Klarinet Archive - Posting 000763.txt from 2000/02

From: "Rien Stein" <rstein@-----.nl>
Subj: [kl] Re: Thought du jour
Date: Sat, 19 Feb 2000 18:41:55 -0500

Dear Avraham

Of course I do not know with what intention you put your last message onto
the list. Of course if you mean that many people lay a cd in their player,
or switch on the radio, just to have kind of a wallpaper of sound, to drive
away an obviously unbearable silence - well, let them do so. If you mean
listening to music is an activity far inferior to producing that kind of
noise, I do not agree.

It is, in my modest opinion, everyone's good right, to do with his/her time
whatever he/she likes, as long as he doesn't hinder other people with it:
listen to your walkman, if you like, but don't do it in a train or bus, if
you cann't keep the volume low.

And why should listening be inferior to playing? I enjoy both, and think I
enjoy playing better because I do such a lot of listening. Right now I put a
cassette in my cassette player, and whilst typing this into my computer I am
enjoying the Ries Septet, opus 25, beautifully played by the Consortium
Classicum.

To be specific: my music collection was vast enough to be invited to make a
program of three hours every week during the brief period, one year, we had
a local radio station in Maartensdijk, where I live. It was one of the most
appreciated programs of the station. I had called it "Classic - and
different", as I played all kinds of music you don't hear all day long on
local stations: Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, klezmer, music from Venezuela,
Brazil and Israel, musical, and, yes, even classical music. Played the
Weber, Spohr and Crusell concertoes completely, explained the jokes Mozart
wrote into his "Ein musikalischer Spass, ein Dorfmusikantensextett",
etcetera. Could continue nearly ten years, without playing the same piece of
music twice.

Without intensely listening to recorded music, and enjoying it, I would
never have been able to do so. It also makes clearer to me what my
shortcomings as a clarinet (and also a bit a saxophone) player are, and sets
me new goals to strive at. I'm convinced it helped me to be a better player,
though I never will be a good one, but I enjoy playing the better by it.

Hope you do not consider this a personal attack, just a difference of opnion
of someone who can also enjoy the silence of a late night, when reading a
good book.

Rien

No job, no money, but happy ...

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