Klarinet Archive - Posting 000851.txt from 1999/09
From: Gregory Smith <Gregory_Smith_Clarinet@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] Chocolate Asparagus
Date: Sat, 25 Sep 1999 03:46:41 -0400
Mr. Nohe wrote:
>Date: Fri, 24 Sep 1999 09:15:41 -0600 (MDT)
>Message-ID: <Pine.SOL.4.10.9909240859470.22722-100000=verdi>
>Mr. Smith:
>> Well, as was said by the conductor George Szell when he was
>> criticized for what a few accused him to be an under--interpreting of
>> the composers Mozart , Haydn, etc, -- "Well you can't expect me to pou=
r
>> chocolate sauce over asparagus!!!" =
=
=
=
>That's a perfectly valid=
explanation. I've always sort of understood why the Marcellus recording =
is
>regarded as it is (like before, canon is the
<best word I can think of). But in light of the improvisation...well,
<there is none. Marcellus performs K622 flawlessly (although, having hea=
rd
<it on bassett long before obtaining the Marcellus recording, it sounded
<odd at first), and, in my opinion, sort of serves as a template or basis=
,<of what NEEDS to be played.
<I tend to think of Marcellus' K622 as a baked potato with butter. If yo=
u
<don't have this, then you don't have the meal.
<Once you've got that actual potato, sour cream and bacon bits, and a few=
<other touches can be added (the eingang, improvisation, etc). This give=
s
<your potato a more distinct flavor. However, if you start with a lousy
<potato, no matter what you add to it, it's gonna be a lousy meal.
<Granted, you've given it a distinct flavor by adding bacon bits and
<chives, but that just makes it a distinctly lousy meal.
<Now, I'm not saying that the Marcellus is THE basis for K622, but it
<serves as an excellent one of several out there, and in my collection of=
<recordings, it serves as the best (for me). (So, this is all my opinion=
,
<as usual.)
<So, maybe when one overdoes it (which happens as often as it is underdon=
e,
<but I don't find Szell to be really guilt of that), that could be
<considered Chocolate covered Asparagus. Like, to me, when Sabine Meyer
<plays the eingang in Mvt II, it's longer than I like it, so that's
<chocolate covered asparagus...for me. However, the eingang Shifrin play=
ed
<when he was down here, about 6 notes, was just right, and was more like
<cheese.
<Of course, I've always been fond of cheese covered asparagus, but I've
<never really tried chocolate covered asparagus. Maybe I shouldn't down =
it
<until I've tried it.
<On second thought, I think I won't. ^_^
<J. Shouryu Nohe
*************************************************************************=
**
*********************************************
=
The beauty of it all is perhaps that this performance did not nee=
d
the eingang and improvisation that you speak of - due to the quality of
Marcellus' playing of this sublime concertos' deepest, richest, and most
profound utterances. Fine instrumentalists have instinctively sensed this=
of the recording for decades - given, many say by the clarinetists'
clarinetist. Would it have been a "more" sublime performance had
Marcellus/Szell added these things? Perhaps. But by so little it seems,
that in the grand scheme of this powerful performance, they would have be=
en
of little additional importance.
=
Gregory Smith
*************************************************************************=
**
*********************************************
Gregory Smith =
2737 Hurd Avenue
Evanston, IL 60201-1209 USA
Tel: 847-866-8331
Fax: 847-866-9551
Email: Gregory_Smith_Clarinet@-----.com
Web Site: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Gregory_Smith_Clarinet=
/
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