bout the middle mov't. of the Beethoven fiddle concerto?
Having played the first movement (and soon to play the third movement) on A
clarinet, I naturally play the middle movement on A also. Is this correct?
I don't pretend to know what's the 'right' thing to do. Perhaps my thoughts
might be changed if I had the opportunity to work with a C clarinet
regularly. It's not a perfect world!

I might add that these are not solely my sentiments, but those that have been
passed down, right or wrong, by great clarinetists and teachers over the
generations.

BTW, I also am sans a D clarinet, so I have always played those parts on
E-flat (makes sense, eh?). Again, was it the precise sound the composer was
'looking' for or was it for technical ease?

...and there are a lot more stories....Just thought I'd join the fray!

Larry Liberson aka Hard Reed@-----.com