Klarinet Archive - Posting 000617.txt from 2000/07

From: "Antoine T. Clark" <clariguy@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] enthused musings upon Mozart Concerto
Date: Wed, 19 Jul 2000 08:43:40 -0400

I think one of the hardest aspects of the Brahms's sonatas and to grasp
for young musicians is that Brahms intertwines the clarinet and piano
together. Sometimes the clarinet is not the soloist and something that I
began to realize when working on the 1st sonata is that it is a sonata for
Clarinet and PIANO. My teacher always taught me to hear the piano when I was
playing and most of the times in my lesson he would transpose the piano part
right from the score and play along with me. One thing that he told me is
that he still learns things from these sonatas when he sits down with a
student and play them. So if a man who has these many years of experience
still can find jewels in the Brahms or Mozart what makes one think that they
can play these great pieces with limited technical ability or find them too
easy. I am addressing fellow young clarinetist who may find these works to
be bogus and too simple or pieces they can play around with at a the high
school and early college level.
I remember when Richard Stoztman visited our school last year. I think
people were amazed by his freedom in Brahms 1. I remember one of my friends
making fun of the part that is marked "p ma ben marc", soft but well marked.
Stolzman kind of exaggerated the passage. But I argued with the person that
although we may not agree with Stozman's vibrato or choice of expression at
least he can be very musical and play with some sense of what Brahms wanted.
But the key is that his technique did not stumble him and prevent him from
expressing the true point of Brahms.
----- Original Message -----
From: Edwin V. Lacy <el2@-----.edu>
Subject: Re: [kl] enthused musings upon Mozart Concerto

> On Wed, 19 Jul 2000, Kim Parsons wrote:
>
> > ..... 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.
>
> You are far from the first who has found it hard to come to grips with the
> inner musical meaning of the music of Brahms. I congratulate you for
> being able to recognize the difficulties in doing so. I can see how the
> teacher would have found it difficult to communicate this to you, and how
> you would have had trouble in understanding what he was trying to convey.
>
> In my opinion, each composer (at least among the great ones) tends to
> strike some kind of balance between the emotional aspects and the
> intellectual aspects of music. Each tends to be to some degree on one
> side or the other of that question. We can think of composers who tend
> very much toward the intellectual side, such as perhaps Schoenberg and
> other serialists. Some people used to feel this way about Hindemith, too,
> although now that the harmonic content of his music is better understood
> or at least accepted, its emotional content is more widely acknowledged.
> It is also not too difficult to name composers who tend toward the
> emotional qualities of the music. In this category, we could name any one
> of several composers of so-called late-19th century salon pieces. One
> such work that is sometimes discussed on this list is the Trio Pathetique
> by Mikail Glinka.
>
> However, in the case of Brahms, the situation is different. To me, he
> perhaps better than any other composer illustrates an almost ideal balance
> between the emotional and intellectual characteristics of his music. To
> say that isn't difficult, but to thoroughly understand it to the extent
> that it is communicated through a performance is a very much greater
> problem.
>
> This also extends to the pianist. The piano parts to the Brahms sonatas
> are quite difficult from a technical standpoint, but they also require a
> certain depth of musical understanding. Finding such a person with whom
> to collaborate can be quite a challenge.
>
> I'll go even further out on a limb here, and say something that no doubt
> will be regarded as politically incorrect. To me, the music of Brahms
> tends to exhibit essentially masculine character, rather than feminine.
> That's certainly not to say that female musicians can't play Brahms,
> because many do, and the good ones do so extrememly well.
>
> We are dealing with very intangible qualities here, and the assertions I
> have made are not capable of direct proof, as far as I know. These are
> merely my reactions and interpretations of the music of Brahms. Perhaps
> one of the signs of greatness in a composer is that they can be
> interpreted in very different ways by different performers, and the
> results can still be satisfying.
>
> Ed Lacy
> *****************************************************************
> Dr. Edwin Lacy University of Evansville
> Professor of Music 1800 Lincoln Avenue
> Evansville, IN 47722
> el2@-----.edu (812)479-2754
> *****************************************************************
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> 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