Klarinet Archive - Posting 000175.txt from 1999/06

From: "Dan Leeson: LEESON@-----.edu>
Subj: RE: [kl] Dan Leeson Pushing Buttons Again
Date: Thu, 3 Jun 1999 23:37:15 -0400

See what I mean about the reactions of some people when one
brings up issues that they are not anxious to hear? I thought
I was being very politic, but in the final analysis, people
rubbed the wrong way on any subject need little rubbing to
get their hackles up.

> From: MX%"klarinet@-----.79
> Subj: [kl] Dan Leeson Pushing Buttons Again

> I wasn't going to respond to Dan's diatribe, mainly becuase some of it made
> sense, but I would like to say the following.
>
> First, I was not at Mr. Pay's session at NU. I believe it happnened the year
> before I arrived.
>
> Yes, Marcellus was against original instruments and improvising in Mozart.
> However, this was no secret. It was also no secret that getting into a fight
> with Marcellus over this issue would prevent you from learning other things
> Marcellus had to offer, which anyone would have to concede were considerable.
> Therefore, Dan, your student, having been forewarned about Marcellus's
> opinions on the matter, was a fool to have done what he did. Why even attend
> the masterclasses if one's intention is not to learn, but to challenge the
> master?
>
> One would no more expect Mr. Marcellus to accept musical ideas antithetical
> to all of his principles than one would expect the Republican Party to
> embrace liberalism just because the lost an election. Whether his principles
> are ones you agree with is not the point. His views were well known to anyone
> mildly interested. If you wanted to study with him, you knew in advance what
> to expect.
>
> I take issue when you state that his students blindly accepted all his views
> on this sort of thing (there were some who did, there always are). Everyone I
> knew in the studio admired Mr. Pay's recording of the Mozart and enjoyed it.
> One colleague of mine, who is now principal of a major symphony, even played
> some similar ornaments on a recital performance of the Concerto (Marcellus
> rarely attended recitals). Inexplicably, he played the tape for Mr.
> Marcellus, ouch. . .glad I wasn't there for that!
>
> The man was a product of a different era of music making. Szell was an
> autocrat with definate ideas about how music should go, and was very
> persuasive with his interpretations around the world, particularly with
> respect to Mozart. Szell's performances may not conform to today's so-called
> 'scholarly' performances, but that does not make them less great or moving.
> Marcellus was 25 when he started in Cleveland, and Szell had been a god to
> him long before that. One would not expect him to respond graciously to those
> who would challenge Szell's ideals.
>
> -David Hattner, NYC
>
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=======================================
Dan Leeson, Los Altos, California
leeson@-----.edu
=======================================

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