Klarinet Archive - Posting 000635.txt from 1999/01

From: "Noah A. Smith" <nasmith@-----.edu>
Subj: [kl] Re: Unaccompanied solo works
Date: Thu, 14 Jan 1999 14:16:08 -0500

> Lots of interesting information in this thread. I have to say,
> though, that I'm surprised that Noah doesn't like playing the
> Stravinsky, and I want to know more about that. Would you be
> willing to be more explicit, Noah? I sort of feel I'd like to
> help you like it more.

Well, there isn't much to say. Far be it from me to
question the intentions of the composer, but this basically
comes down to personal taste. My general impression of the
Stravinsky is that it lacks solid ground - now, this may be
a direct result of the fact that it unaccompanied, as it's
one of the first unaccompanied pieces I've worked on. On a
more detailed level, the Stravinsky is not a piece I would
feel comfortable performing at this point, partly due to its
technical difficulty (which presents an exponentially
greater problem in performance than in a practice room!),
and partly due to my lack of comprehension of it. When I
play Weber, I hear the orchestra (even though I've never
performed Weber with an orchestra) ... when I play
Stravinsky, I feel like I'm playing somebody else's jazz
improv solo, transcribed, and in an awkward key, without the
rhythm section. (Not that I don't enjoy a challenge, and
the Stravinsky has not by any means been banished from my
music stand!)

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the artistry and the
challenging level of freedom that Stravinksy superficially
denies and underlyingly offers. My problems could be
attributed to my lack of experience in this repertoire, my
technical frustrations, or just a Meyer-Briggs score that
happens to be polarized from Stavinsky's ;) I don't
specifically not enjoy playing the piece, I'm just convinced
that there's more out there that might fit my tastes and
abilities better.

In any case, please don't read "appropriately challenging
but musically unsatisfying, to be euphemistic" as an affront
to the piece ... it was a bad summary of why I was searching
for more music, in a never-ending quest to keep music
interesting and challenging enough that it doesn't get lost
amid my academic pursuits.

Speaking of which, I'm interested to know if there are many
subscribers who don't count themselves among professional
musicians or music students, and what kinds of opportunities
exist after college for music-makers de facto but not by
trade.

Noah A. Smith

P.S. Thanks so much to everyone who answered my request!
--
"When the angels play for God, they play Bach. When they
play for themselves, they play Mozart."

N O A H A. S M I T H
Computer Science / Linguistics
University of Maryland College Park
(410) 489-5486; nasmith@-----.edu
http://www.wam.umd.edu/~nasmith

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