Klarinet Archive - Posting 000853.txt from 1997/02

From: Neil Leupold <nleupold@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: Upsetting situation
Date: Tue, 25 Feb 1997 12:32:21 -0500

Rafe Tennenbaum wrote:

> Since you've taken the liberty of doing so -- not, incidentally,
> to your advantage -- let me say, and perhaps I'm speaking for other
> members, that his point is very well-taken. For instance, you also
> asked about recordings of the Rose Etudes. For all I know there may
> be dozens of these (although I doubt it, since I don't believe record
> companies in general are rushing to produce disks of unaccompanied
> clarinet performances of pleasant-sounding exercises of virtually no
> musical interest except as pedagogical studies) but the point is, if
> you're having a hard time figuring out a phrase in Rose, why don't
> you just ask your teacher about it?

Where on earth is this close-minded attitude coming from? In the
4+ years that I've been a member of this list, I've never witnessed
tolerance for such discriminatory and pejorative attacks on ANYBODY
who has chosen to honor us with their presence and interest in clarinet
performance and/or scholarship. I personally do not tolerate it now,
which is why I post this response to the belittling diatribes which have
been leveled at Kenneth Chin for asking honest, relevant questions in hopes
of engaging in the usual considerate and erudite discourse which has
characterized this forum over the years. If there is an element of
intolerance on Klarinet, it is for elitest holier-than-thou bullsh*t
such as that posted above. What kind of list would this be if we
trivialized and censored the sincere inquiries made by those on the
list who are less advanced or knowledgable than we? Why is anybody
a member of this list in the first place if not to exercise the
joyous freedom of posing whatever questions are on our minds and
being shown gracefully and competently how we might overcome a
particular difficulty...or enrich our understanding of clarinet
literature and performance?

It's nobody's business whether Kenneth Chin has a private teacher.
It's none of your business whether or not he has stated his questions
to somebody else, or whether or not he went to the library to research
the subject before turning to the Klarinet forum for information and
advice. Would any of you like to be treated with such disdain and
contempt in response to one of your own sincere quests for greater
knowledge and understanding? We have a remarkably broad base of
accomplished and experienced practitioners of clarinet performance
and scholarship on this forum, represented by members worldwide.
The purpose of this wealth is not to sit on a pedestal and throw
tomatoes at the masses, but to acknowledge one's own capacity for
growth and understanding by passing your own gifts of knowledge
onto others. If you don't have something to offer beyond
destructive criticism of a given question or post, then don't
respond to the question. We'll not get into the pattern of
erecting barriers to relevant and enriching discourse on clarinet
performance and scholarship, lest we lose more members in disgust
at the disintegration of what has made this forum great for so long.

Neil