Klarinet Archive - Posting 000859.txt from 1997/02

From: "David C. Blumberg" <reedman@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: Upsetting situation
Date: Tue, 25 Feb 1997 14:06:20 -0500

There's no such thing as a stupid question on this list - only stupid
answers. Well put Neil. "Sometimes ya' just got to get a second opinion".

"Yo Dan L., you out there??" We miss you.

At 11:32 AM 2/25/97 -0600, Neil Leupold wrote:
>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
>
>
David C. Blumberg
Principal Clarinet Riverside Symphonia
reedman@-----.com