Klarinet Archive - Posting 000132.txt from 1994/11

From: Ken Maltz <Klezmer@-----.COM>
Subj: National Schools & Ethnic Clarinetists
Date: Tue, 8 Nov 1994 08:06:31 -0500

In reply to Dan Leeson and others who have been following this thread:

Dan, you cite Don Byron's performances with the KCB, in contrast to those of
"a Klezmer player born, raised and trained in Romania Ca. 1910, as an example
of your contention that we cannot distinguish players by their national
charachteristics. I would stipulate that your contention is incorrect on
several counts:

first- you seem to have either not read or misunderstood the paragraph in my
posting referring to 2nd/3rd generation players as opposed to 1st generation
players. To paraphrase my original comments on this subject, the "national
sounds" tag becomes rather elusive when we speak of those who, for the most
part (with no effort being made to make a value judgement), copy, in a rather
xerographic manner, performances of past masters. Your example of your
hypothetical emulation of Greek clarinet playing is just that; a copy, rather
than an attempt at making a musical statement that tries to move the art form
forward. So let's talk about "original" performances and not reproductions.

Going back to Don Byron's work (a fine clarinetist, he), those who depend on
this genre of playing to earn their rent money can immediately recognize his
playing as that of a modern American, jazz influenced musician. It is evident
in the form of his own insertions in the Doinas, the shape of his attacks and
releases, etc. Again, I am not seeking to "rate" his playing, and one could
certainly make the case for inclusion of contemporary styles into an already
established idiom; however, his playingxas the playing of all of usxcontains
traces of our "yichus" (heredity).

"Wrapping of the palyer in a non-classic national ethnic tradition", as you
put it, does not eliminate the clues to his/her national background; it just
constructs yet another layer of interest, through which we may view the
music.

In addition, one who has devoted a fair amount of time towards gaining an
understanding and appreciation of klezmer music can certainly distinguish a
Romanian klezmer from a Hungarian klezmer from an American. As with the human
voice, the differences range from marked to the most subtle; but they are
there nonetheless.

All the best
Ken Maltz