Klarinet Archive - Posting 000066.txt from 1994/11

From: Josias Associates <josassoc@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: German Sound
Date: Thu, 3 Nov 1994 16:23:56 -0500

On Thu, 3 Nov 1994, Roel de Vrijer wrote:

> Many, but again by no means all, clarinettists here prefer the German sound.
> I tend to prefer it myself as well.
> Wurlitzers are expensive though, and hard to get.
> What you sometimes see is a German mouthpiece on a French instrument.
> I tried that once, but with little success. I am totally French now.
>
> Roel de Vrijer
> Amsterdam

Mr. de Vrijer,

Your comments about sound preference reminded me of an incident
that occurred about nine years ago.

After having completed a six-performance run of the "Mikado" in
the pit orchestra, I had my first opportunity to talk leisurely with
the Principal Flutist, who was a German scientist visiting Caltech on a
post-doctoral fellowship in chemistry.

He said that his wife was a clarinetist and that the two of them
were curious as to what instrument I was playing. When I told him that
it was a Buffet R-13, he said that I didn't sound too bad, considering
that I was playing on a toy.

Having just been damned with faint praise (or was it "praised with
faint damn?"), I foolishly pressed on with questions. He said that it
was well known that the only legitimate and acceptable clarinet sound
was the one produced by the Wurlitzer instruments.

I said that I could understand why some people might prefer the
Wurlitzer sound. I then asked him if he could understand why other people
might prefer the sounds produced by Buffet, Selmer, Leblanc, Yamaha
or other clarinets. He said he could absolutely not understand that,
because they were all "toys" and were incapable of producing acceptable
sounds.

"What about brass instruments?" I asked.

"The only good ones are made in Germany," he said.

I excused myself, and left the scene as fast as I could, all the
while resolving to add discussions of this kind to politics and
religion as subjects to be avoided in the future at all cost.

Connie

Conrad Josias
La Canada, California
josassoc@-----.com