Klarinet Archive - Posting 000397.txt from 1996/04

From: Jonathan Cohler <cohler@-----.NET>
Subj: Re: Schumann Fantasy Pieces--A or B-flat?
Date: Sun, 14 Apr 1996 19:40:12 -0400

At 2:39 PM 4/14/96, Greg Baker wrote:
>Hi, Guys!
>
>Just a quick question. The clarinet part for Schumann's Fantasy Pieces, op. 73
>out of Eric Simon's "Masterworks" collection includes two clarinet parts, one
>for b-flat clarinet, and the other for A clarinet. I had been told at one time
>or another that it was standard to play them on the A clarinet. However, a
>number of recordings that I have of them are obviously played on b-flat.
>Furthermore, when I worked on them last summer, I found that the timbre of the
>notes in the b-flat part fit the contour of the line a lot better than the
>notes in the A clarinet part.
>
>Does anyone have any preferences, or any documented material that says for sure
>one way or another? Please post to the group. Thanks!
>
>Greg Baker, St. Cloud, MN

Greg,

Schumann definitely wrote it for A clarinet. The manuscript is available
in some library in Paris I believe.

We also know that Schumann was very specific and adamant about instrumentation.

When his publisher asked him if it was OK to publish a clarinet part along
with the Three Romances for Oboe, he said something to the effect of
"Absolutely not, if I wanted a clarinet part, I would have written it for
clarinet." The publisher, of course, ignored his wishes and went ahead and
published a clarinet part AND a violin part as alternates! (It does sound
very nice on clarinet. Better than on oboe IMHO. Charlie Neidich has an
excellent recording of it.)

Interestingly, the published clarinet part for the Oboe Romances is also in
A, but I feel that it works much better on the Bb clarinet. In this case,
Schumann absolutely did not condone playing it on the clarinet, so either
way you are going against his wishes. When playing a transcription such as
this, we are obliged to make it clear in the program that it is a
transcription and not the composer's original composition.

The Fantasy Pieces (Op. 73) should definitely be played on A clarinet, however.

--------------------
Jonathan Cohler
cohler@-----.net