Klarinet Archive - Posting 000371.txt from 1995/01

From: Claudia Zornow <claudia@-----.COM>
Subj: King/Hilton/Johnson
Date: Wed, 25 Jan 1995 12:02:45 -0500

I haven't heard Janet Hilton play, so I can't comment on her.
I've liked what I've heard of Thea King (and Jack Brymer, for
that matter).

Emma Johnson is another story. I find her tone thin and her
articulation deficient. When she starts a note, it sounds
as though her tongue is hitting the reed forcefully and with
a certain lack of control. (This has been a problem that I've
worked on for years, so I'm sensitive to it!) Compare her
articulation to that of David Shifrin, for example. His notes
don't start with the percussive sound of an attacking tongue
unless the music calls for it. As a teacher of mine has said,
"The audience doesn't want to hear the tongue, they want to
hear the note."

Claudia