Klarinet Archive - Posting 000279.txt from 1996/04

From: Donald Yungkurth <DYungkurth@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: Authenticity, Mozart and Gould (was other titles!)
Date: Wed, 10 Apr 1996 20:20:45 -0400

A number of people have gotten into the discussion about sticking to the
composer's intentions as opposed to personal interpretation. All of this
brings to mind (mine, at least) the attitude of the late Glenn Gould. Gould
made his reputation playing Bach on the modern piano, an instrument that did
not exist when Bach was composing. Gould did things considered outrageous by
many, using tempi half or double the norm and on the piano instead of the
harpsichord or other keyboard instrument of Bach's time. Hardly anyone is
neutral about Gould. They love him or hate him.

I happen to like his playing very much. He took the view that there was
little point in playing music essentially the same way as everyone else. If
that is your intent, why bother? Some of Gould's Mozart sonatas are totally
out of the character generally considered acceptable by critics (and probably
by musical scholars), but they are, to me, musical, worth listening to and
not dull, trivial or disrespectful to Mozart.

Playing the Mozart concerto on your R13 or Wurlitzer, with or without basset
keys, pitched in G or A, is essentially the same thing as Gould playing Bach
on the piano. If you are going to play K. 622 on anything other than a 5 or
6 keyed instrument with a hand carved wooden mouthpiece, can you possibly
produce what Mozart had in mind? Even if there were a way of *knowing* what
sound he expected?
Assumptions about articulation seem to be down a notch in the priority list,
until you get the right equipment and sound. Since you can't know what 18th
century ears heard, this is a bit of a wild goose chase.

Just as I like Gould and his interpretations, I like hearing K. 622 on modern
clarinets. The really acceptable versions (to my ears) on original or
reproduction instruments are the ones that sound pretty much like a modern
instrument in terms of tone, articulation and intonation. This, I believe,
is more a statement about the performers' abilities than about the
instruments. Is this what Mozart heard from similar instruments? I doubt
it, but there is no way of knowing.

I feel that the music of Mozart or Bach can withstand some pretty serious
variations in interpretion without being degraded or showing disrespect to
the composer. I've recently heard a modern arrangement for strings of the
Bach "Goldberg Variations". It certainly didn't sound like either of Gould's
piano versions (or Landowska's or a more "authentic" keyboard version), but I
enjoyed it and heard things not noticed in other performances.

For me, the composer and the performer have roles that are equally important.
"Authenticity" may be intellectually interesting, but it doesn't necessarily
make for good listening.

Don Yungkurth (DYungkurth@-----.com)