Klarinet Archive - Posting 000093.txt from 1997/03

From: Jonathan Cohler <cohler@-----.net>
Subj: Re: Schumann Three Romances -- A or Bb?
Date: Mon, 3 Mar 1997 17:45:11 -0500

Gary Young wrote:

>Did Schumann write the 3 Romances (op 94) for A or Bb clarinet? Or both? Or
>neither?
>

Neither.

When his publisher, Simrock, received the manuscript of the piece from
Schumann, he asked Schumann in a letter if he "would be in agreement if we
were to print on the title page: for oboe and piano and on page three: for
clarinet and piano; since it is not looked upon with favour when several
instruments appear on the title page."

Schumann's reply to this was: "If I had originally written the work for
clarinet and piano it would have become a completely different piece. I
regret not being able to comply with your wishes, but I can do no other."

Nonetheless, Simrock went ahead and totally ignored the composer's wishes
and published not only a clarinet part, but a violin part as well!

It works well on both Bb and A clarinet, however. I usually perform it on
Bb, because I find it has a more liquid quality and is a bit brighter in
sound (and therefore closer to the timbre of the oboe).

However, I do always make a point of announcing to the audience that this
is an expressly unauthorized transcription of the work. As for the
transcription, one needn't change anything. The whole work can be played
as is off of the original oboe part.

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