Klarinet Archive - Posting 000779.txt from 1999/08

From: act_dumb@-----.com
Subj: Re: [kl] Weber 2 Interpretation
Date: Thu, 26 Aug 1999 12:29:33 -0400

The most significant element of your question, Craig, is that you're
going to play the piece in the context of a college audition. In my
opinion, it is not wise to take many liberties with the printed music
in an audition situation, especially with a piece from the staple
concerto repertoire like Weber 2. Every teacher for whom you audition
is going to know the music you're playing forward & backward, i.e.;
they've researched it over the years, they've played it, they've
taught it, they've heard it played dozens of times by others. Sad but
true: some teachers will be turned off (and count it against you) if
you interpret the music in a fashion too far afield from their own
ideas about how it ought to sound. This is not to say that you should
totally "play it safe" musically speaking. Whether or not you em-
bellish a piece in a certain way is not going to be a deciding factor
in your prospects for admission to a school (I assume you're audition-
ing for an undergrad program). At the undergraduate level, teachers
are looking most strongly for proof of a solid technical and musical
foundation, along with demonstrated potential for growth and refine-
ment of your technical and musical abilities. Correct notes, good
intonation, proper rhythm, technical smoothness, tone quality, some
sense of musical phrasing and comprehension -- these are the things
that teachers are listening for in an undergrad audition. They're
not going to place much weight on the manner in which you embellish
a cadenza...UNLESS you completely screw it up. In that sense, it IS
better to play it safe. Small errors while taking technical or mus-
ical risks are interpreted on the basis of the quality of your over-
all audition. If you've shown a good foundation of the basics, your
little foibles and mistakes will likely be viewed as justifiable creati=
ve risks, and you might be viewed as somebody with a natural
sense of experimentation and creative impetus. On the other hand, if
your audition shows that you are weak in most areas of proficiency,
then it won't matter how beautifully or how badly you deal with em-
bellishments. Your prospects for admission will be decided most
prominently on the level of advancement you show in the fundamentals
of playing the clarinet and making music.

All of the above having been said, your best resource for answering
the question of how to embellish Weber's cadenza is your private
teacher. I assume that (s)he is coaching you through the entire
process of preparing for your college auditions. (S)he is the one
from whom you should seek guidance, assuming that (s)he is an exper-
ienced player whose advice you can trust. If (s)he does not have
a definitive opinion on how to treat the cadenza, you might con-
sider Angella Hedrick's suggestion of listening to renditions of
it on recordings (and I, too, particularly like Jon Manasse's).
In the end, though, embellishments will not be a deciding factor
in your prospects for admission. Assuming you're well-prepared
in the fundamental aspects of musicianship, the embellishments
may be left out entirely without any adverse effect on the judges'
opinions of you as a player.

My 2.5 cents.

-- Neil

Angella wrote:

"i like the cadenza that jon manasse uses in his recording of the
webers. i think it is appropriate to embelish there. try to check
out that recording if you can- i'm sure there are also other record-
ings that have other cadenzas. just to give you some ideas - then
maybe you'd want to just make up your own?" <end>

> Craig Countryman wrote:

> Hello all! I have a brief question concerning Carl Maria von
> Weber's Concerto #2. At the very end of the second movement
> Romanze, there is a Cadenza that appears in the fourth bar before
> the end (Cundy-Bettoney version). My question -- is it appropriate
> to embellish upon the written line, and if so, what kind of
> ornaments should I add?

> The reason I ask is because I'm considering doing it for a college
> audition, and I want to use the piece to showcase musicality -- so
> I'm looking to add something tasteful that might would be in line
> with the rest of the piece as well as the performance practices of
> Weber's period.

LookSmart @-----.
http://www.looksmart.com

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