Klarinet Archive - Posting 000772.txt from 1998/04

From: dap@-----. Paprocki)
Subj: wind instruments and circus tricks
Date: Wed, 15 Apr 1998 15:16:19 -0400

I know this will bring out the flame throwers but so what. I just finished
listening to a couple of recordings of the Schumann 3 Romances. I wanted
to hear different interpretations and where everyone breathed. The three
CDs were Richard Stolzman, Paul Meyer, and Charles Neidich. Everything was
fine until I listened to the Neidich disc with headphones. Neidich doen't
breath (well normally) throughout the movements. He's almost always
circular breathing AND you can hear it AND it is annoying and detracts from
the music. I do realize this is the latest trick that everyone wants to
master (along with double tonguing) but why??? We are playing a wind
instrument that people like to compare to the human voice so why do we have
to circular breath?
Who first started to circular breath? Was it for the sake of the
music or as a circus trick? A friend of mine in Europe likes to refer to
people like that as real tricksters - in a noncomplimentary way. It still
amazes me that at the clarinet conventions, tricksters will get standing
ovations and someone that ONLY plays musically will just get applause. Why
can't we look past the flying fingers, tonguing, and aqualung breathing and
be able to tell when we hear truly great musicians?

Dan

*********************************************************************
Daniel A. Paprocki

Instructor of Clarinet & Music, Malone College
Adjunct Professor of Clarinet, Kent State University - Stark Campus

dap@-----.net
**********************************************************************