Klarinet Archive - Posting 000070.txt from 1994/09

From: "Dan Leeson: LEESON@-----.EDU>
Subj: Martin Pergler's further comments on Musica Rara publications
Date: Sat, 10 Sep 1994 06:24:09 -0400

Nothing further has come to light with respect to the arrangements of
the violin sonatas for clarinet and string trio. I doubt if anything
will since there is very little interest in the works insofar as
research into Mozart's life and compositions is concerned.

As for the operas, the arrangements of Figaro, Don G., Cosi, etc.
all but Abduction, were known to be by Wendt, Tribensee, et al. Only
the Abduction was put forward as a possible Mozart arrangement. There
are three such octets currently on the market with the first two dating
from the 1950s and the most recent and very impressive one from the
late 1980s, a one hour arrangement of the Abduction as discovered by
a Dutch musicologist, Bastiaan Blomhert. It is recorded, too.

Bob Levin did a review of the Blomhert find for the Mozart Jahrbuch and
gave some very good reasons why the arrangement could not have come from
Mozart's hand. I did a review of the same arrangements for the Journal
of American Bandmasters and, while I liked what Blomhert did, I think that
Levin is far more correct in his conclusion than I was.

But the assertion by Mozart that he did an arrangement of the Abduction
still haunts the wind octet literature. And, furthermore, statements
made by people years after his death to the effect that he did other
operas for wind octet, will plague us for the next century.

I did not mean to give the impression that the violin/piano arrangements
were worthless. Not at all. I think if someone arranged the same works
for accordion band I would still enjoy hearing them for their
musical value. It is rather when one sees how he wrote for the
various instruments in K. 581, and then contrasts that instrumental
writing style with these three quartets, that one realizes how shoddily
they were put together, at least by contrast.

====================================
Dan Leeson, Los Altos, California
(leeson@-----.edu)
(leeson@-----.edu)
(dnl2073@-----.edu)
Any of the above three addresses may be used. Take your pick.
====================================