Klarinet Archive - Posting 000645.txt from 1997/11

From: Michael Norsworthy <mnorsworthy@-----.net>
Subj: RE: Weber One
Date: Wed, 19 Nov 1997 09:38:43 -0500

Ed describes my point very effectively. Thank you for the words that I seem to
have lost.

Michael Norsworthy
mnorsworthy@-----.net

> Prefering that a certain work be performed by the medium for which it was
> composed does not necessarily constitute looking down one's nose at
> concert bands. However, on the basis of their output, we can easily
> conclude that Mozart preferred the orchestra; Beethoven preferred the
> orchestra; Brahms preferred the orchestra; Mahler preferred the orchestra;
> Wagner preferred the orchestra; Tchaikovsky preferred the orchestra;
> Prokofiev preferred the orchestra; Shostakovich preferred the orchestra;
> Stravinsky preferred the orchestra, etc., etc., etc., etc.
>
> On the other hand, Clifton Williams might seem to have preferred the band,
> although he said in a lecture I attended that he preferred the orchestra,
> but that he soon learned that he could make more money writing for the
> band. Perhaps Vaclav Nelhybel preferred the band, although he started as
> a composer for the orchestra, but never had much success at it. No doubt
> there are composers who prefer the band. In most cases, they have
> neglected to tell us why they have that preference.
>
> Still, there is no reason why great music cannot be written for almost any
> medium, including the band. However, there is a reason why the greatest
> composers have chosen to write their most significant works for the
> orchestra. It has to do with range of expression, breadth of sonic
> resources, and variety of tone and texture. In the wind section of the
> orchestra, composers have available nearly all the resources of the wind
> band, but in addition they also have the even greater variety afforded by
> the strings, as well as many possible combinations of the two.
>
> No amount of "orchestra bashing" can in any way diminish the worth of the
> great orchestral compositions, which continue to stand the test of time.
>
> Ed Lacy
> *****************************************************************
> Dr. Edwin Lacy University of Evansville
> Professor of Music 1800 Lincoln Avenue
> Evansville, IN 47722
> el2@-----.edu (812)479-2754
> *****************************************************************
>