Klarinet Archive - Posting 000625.txt from 1996/01

From: "Gregory T. Wright" <103147.1471@-----.COM>
Subj: Mozart improv
Date: Sun, 28 Jan 1996 23:38:15 -0500

Single-reed Sidekicks,
I know you must be getting tired of reading my "sax-isms" on this list,
but as Mozart didn't write much (!) for saxophone (it would have been a good
trick, but this was no ordinary guy) I have a question now that I didn't even
know existed before:
MOZART REQUIRED SPONTANEOUS IMPROVISATION??
With all of the discussion recently about Mozart's strict respect of
form, I would never expect that he would allow such a thing to happen. I
realize that improv. wouldn't change the form of the piece, but it would add an
element to the music which was beyond Mozart's control. I also realize that
improvisation has been going on since the first pan pipe / conch shell... , but
I thought it was for the most part a solitary thing, such as J.S. Bach at the
organ. (Then write it down and it's a "fantasia"? :-D )
Or am I taking this too far? Is the spontaneous material to be made up
of grace notes, trills, mordents, etc. , which embellish the written parts?
Maybe even suspensions (shudder)?
Now for a big question... Was it really MOZART who invented the BLUES
SCALE? As I said, this was no ordinary guy! :-)

Help! My tongue is still stuck firmly in my cheek!
How will I articulate?
Take up drums? (They don't worry about such
things.)
Gregory T. Wright
103147.1471@-----.c
om