Klarinet Archive - Posting 000704.txt from 1999/11

From: "Steven J. Goldman" <sjgoldman@-----.com>
Subj: RE: [kl] pitch bending and the Gershwin Blue Cadenza
Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1999 23:11:30 -0500

Just a few corretions to Don's post.

First, Gorman suggested and tried the gliss during rehearsals. Gershwin
liked it better that way and so it was "officially sanctioned" and was
changed in the score. In any event, music arranged for Whiteman's band
always tried to take advantage of the strong points of the players and their
suggestions were welcome. So it was not colossal nerve, just standard
practice!

Second, Grofe was not just a "sideman". He was one of three extremely
talented orchestrators employed by Whiteman at the time. He is responsible
for both the "orchestral" version and the original "jazz band" version of
RiB (and many other Whiteman orchestrations). Gershwin, at that point in his
development, had never (and probably could not) orchestrate a piece of this
complexity. It was his standard practice for some time to come to have
pieces orchestrated by someone else. It was only latter that he could afford
to have lessons on orchestration from a variety of masters of the art.

Steve Goldman
Glenview, IL

sjgoldman@-----.com

-----Original Message-----
From: Don Longacre [mailto:nw2v@-----.com]
Subject: [kl] pitch bending and the Gershwin Blue Cadenza

Klara Hall:

I recall having seen a print of the original Gershwin cadenza as
premiered
by the Paul Whiteman band in 1924. Gershwin's intent was a chromatic ascent
to
the top note. But Ross Gorman, the clarinet player,took the unbelievable
liberty of making a prolonged glissando out of it with the net result the
gliss
was left in forevermore. I have also heard it played chromatically up to
the
break then glissed in the clarion register. For just the glissando you might
try a softer reed on an open tip mp then switch back to your customary
setup.

Ferde Grofe' (Grand Canyon Suite) was a sideman with Whiteman at the time
and
is credited with the arrangement of R in B which Whiteman used for years.
Since Whiteman commissioned the work from Gershwin and rushed him to get it
done, references hold that Gershwin orchestrated the premier performance at
Aeolian Hall in 1924 and played the piano part as well. This happened two
years before I was born and needless to say I wasn't there. I do enjoy
though, these anecdotal incidents in music history. All this may be nothing
new but I thought I'd send it along. Can you imagine the colossal nerve of
that clarinet player? But, I think of that glissando as a banner,
emblematic
of the jazz age. Good luck on yours!

Donald Longacre

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