Klarinet Archive - Posting 000471.txt from 1995/11

From: Jim Freeman <collnjim@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: Beethoven Wind Sextett as WWQuint / Neidich
Date: Tue, 28 Nov 1995 18:38:30 -0500

the version i'm used to playing is in the infamous "yellow books"
compiled and revised by Andraud, published (and absurdly cheap) by
southern.

jim freeman (collnjim@-----.edu)

On Tue, 28 Nov 1995, Jacqueline G Eastwood wrote:

> Hi, Martin,
>
> There is indeed a published arrangement of the Beethoven Sextett as a
> woodwind quintet! Unfortunately, I cannot remember the publisher or
> whether the name of the arranger was mentioned on the music. Back in the
> Dark Ages when I was in high school, I remember having played this
> piece. My memory was jogged when I did the original Sextett sometime
> last year (Gee, this really sounds familiar!), but I much preferred the
> 1st clarinet part of the Sextett to the clarinet part in the quintet
> version (flutes and oboes get to have fun all the time -- this is MY
> turn!). Try a really common publisher like Carl Fischer or
> Belwin-Mills. I'm pretty certain it was a (relatively) modern-day guy
> who arranged it -- not Beethoven.
>
> Jacqueline Eastwood
> University of Arizona/Arizona Opera Orchestra
> eastwooj@-----.edu
>
> On Tue, 28 Nov 1995, Martin Pergler wrote:
>
> > Hello all...
> >
> > getting home from rehearsal last night, I turned on the radio and
> > heard Beethoven's Eb Sextett Op71 for 2Cl,2Hn,2Bn...being played by a
> > wind quintet. For I while, I thought I was just having delusions
> > (an evening of trumpets blaring Tchaikovskij and Shostakovitch in
> > my ears made this seem a reasonable supposition) but the announcer
> > labelled listed it afterwards as "a completion of B's Quintet in
> > Eb, Op. 71, played by the Belgian Wind Quintet". Does anyone know
> > the story behind this?
> >
> > I have a recording of the Sextett by Neidich and Mozzafiato (The Beehoven
> > Wind Music Disc on Sony). The notes there mention the Sextett as being
> > written in 1796, but "probably not played until 1805" and published by
> > Breitkopf and Hartel in 1810. No word about other instrumentations. The
> > quintet version seemed, as far as I could tell for I don't know the work
> > that well, just a reinstrumentation (incidentally with the cl keeping most
> > of the solistic licks of cl 1 in the sextett).
> >
> > Anyway, periodically people on this list mention liking or disliking
> > cerain features of Neidich's playing. Invariably someone comes back and
> > says "be specific". This seems like a good opportunity for me to try to
> > be specific in one instance, in the hopes that it will provoke discussion.
> >
> > In preface, let me say that unlike some members of this board, I don't know
> > Mr. Neidich (I am only a math grad student who happens to play clarinet for
> > fun). In general, I greatly admire his playing and musicianship.
> >
> > The first movement of the Sextett is an adagio-allegro. The adagio ends
> > on a big held chord, and 1st clar leads off the allegro with a solo
> > staccato melody. After the others join in, 1st clar has a few solistic
> > fast roulades (two types, each repeated). Two features about Neidich's
> > interpretation: 1) between the chord ending the adagio and starting off
> > the allegro, he puts in a cl cadenza, arpeggiating down and then
> > meandering up. This doesn't appear in the parts in the edition I have
> > seen. 2) some of the roulades are tongued at hyper fast speeds. The parts
> > I have seen are written slurred (this may be editorial).
> >
> > I rather like 2). These are passages meant to be virtuosic, and he is
> > capable of adding this extra twist. Tongueing some and slurring some adds
> > variety in the same way that I am familiar from, say, baroque sonatas
> > (which I play a lot on recorder). I'm not that thrilled with 1). To me,
> > the adagio has a natural ensemble texture, linked with its slow meter.
> > Beethoven already contrasts this with the solo staccato melody of the clar
> > starting the allegro, which already resolves the rhythmic and harmonic
> > tension. A cadenza at his point seems to disrupt this resolution.
> > Personally, I would be happy with no extra ornamenation at this point,
> > though a short little ornament or arpeggio alone might be nice too. I
> > would also be happy with the cadenza if the structure of the piece was
> > similar before and after the point in question.
> >
> > Comments? I repeat that my hope is to try to start a discussion from which
> > I and perhaps others can learn something, not to start a Klarinet
> > "Commission of Inquiry" into Sony recording #(whatever).
> >
> > Martin
> >
> > -------------------------------------------------------
> > Martin Pergler pergler@-----.edu
> > Grad student, Mathematics http://www.math.uchicago.edu/~pergler
> > Univ. of Chicago
> >
>