Klarinet Archive - Posting 000028.txt from 1995/01

From: "Dan Leeson: LEESON@-----.EDU>
Subj: On Stolzman and jazz playing
Date: Tue, 3 Jan 1995 10:49:08 -0500

Richard was here in San Jose a few years ago and did the Mozart concerto.
We chatted about a review of his recording of the Mozart bassoon concerto
that he played on the clarinet and that I had written for clarinet
magazine. While I was very positive about his playing, I criticized
the recording for his failure to improvise while playing the work. I
also told him that, since he improvised when he played jazz, why did he
feel that such an act was inappropriate to performance of music from the
classic era? I was hoping to goad him into giving the practice a try
in the Mozart but I never succeeded. He does not wish to do this thing
in the classic era repertoire though he certainly does it in his jazz.
It may be that he is concerned about improvising in a stylistically
inappropriate fashion in the Mozart clarinet (or bassoon) concerto. But
at least I have him thinking about it. Before Richard left New York
to come to California many years ago, he and I played a Gran Partitta in NY
together and I wanted very much to improvise during that performance.
We tried at rehearsals but I was too bold, the oboe player was
uncomfortable, and Richard was somewhat conservative about it, so we
never did it at the performance.

The other jazz/classical double threat of today, Daniels, who plays
so wonderfully in both arenas is even more conservative about not
improvising in the classic repertoire. He considers it anathmatic.
We have some disagreements in that area, but even so I admire
Eddie Daniels' playing. Our disagreement is, of course, philisophical
and historical. If he wanted to do so (and if he worked at what
constitutes classical improvisation) he would be magnificent, so
imaginative is he.

====================================
Dan Leeson, Los Altos, California
(leeson@-----.edu)
====================================

   
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