Klarinet Archive - Posting 000259.txt from 1999/11

From: "Rien Stein" <rstein@-----.nl>
Subj: [kl] Weber Concertino
Date: Mon, 8 Nov 1999 14:32:54 -0500

Tony

As to my questions last Friday, and your answers:

First of all excuse my misspelling your name. (As I noted already to David
Blumberg, my name is Rien, pronounced "Reen", not "Rein", but I am used to
this confusion, when in the States, in England I never observed this).

>From my mail you apparently had the impression I didn't like your
performance. This is not, what I said, in the contrary, I was quite happy,
to hear it again, that has been years ago. But, pondering it over, I think a
few points are related, that I didn't bring into relationship.

Of course you are a professional player, at least I think so, and so this
piece must be a very easy one to you. Not really one, I think you or, for
that sake, any other professional would use, if you or he really wanted to
show off. But I was very eager to hear the piu lento that you apparently
think shouldn't be there, and -- it did not come. But from your comment I
understand you recognize the passage I mean, but have it without the solo
clarinette voice, and also without the piu lento indication. Maybe I now
understand the case:

One of the reasons for me to learn to play the clarinet is, that as a
student during the sixties, when considering to learn an instrument - I
hesitated between oboe and clarinet - I heard the concertino in an Eastern
German broadcasting, (forgot who played it), but was so impressed by this
particular part of it that at that very moment I decided to learn clarinet
in order to be able to play that very impressive music myself. I remember a
couple of years later, when I already was a teacher in an Utrecht secondary
school, I heard a performance with Herman Braune, a Dutch clarinettist of
very great qualities, but, alas, too nervous to make a career as a soloist.
A couple of weeks afterwards I had to make the "final audition" with the
Utrecht school of music and dance, and he was the member-of-jury not
connected to this school. I passed. During the drink after the price-giving
ceremoney he said to me: "I think you could better have done with the Weber
Concertino, instead of the Saint-Saens sonata." So I said to him, that
having heard his interpretation of it, I was afraid I could not come up to
his standards in particularly the piu lento.

After this "audition" it has been only twice I heard the Saint-Saens sonata,
once played by an amateur in radio, the other time I don't remember any more
who was the clarinettist, but I have heard the concertino a couple of times,
and nearly always missed this piu lento. Sometimes there was a lot of music
after the con fuoco and before the 6/8 meter, and now I realize that must
have been the orchestral part, that has no solo clarinet where I expect the
clarinet to show the beauty of clarinet playing in all its glory.

Maybe after these remarks you will look less hateful at what I said.
Another excuse may be, that I was driving during the time I listened to your
interpretation of the work: I didn't notice there was a slow intermezzo
(when looking at the piano reduction without the soloist part I can imagine
the piu lento should be interpreted as rather fast).

Rien

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