Klarinet Archive - Posting 000748.txt from 1995/05

From: John Roman <JohnARoman@-----.COM>
Subj: Where did I go wrong?
Date: Thu, 25 May 1995 23:55:20 -0400

On Wednesday, May 24, in response to Fred Cichetti's query about the "height
of the moon" , I wrote:

<<I, myself, will often take the artistic license of dropping extremely high
notes or phrases an octave if I feel it improves the performance.>>

--------------------------------------------

Larry Liberson wrote:

<<Oh really? Try using that explanation/excuse when a conductor wonders out
loud why you have just changed several notes during a rehearsal -- notes
that he/she expects to be hearing as it is notated in the score!>>

---------------------------------------------

Andrew Seigel wrote:

<<You know, the horn player in our quintet does this on a regular basis,
and I'm about ready to gouge her eyes out with an icepick.>>

----------------------------------------------

Sal Lozano wrote:

<<Give me a break.....
How can you tell a musical director or a writer on a recording session when
they hear a playback of the performance you had an "artistic license"?>>

-----------------------------------------------

Jeez guys! The key phrase there was "if I feel it improves the
performance". I don't play in the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (where the
clarinet parts are likely to be written by someone with an understanding of
the instrument's range), I don't play french horn, and I defer to musical
directors or anyone else who's paying for my services. I also think that I
may never take that kind of artistic license again (especially if I notice an
icepick in someone's clarinet case).

Gotta run now. I'm late for my day job, field testing asbestos body suits.

John Roman