Klarinet Archive - Posting 000522.txt from 1998/06
From: "Kevin Fay (LCA)" <kevinfay@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] "Chestnuts" (Was Clarinet Candy)
Date: Mon, 15 Jun 1998 11:54:17 -0400
Exactly--which is why you gotta do it. I think we're in perfect agreement
here.
With the possible exception of sex, almost anything done more than ten times
becomes a chore. I hate playing the Holst suites, for example--I guess
they're pretty OK musically (I remember really liking them), but I've been
in too many wind ensembles over the years to enjoy them anymore.
With Leroy--I never liked them. Pure corn. Right up there w/ Strauss
waltzes for pure playing enjoyment in my book. The alternative, however, is
an empty hall--and then I'd never get to play Hindemith or Grainger!
So I shut up and play this stuff. Much of the time, I'm getting paid--and
no one getting paid to play ever has cause to complain, in my book. Even
when it's free, though, playing to the audience is the price of admission.
kjf
-----Original Message-----
From: Bill Hausmann [mailto:bhausman@-----.com]
Subject: RE: [kl] Clarinet Candy
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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