Klarinet Archive - Posting 000165.txt from 1997/06

From: "Dan Leeson: LEESON@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: Improvisation (2)
Date: Sat, 14 Jun 1997 12:50:29 -0400

> From: MX%"klarinet@-----.86
> Subj: Re: Improvisation (2)

> Craig,
> Is there a really good reason that you feel the need to change the Mozart?
> I have never heard of anyone changing it. There are places for improv but
> 622 is not, IMHO one of them. If by improv, you mean adding turns, etc, it
> may be acceptable in spots but the piece has served many in the past with
> no changes at all.You really could change the character of the piece.
> --
> Todd & Lynnette Staley
> email: nette@-----.net

Todd, with great respect, I am forced to disagree with your thesis which,
if I understand it, suggests that K. 622, among other works of that
era, should not be subject to performer created ornaments, instantan-
eously created; i.e., improvised on the spot.

On the contrary, I suggest to you that Craig's request is a very
reasonable one, that it has serious historical precedent, and that
any performer of that era was expected to do exactly that in any
performance of not only solo works, but chamber music, and even
orchestral playing.

And let me make my point even more specific: doing this thing has
nothing to do with the music needing it or not. The central issue
rotates around the role of the soloist in the late 1700s; i.e.,
was the player a reproducer of someone else's music, or what the
player a participant in the creative process?

You are correct when you state that "You could change the character
of the piece" but that is nothing more than a challenge to
improvise without doing that thing. It is for this reason
that I am being so inquiring of Craig who simply says that
he wants to do it. And if, with no understanding of the
parameters involved, he simply goes ahead and does it, it is
absolutely certain that what he will arrive at is something
so badly out of character that anyone listening to it will
say, "The guy is crazy."

You have touched on the heart of problem when you agree that
it might be OK to add turns here and there. The question is
"What can you do, and where?" "How" comes later.

But for you to suggest that it was not done in Mozart's time
by every and any competent professional performer flies in
the face of history.

>
> ----------
> > From: Craig E. Countryman <cegc@-----.net>
> > To: klarinet@-----.us
> > Subject: Improvisation (2)
> > Date: Saturday, June 14, 1997 8:54 AM
> >
> > Any information about either classical or jazz or both would be great.
> > For instance, in the Mozart Concerto. Also, if I need to improv some
> > jazz stuff where do I begin?
=======================================
Dan Leeson, Los Altos, California
Rosanne Leeson, Los Altos, California
leeson@-----.edu
=======================================