Klarinet Archive - Posting 000027.txt from 1995/06

From: "Edwin V. Lacy" <el2@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: Weird keys, emotional keys, colored keys
Date: Fri, 2 Jun 1995 23:13:53 -0400

Appropos the discussion of the Mozart Concerto in A/Bb, etc., there are
several editions of the Concerto in which the piano part has been
transposed to Bb for the convenience of high school players who don't
have access to the A clarinet.

However, for a *real* change of timbre, you should have an experience I
once had. I was judging a high school solo and ensemble contest, and one
student played the Mozart Concerto in Eb - on his Eb soprano clarinet!
He had transposed the piano part up a tri-tone. He also had about the
fastest fingers I have ever heard, but no musicianship whatsoever. It
was like listening to a 33 rpm LP recording with the turntable set to 45
rpm.

On the circle of 5ths, Eb Major and A Major are polar extremes, so there
could hardly be a more extreme change of color.

After judging contests for 30 years or so, you think you must have heard
everything, but you always come away with a new story. This particular
occasion was the source of another of my favorite "war stories" about
contests. A few minutes before the player I mentioned above was
scheduled to play, his band director came into the room where I was
judging and asked if I would please NOT give his student a division I
rating! He said the kid was such a smart-aleck that he was unbearable,
and that his ego needed to be brought in check.

I was agonizing about what to do about that odd request, until the
student played about 3 notes. Even with no prompting from the director,
there was no way I would have given him a high rating. What got on my
nerves even more was that the kid was one who believed he was such a
hot-shot that he brought other students from his school into the room as
a private cheering section, and they gave him a standing ovation when he
finished. That happens occasionally, and always tempts me to "sharpen my
pencil" a little more when judging that performance.

Well, I got a little far afield from the subject of key colors, but maybe
there would be interest in starting a new thread on oddball judging
experiences. I have many other outrageous stories.

Ed Lacy
el2@-----.edu