Klarinet Archive - Posting 000343.txt from 1997/06

From: John Blegen <blegen@-----.us>
Subj: Re: Opinions sought re classical improvisations
Date: Fri, 20 Jun 1997 17:44:27 -0400

Coming from a point located far outside of this dicussion (I am STRICTLY a
jazz player), I have a couple of questions that are related to Dan's
assertion (with which I agree) that uneasiness with improvising during
performance of K. 622 is not enough. Actually, it's really just one
question and a tumbril-load of explanation:

Is it _possible_ to improvise appropriately during perfomance of of K. 622?

That is, I know from my bailiwick that one must absorb a whole explicit
and implicit musical language (ok, maybe it's just a dialect, but still
...) to be able to improvise in a particular jazz style. Phonies stick
out like a sore Dan, even to those who don't know the idiom deeply. The
absorption is a long-term, subtle process, engaging the whole person
(probably, what do I know?). So what I mean by my question (and it's
only a question from an outsider, please remember), is: do late 20th
century musicians have access to the information (in the large sense)
that they need to learn how to improvise appropriately during peformance
of K. 622? Now I'll go back to sleep.

John Blegen
blegen@-----.us