Klarinet Archive - Posting 001134.txt from 1998/10

From: "David B. Niethamer" <dnietham@-----.edu>
Subj: RE: [kl] Weber Concerto number 2--Sabine Meyer & Charlie Neidich
Date: Mon, 26 Oct 1998 23:31:55 -0500

On 10/26/98 11:59 AM, Kevin Fay (LCA) wrote:

>I don't get it . . . Weber too fast? Destroys the music? Puh-lease. There
>are great, deep works in the literature. This is not one of them. Lighten
>up!
>
>Weber's clarinet stuff was written as cheap pot-boiler opera, a showpiece
>for the virtuoso, created for the sole purpose of dazzling the audience.
>It's not--and was never intended to be--"great serious music."

The last mvt of Weber's Concerto No. 2 is marked "Alla Polacca", which
denotes a dance type requiring a certain range of tempo. To play it
significantly faster than that calls more attention to the performer than
to the music, which IMHO is always a bad idea. There's enough built-in
virtuosity as it's written. The fact that, in your opinion, this is not
great music is beside the point - respect for the composers wishes, as
far as we know it, should come first. That gives the music a chance to
speak for itself.

>That Charlie
>tongues the last page would have met with both Weber's and Baermann's
>approval (and probably a standing ovation).

Unless you're significantly older than you've let on, you're talking
through your hat. You have no idea what Weber or Baermann would have
applauded. According to the period accounts (via Pamela Weston), Baermann
was a clarinetist of exquisite musical taste in addition to his technical
prowess. It's equally possible that the distortion of the music in the
name of "virtuosity" would have appalled him.

David

David Niethamer
Principal Clarinet, Richmond Symphony
dnietham@-----.edu
http://members.aol.com/dbnclar1/

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