Klarinet Archive - Posting 000363.txt from 1997/06

From: Martin Marks <mmarks@-----.net>
Subj: Re: Mozart, K. 622: Oh No!! Not again...
Date: Fri, 20 Jun 1997 20:43:41 -0400

At 01:12 PM 6/20/97 EDT, you wrote:
>Craig, while I'm not at all opposed to improvisation in the Mozart,
>especially in the light of what I've learned from the insightful posts of
>Mr. Leeson and other, I must say in all fairness that I think it was more
>than the lack of improvisation that made the radio broadcast you heard so
>boring. I heard the same performance on NPR last night, and I must say
>that the performance itself was boring. I don't recall who the
>clarinetist was, but he/she seemed to have the attitude that "This is not
>a Romantic work, and therefore I don't need to put much feeling into it."
>Admittedly, it's tough to put feeling into the Mozart, especially in the
>1st and 3rd movements, which is one of the reasons I believe it to be the
>most difficult piece in the clarinet repertoire. But the NPR performance
>simply fell short. It sounded like the product of too many rote lessons
>and not enough thought. (Not that I could play it better, but aren't most
>critics just people who couldn't make it as performers?) On the other
>hand, I've heard outstanding performances that made very little use of
>improvisation.
>
>Rob Teitelbaum
>rteitelbaum@-----.com
>
>Can you name one performance that used extensive improvisation?.
Marty