Klarinet Archive - Posting 000370.txt from 1997/10

From: "Dan Leeson: LEESON@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: Brahms and Dan
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 1997 19:38:11 -0400

> From: MX%"klarinet@-----.62
> Subj: Re: Brahms and Dan

> Hello! I am new to this list and I had to comment on the Brahms topic. I
> must somewhat agree with the statement that it takes a long time in order to
> understand music, but some young players seem to do quite well. The comment
> about Sabine Meyer possibly not understanding the music she plays, and quite
> well Dan Leeson added, contradicts itself. How can somebody play a piece
> beautifully and not understand the composers wishes, as long as the player is
> adhering to the score? Isn't the effect on the audience the result at which
> a performer should be judged?

It happens every day. The greatest pianist of this century was
Vladimir Horowitz who could play anything beautifully. God gave
him a special gift. But much of the time he did not know anything
about the music that he performed so impecably.

Meyer performs magnificently, but her knowledge of the performance
practices of the music she performs is very limited. Her recording
of the Gran Partitta is an example. In the face of the instrumentation
calling for a string bass, she insists on a contrabassoon and excuses
her action by saying, "If Mozart had had a contrabassoon, he would have
used one." To which one can only add, "If Mozart had had a tenor
saxophone, he would have used one." That Mozart might have done
something under different circumstances is not a reason to violate
his instructions. Had Meyer said, "I like a contrabassoon," I would
have said, "Well, that's the way it goes." But she didn't. In her
ignorance, she signed Mozart's name to her speculations.

There are a dozen world class artists playing at this very instant
who have learned nuance mechanically. They do a work exactly the
same way every time they play it. And they have chosen the very
best way to make every phrase right. But their work is not
creative, it is reproductive.

Does it surprise you to know that there are great, GREAT players
to the world who know very little about music?

>
> The most wonderfull recordings of the Brahm's sonatas, in my opinion, is by
> Johnathan Cohler. All the other recordings I have (Damiens, Cohen, others)
> lack any feeling and have no dynamics. Muhfeld used vibrato and was very
> expressive and Brahm's liked it. Cohler's cd's are above all others because
> he does what the composer, and most composers and audiences want. He plays
> with expression. I would love to hear a recording by Ricardo Morales
> someday. I heard him play once and he plays beautifully. He is only twenty
> five, I think. Thank you for listening and I hope I don't make anyone angry,
> since it is my first time writing!
=======================================
Dan Leeson, Los Altos, California
Rosanne Leeson, Los Altos, California
leeson@-----.edu
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