Klarinet Archive - Posting 001050.txt from 1998/03

From: "J. Michael Norsworthy" <mnorsworthy@-----.net>
Subj: RE: Info on Skrowaczewski Concerto
Date: Thu, 19 Mar 1998 23:23:10 -0500

I know a bit about the concerto from my former teacher, Elsa Verdehr,
due to the fact the Mr. S. wrote a triple concerto for the Verdehr trio
and as a courtesy was considering having me play the concerto for him.

The piece is in two movements (slow-fast). The solo part is
challenging technically but not that rewarding for the performer to say
the least. The second movement is filled with broken (get out your
Baermann books!) F major scales and arpeggios.

The thematic material is, again, okay but nothing worth jumping up and
screaming for. S. has a big fondness for subtlety and the playing of
the clarinet at the softest dynamic levels.

Having only glanced at the work and played through it, that's about all
I can offer with any certainty. Do be aware however that both the S.
(I can't begin to spell his name) and the Spohr #4 are written for
clarinet in A.

I suppose, though it's not the best concerto out there, that it would
make a terrific teaching piece. Sorry I can't offer more, but that's
all I've got.

Best regards,
Michael Norsworthy
mnorsworthy@-----.net

On Wednesday, March 18, 1998 8:41 PM, Mark Charette
[SMTP:charette@-----.com] wrote:
> My son's thinking about entering a concerto competition for
> fun later this year, and his teacher recommended 2 for his
> consideration - the Spohr #4 and the Skrowaczewski Concerto.
> We just ordered both pieces, and we know what the Spohr is like,
> but I can't find any info or recording of the Skrowaczewski. Any
> help in getting some background on this piece would be appreciated.
>
> Cheers,
> --
> Mark Charette | "This is a very democratic organization, so let's
>
> charette@-----. All those who disagree with me,
> raise
> MIKA Systems, Inc.| their hands." - Eugene Ormandy
> Webmaster of http://www.sneezy.org/clarinet, The Clarinet Pages
>