Klarinet Archive - Posting 000511.txt from 1998/06

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausman@-----.com>
Subj: RE: [kl] Clarinet Candy
Date: Mon, 15 Jun 1998 06:42:26 -0400

At 12:39 PM 6/14/98 -0700, Kevin Fay wrote:
>Now, I absolutely hate everything that Leroy Anderson has ever written.
>Because I am about three times the age of your average high schooler, I've
>had to play Sleigh Ride etc. only a zillion times--feels like the whip is
>directed at my psyche. Hate 'em, hate 'em, hate 'em.
>
>But, the audience for whatever reason eats this stuff up. Especially in a
>summer parks concert (Clarinet candy, that is--obviously Sleigh Ride has
>other uses). Gotta do it.
>
In my travels around to various school districts, I have come to the
conclusion that it is a Michigan state law that all high schools MUST play
either Anderson's "Sleigh Ride" or "Christmas Festival" (or both) for all
"winter holiday" concerts. :-)

So Leroy Anderson is accessible and audiences love him. That does not make
him bad. Just lovable. I'll bet few people in the audience look in their
programs and say, "Oh, good, a piece by Alban Berg!" I find audience
approval, by and large, to be an asset rather than a liability. Yes, some
pieces can be overdone, but it never hurts to try to please the people who
pay the bills.

Bill Hausmann bhausman@-----.com
451 Old Orchard Drive http://www.concentric.net/~bhausman
Essexville, MI 48732 http://members.wbs.net/homepages/z/o/o/zoot14.html
ICQ UIN 4862265

If you have to mic a saxophone, the rest of the band is too loud.

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