Klarinet Archive - Posting 000039.txt from 1994/10

From: "Dan Leeson: LEESON@-----.EDU>
Subj: transposing
Date: Wed, 5 Oct 1994 18:26:39 -0400

Dick Williams speaks of Nielssen with respect to bass clarinet in A
in the bass clef. What work are you speaking of Dick?

As for the requirement to transpose, Dick is correct. If you have first
class pitch discrimination, it is torture to look at one note and hear
another. If you have perfect pitch, it is a curse under these
circumstances.

Finally, as to the requirement to transpose bass in A at sight, I once
lost an audition having made it all the way to finals because they
gave me (of all things to sight read), the Wagner Ride of the Valkyries
which is bass in A in mixed clefs but mostly bass.

I never asked them if they wanted it transposed because my assumption
was that that was what they expected and to even ask the question
would have been a disaster. I made
two transpositional errors in this page of notes and did not get the
gig, though I have no way of knowing that it was the two errors that
caused me to lose it.

As an ancillary matter, let me mention that a clarinetist (who will
remain unnamed) took an audition with a BIG orchestra and was asked to
play the Mozart concerto, slow movement. He played it on B-flat clarinet
and lost the audition for that alone. I later overheard that the
conductor said "Can you imagine anyone dumb enough to play the Mozart
concerto on a B-flat clarinet?"

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