Klarinet Archive - Posting 000187.txt from 1998/11

From: "Dan Leeson: LEESON@-----.edu>
Subj: [kl] Kenneth Wolman remarks on Feidman
Date: Fri, 6 Nov 1998 14:05:47 -0500

Kenneth says that he bought a Giora Feidman recording and he is clearly
very impressed with it. It is hard to argue with that point of view.

When I first heard Feidman, I got the very same impression and I could
not put my finger on what it was that I found so beautiful in his
playing. On the contrary, every time I thought I was able to say "it is
xxx that is unique" (such as tone quality and finger skills), I realized
that in those respects there were a hundred other players of equal
skills.

Finally, I concluded that, for me, it was the intensity of his playing
that was so remarkable and unique, and his execution left me
breathless.

What is remarkable about Feidman is that he has developed these
remarkable klezmer skills in a vacuum. He was not brought up in
Eastern Europe with the art of klezmer playing was well understood
and from whom he would have had many examples from which to
learn and emulate. He was raised in South America, but I don't
remember where. Maybe Chile or Uraguay. And he developed these
skills with very little environment. I just don't know how he
did it.

He was also a first class legitimate classical clarinet player having
held the chair of bass clarinet with the Israel Philharmonic. Before
his eyesight went south, he was offered the same chair in a major
American symphony orchestra.

Amusingly, when he finally went to Israel, he could not find any
klezmer playing there so he was like an island in the sea.

The only problem I have with him is that his description of what he
does (or his description of the art of klezmer playing) is
(for me) quite incomprehensible. He talks about "klezmer is
a concept." I don't need Proustian philosophy from a klezmer player.
I need specific details.

I think he really doesn't know what he is doing. And that's a compliment.
He is so gifted and so unique that he is unable to transmit verbally
what his playing style is. He is a natural, and like most unique
geniuses, he doesn't really understand what he does.

That once happened to Menuhin. At 17 he was asked how he could play
such a difficult work so effortlessly. And he took the question
seriously and analyzed how he was doing what he was doing. When he
got done with the analysis, he couldn't play at all and he had to
take several years off to regain his skills.

=======================================
Dan Leeson, Los Altos, California
leeson@-----.edu
=======================================

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