Klarinet Archive - Posting 000221.txt from 1996/06

From: niethamer@-----.EDU
Subj: Re: Persichetti Parable
Date: Fri, 14 Jun 1996 22:50:02 -0400

Greg, you wrote:

> I am planning a recital sometime next year (December?), and am
> looking into the possibility of doing the Persichetti Parable
> for Clarinet Solo. Does anyone have any comments on it? I have
> heard that it is technical, but I have not as of yet been
> given any piece to compare it to (Rossini E-flat variations,
> Weber 2, Debussy, Copland, etc.). If anyone have ever played
> it, I would appreciate any comments, both about working on it,
> as well as your reactions to its musical content.
>
> Also know that I am not taking lessons right now, and plan to
> play this for ensemble auditions around Labor Day. Thanks a
> lot!

I've played the Persichetti, and while it looks pretty formidable when
you open it up, I found upon beginning to practice that the piece was
written in a way that made it effective yet not impossible. If you're
looking for a vague comparison, it's about on the level of the Stravinsky
Pieces for technical (finger) difficulty, but the counting is easier,
since the piece is more rhapsodic. I notice that in your program you have
a fall-back to the Osborne, which IMO is a substantially easier piece.

I enjoyed playing the Persichetti a great deal, and the audience seemed
to like it too. Persichetti seems to have been a very practical composer,
writing music that was fun to play, interesting to hear without being too
awfully austere, and in the bargain he seemed to develop an honest and
singular musical voice withoput pandering to his audience. I'd go for it
- seems to me you could learn it by fall if you put your mind to it.

David Niethamer