Klarinet Archive - Posting 000615.txt from 2000/07

From: "Kim Parsons" <8kip@-----.ca>
Subj: Re: [kl] enthused musings upon Mozart Concerto
Date: Wed, 19 Jul 2000 08:43:38 -0400

Hello!
Though I have been a member of the list for quite a while now, I have been a
quiet observer. I actually feel I can make an intelligent contribution to
this discussion so here it goes!

I agree with Antoine and his views on waiting to play the works by Brahms
and Mozart until a player has developed technical skills. I am a university
student and played the first Brahms sonata in my second year. Though I have
well developed technical skills I couldn't help but feel that I really just
didn't get the piece. There was something important and crucial missing
from my performance. Even though, my teacher tried very hard to explain to
me the emotional content of Brahms I just could not communicate it through
my playing. I believe I suffered from lack of musical experience. Second
year university is still pretty young in the game. I had only been playing
performance rated pieces for about a year. I felt I really didn't have the
musical life experience to be playing Brahms. There is something about
Brahms and Mozart that requires so much more than technique and even regular
musicality. I'm not sure exactly what it requires (since I have yet to
reach my age of musical maturity) but I know that at this point in my
education it is beyond my reach. Of course, by playing the piece I realized
how much growing I had yet to do - so it was a valuable experience in the
end. I have full plans to pull that sonata as well as Brahms second sonata
and the Mozart repertoire that you mentioned out when I feel I have the
musical maturity to give justice to the piece.

Glad to finally join a conversation :)
Kim

Do not take up music unless you would rather die than not do so.
Nadia Boulanger (1887-1974)

----- Original Message -----
From: Antoine T. Clark <clariguy@-----.net>
Subject: Re: [kl] enthused musings upon Mozart Concerto

> In my opinion, I feel that students should reserve works like the
Brahms
> sonatas, Brahms quintet, and the Mozart to when they have a security in
> their technique. I don't think my teacher knew this, but when I was an
> undergrad, other students and I would discuss when he would let us play
the
> Brahms sonatas. We felt that when he would let us venture on to these
> pieces it meant that he believed that we were mature enough to play such
> works. They were viewed as being harder then any Weber, Stamizt, or crazy
> technical piece.
> To me it would be frustrating to teach any young student ( one who has
> not mastered the fundamentals in his or her playing) a piece where the
> technical parts of it would not let the student get the sense of the
musical
> parts, i.e.. phrasing and the overall idea of a piece. Of course the most
> experienced player has to work on technical runs but I am referring to
> having an understanding of a piece in a musical sense and having a
maturity
> to play the style in which the composer intended.
> One thing that I appreciated in my teacher is that when studying the
> Brahms sonatas and the Mozart concerto he did everything to teach me
things
> outside of notes. I did not work on the Brahms or Mozart until I was a
> junior. I learned the Mozart as a senior in high school but did not
realize
> its sheer difficulty until that junior year. Mozart felt so transparent.
The
> smallest mistake felt horrible. By junior year my technique did not hinder
> me too much from expressing myself.
> I feel Weber is hard but it is technique, show pieces , they are works
> in which a student can learn to be technical, and tools to teach
technique.
> But Mozart and Brahms are far harder in my opinion, jewels reserved for
> students when the fundamentals are down and when the technical parts of
the
> piece are not a problem.
> I know several students in my area that are really talented high
school
> students, but still if I was any one of them at their age, I would save
such
> pieces to when I were older. The day I come can come close to sounding as
> effortless playing the Mozart as Marcellus does will be a great day for
me.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <rgarrett@-----.edu>
> To: <klarinet@-----.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, July 18, 2000 5:50 PM
> Subject: RE: [kl] enthused musings upon Mozart Concerto
>
>
> > At 02:05 PM 7/18/2000 -0700, you wrote:
> > >College kids may hate going back to it. So what? College kids hate
> > >everything. Throw you favorite recording du jour at them, and point
out
> > >that until they sound like Marcellus/Schifrin/de
> Peyer/Pay/Hacker/Neidich,
> > >they have a bit of work to do.
> >
> > Alas, isn't this true?
> >
> > Sincerely,
> > Roger Garrett
> >
> >
> > Roger Garrett
> > Professor of Clarinet
> > Director, Symphonic Winds
> > Head, Recording Studio
> > Illinois Wesleyan University
> > School of Music
> > Bloomington, IL 61702-2900
> > (309) 556-3268
> >
> > ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> > Unsubscribe from Klarinet, e-mail: klarinet-unsubscribe@-----.org
> > Subscribe to the Digest: klarinet-digest-subscribe@-----.org
> > Unsubscribe from the Digest:
> > Additional commands: klarinet-help@-----.org
> > Other problems: klarinet-owner@-----.org
> >
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> Unsubscribe from Klarinet, e-mail: klarinet-unsubscribe@-----.org
> Subscribe to the Digest: klarinet-digest-subscribe@-----.org
> Additional commands: klarinet-help@-----.org
> Other problems: klarinet-owner@-----.org
>

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Unsubscribe from Klarinet, e-mail: klarinet-unsubscribe@-----.org
Subscribe to the Digest: klarinet-digest-subscribe@-----.org
Additional commands: klarinet-help@-----.org
Other problems: klarinet-owner@-----.org