Klarinet Archive - Posting 000081.txt from 1997/08

From: Neil Leupold <nleupold@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: Copland Concerto
Date: Mon, 4 Aug 1997 03:10:46 -0400

On Sun, 3 Aug 1997, Michael Thrasher wrote:

> One of the
> criticism's of Stoltzman's recording relates to the extensive
> liberties he takes with the music.

If Stoltzman were trying to pass his recordings off as accurate
representations of what each composer had in mind, there might
be a point to such criticism. But such creativity and liberties
have become his trademark over the decades -- shameless and un-
abashed -- and the purists who insist on knocking him for his
innovations are usually also the ones who can't get past the
fact that vibrato is so prominent in his playing, or that
he has recorded concerti written for instruments beyond the
clarinet. To each his own as far as personal preference is
concerned, but Stoltzman has more musicality and imagination
in his little finger than ten orchestral players combined. I
wouldn't use him as an example if I were looking for a stylist-
ically authentic performance, but his performances are always
musical, and that's no small feat.

Neil