Klarinet Archive - Posting 000340.txt from 1995/06

From: Donald Yungkurth <DYungkurth@-----.COM>
Subj: R. Strauss - Use of C Clarinets
Date: Fri, 16 Jun 1995 10:36:03 -0400

I've lost the tread of the original messages, but know that Dan Leeson and
others have been involved in the discussions about use of the particular
clarinet specified by the composer. While looking up something else in Oskar
Kroll's book, "The Clarinet", I came across this paragraph:

"Before the first performance of "Der Rosekavalier", Richard Strauss wrote a
letter to the conductor, Ernst von Schuch, in which he said: 'The C clarinets
are indispensable, urge you to get some. Transposition impossible.' But the
instruments specifically purchased for this performance were never used again
because the players preferred their Bb clarinets. Strauss was furious and
wrote a strong letter to the orchestra management in Dresden which 'they
wouldn't have liked at all' (Kunitz). Subsequently, Strauss repeatedly
specified the C clarinet (Die Frau ohne Schatten, Die agypische Helena,
Arabella, Friedenstag, Daphne, Die Leibe der Danae, Capriccio). Where
C-instruments are available (good ones!) they should certainly be used.
Mahler also deliberately specified the C clarinet.

An interesting footnote in this same book (the original German edition was
apparently published in 1965) states, "In recent years some makers have
produced C clarinets which are played with a Bb mouthpiece". I don't have a
modern C instrument to check, but thought that this was common practice. If
earlier C clarinets used mouthpieces specific to the instrument, a smaller
bore diameter is implied and with that, wouldn't the instrument sound even
"brighter", to use one of the questionable words again? If so, that would
seem to argue strongly, at least in this case, for the use of the the
instrument Stauss requested, to get the tone quality he wanted.