Klarinet Archive - Posting 000282.txt from 1999/10

From: LeliaLoban@-----.com
Subj: Re: [kl] Orchestral karaoke (was: [kl] Vienna Philharmonic at
Date: Sun, 10 Oct 1999 14:45:04 -0400

I wrote,
> I don't have any problem with bass clarinetist and recording engineer
Michael Lowenstern's heavy engineering of "Spasm" (New World Records
80468-2), for instance, because all the music on that CD is contemporary
(Lowenstern based one of his own compositions so loosely on Gershwin's
"Summertime" that it's stretching things to call it an arrangement -- it's
more of a variation on a theme by Gershwin) and scored for electronic
manipulation in such a way that some of it probably couldn't be performed
live. >

Anne Bell replied,
>>You might be surprised what he can do live! He's certainly given me a
different perspective on Bass Clarinet- If anyone has the opportunity I would
recommend seeing him. He's fully capable of playing the standard repertoire
but modern music is his forte. Among other things I believe he plays bars,
etc. in ?Rochester.>>

I hope it didn't look as if I thought that Michael Lowenstern's clarinet
playing wasn't good enough for him to play live. (I talked about "Milli
Amadeus Vanilli" performers a day earlier, in a different message, than the
message where I brought up Lowenstern.) I've never had the chance to hear
him live, alas, but I have the impression that some of the *music* on the
album "Spasm" probably isn't fully reproducible in live performance, by
anyone, including Lowenstern. In his dual role of soloist and recording
engineer, he did heavy electronic manipulation on some tracks, where he
played bass clarinet, electronically distorted these sounds, then over-dubbed
and re-mixed. The liner notes explain some of what he did. I could be
wrong, but I think that on some tracks, there's very little (if any) pure
clarinet sound. He could play those pieces live along with tapes, but I'd be
surprised if the result sounded like the CD. Similarly, when the Beatles
gave live performances of songs from "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"
album, the band played alternative versions rather than attempt to reproduce
the studio performances.

Anyway, I didn't intend my remarks as any disparagement of Michael
Lowenstern, whom I admire. I like the way he explores the possibilities of
sounds a bass clarinet can make instead of trying to conform to "correct"
style, and I like the whole idea of music that nobody can pin down as jazz or
classical or pop. I like traditional performances of traditional works, too,
but it's a big world. There's plenty of room for different approaches and
continued growth.

Lelia

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