Klarinet Archive - Posting 000287.txt from 1998/01

From: Roger Garrett <rgarrett@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: Never underestimate the power of the Darkside
Date: Tue, 6 Jan 1998 09:13:26 -0500

On Tue, 6 Jan 1998, NYSAP wrote:
> I think Mr. Shifrin is a wonderful artist and I love is recordings.
> However, I have noticed that his sound is nothing like it is in his
> recordings. I went to a few recitals here in NYC and heard him play and was
> slightly disappointed. His sound is much brighter and smaller in real life.
> His most recent recording just released last year is more representative of
> how he sounds live. It always makes me laugh when people come up to me and
> tell me that my sound is too dark and should have more of that famous
> eeeeeeeeeeeeeee sound. Well then how come when these people record they
> darken their sounds to sound like what I am trying to acheive in live
> performances? It is possible to have a dark projecting sound that is
> centered, focused and has ring with out that annoying EEEEEEEEEE sound.

I sure wish this person would sign their name...would make things easier.
At any rate, Shrifrin does not change his sound for performances. For
those of us who have played behind an orchestra in the section, out on the
front apron as soloist or chamber artist, in a pit orchestra, or as a
recital soloist, we know that the amount of air and projection required is
different for each setting. When I studied with Herb Blayman, he used to
tell me to play to the back of the auditorium.......even on PP Debussy
passages - his demonstrations did not sound the way I wanted to, but I
kept in the back of my mind that he had spent 40 years in the pit of the
Metropolitan Opera Orchestra - and that had shaped his thinking/playing
concepts.

I sat next to Shifirin in my first lesson with him. I was playing on a
poor mouthpiece with a homemade reed (that was too hard) - it was fuzzy,
uncentered, and I was frustrated with my sound. He picked up my
instrument and played my setup - from 2 feet away he made it sound as good
as any of his recordings. I think he plays the way he plays whenever he
plays.....!

Some people can play on just about anything. I know I told this story
once, but it is worth repeating. When John Yeh, Lawrie Bloom and I were
preparing for a concert of Basset Horn works (Mozart and Stadler), during
a break I realized I hadn't discussed equipment with these two guys. So,
I asked what mouthpieces they were using....Lawrie said he was playing on
a mouthpiece refaced by Robert Scott, and he became curious about my Bay
mouthpiece. We compared, swapped, etc. Then we realized that John was
just sitting their wanting to rehearse......I asked him what mouthpiece he
played on.....he said, "gee, I'm not sure".....stared at it and then said,
"I guess it's the Leblanc mouthpiece that came with the horn."

Roger Garrett
IWU