Klarinet Archive - Posting 000581.txt from 1999/09

From: "David B. Niethamer" <dnietham@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: [kl] Top 5 concertos
Date: Mon, 20 Sep 1999 00:31:13 -0400

on 9/19/99 11:24 AM, Edwin V. Lacy wrote:

>It's interesting that you include the Strauss. Opinions about this piece
>vary widely. I've played it (the bassoon part, not the clarinet part) and
>rather like it. However, many people criticize it rather severly. It was
>Strauss' last work, or one of the last ones, and some seem to feel that he
>must have been well beyond the apex of his creative powers. Most would
>agree that it is a work without a great deal of depth, but that Strauss
>demonstrated that he was still in command of a great deal of facility in
>his compositional technique.
>
>I would be interested in hearing other opinions about this work.

I've played this piece and enjoyed it immensely. It may not be the
greatest Strauss, but the level of craftsmanship is still very high, and
with a good orchestra, the result is very pleasant. I'd like to see the
compositions of those critics who demean its musical value!

An interesting side note - a friend of mine was reviewing a recording of
the Duet-Concertino and asked if I had a score. I did, and loaned it to
him. When he returned it, he asked if there were and traditional cuts
that I knew of, and I replied in the negative. The next season, I had
occasion to perform the piece, and I spent some time with this recording
and my score. Imagine my surprise, in the last movement, to find five
measures missing! The five missing measures begin exactly like the
following measures, but lead elsewhere musically. Somewhere in the
editing process, someone was a little careless, and those five measures
ended up on the scrap heap! Amusing!

David

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

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