Klarinet Archive - Posting 000215.txt from 1998/09

From: KlarBoy@-----.com
Subj: Re: [kl] Short barrels and the Vienna Phil
Date: Sun, 6 Sep 1998 23:41:14 -0400

In 1992 I was a participant in the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo Japan.
It was founded by Leonard Bernstein and principal players of the Vienna
Philharmonic. The festival orchestra was composed of students from all over
the world who came together to form perhaps the best student orchestra I've
ever heard. The issue of the pitch standard was the first item of business.
The Vienna Phil. players wanted 445 and the Americans wanted 440. The result
was a diplomatic 442, which is the standard for most Japanese orchestras. In
one of the performances the Vienna Phil faculty performed as principals in the
orchestra (Brahms Serenade in A), and I played second clarinet to Peter
Schmidl. When the oboist tuned the orchestra he tuned it to 445 and no, he
didn't use a box. I bit a hole in my bottom lip just staying with the band
for the first rehearsal. Fortunately one of the other students had a 64 mm
barrel that I used for the next rehearsal. It was fine and pitch was not an
issue. The performance went very well and Mr. Schmidl gave me chills when he
played the very dramatic-operatic clarinet solo in the slow movement. I've
always wondered why this incredible solo isn't requested in orchestral
auditions. I think it is more demanding than most of the symphonic solo
excerpts, but I digress. My point is that once I had the proper equipment,
pitch was not an issue. For the rest of the festival the 442 standard was not
difficult to maintain. The only real complaints came from American horn
players, who thought it a bit taxing. The trumpet players seemed to love it,
but we all know those jocks love a challenge. With a simple barrel change you
can fix most problems concerned with most pro-line horns, so some would say
clarinetists have it pretty good.

Intonation will forever be a contentious issue for all performing ensembles.
To be "in-tune" is to go with the flow. To those staunch pitch zealots, I
say, play the piano.

Respectfully yours,
Mario Estrada
Florida West Coast Symphony
Sarasota

PS A friend of mine, who was a fellow at Tanglewood this year, tells me that
the Boston Symphony no longer tunes to an oboe, but to a synthesized pitch
(441) played over the house speakers, ugh!

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