Klarinet Archive - Posting 000267.txt from 1996/04

From: Jacqueline G Eastwood <eastwooj@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: Me me me.
Date: Wed, 10 Apr 1996 14:28:43 -0400

On Wed, 10 Apr 1996 ncrocker@-----.EDU wrote:

> > But when I play at a recital, I like to think people want to hear *me*
> > playing a composer's work... they don't want to hear me play how my teacher
> > plays it or how Wright, Marcellus, or Neidich would have played it... they
> > want to hear me.
>
> Maybe they want to hear Mozart, or Brahms, or Stravinsky, or whoever. If
> it comes down to a contest between what I think or feel, and what a
> composer *wrote*, there is no doubt who ultimately wins. Long after
> everyone has forgotten how glorious your playing may have been, Brahms
> will still be Brahms, and Mozart will still be Mozart.
>
> It's a lot harder to go to the library, do your reading, listen to music,
> practice your scales, eat your lima beans. But how can you expect to
> accomplish anything by taking the easy way out?
>
I'd just like to add a bit to this idea, which I think really hits the
nail on the head. People always wonder why I decided to go on to
graduate school, especially to a DMA, if I didn't intend to teach. Part
of my education has been in theory and history, which many performance
majors believe to be unimportant. However, when you understand analysis
and historical context, you have that many more guideposts to your
interpretation. For instance, when you know a deceptive cadence is
aopproaching, you're going to lead up to it in a certain way so as to get
the full effect the composer had intended (a surprise!). Just a thought
-- education is never a waste of time!

Jacqueline Eastwood
University of Arizona/Arizona Opera Orchestra
eastwooj@-----.edu