Klarinet Archive - Posting 000439.txt from 2000/08

From: Bilwright@-----.net (William Wright)
Subj: Re: [kl] Prokofiev Quintet
Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2000 12:23:10 -0400

<><> Dan=A0Leeson wrote:
The second movement (I think) is one in which the meter changes every
measure. Well, some smart ass at a publishing house decided to rewrite
that movement into a 4/4 form

Meter is one reason why I was so impressed with this piece -- even
though I may not live long enough to try playing it myself -- I don't
know too many double bass players -- heh!
And I should explain that the clarinetist (Fred Ormand) took the
audience through a little 'tour' of the piece while the rest of the
ensemble was 'recuperating' (his word) from a magnificent (my word)
performance of a Mozart quartet.
.....anyway, Fred explained that Prokofiev originally wrote the
piece as a ballet about a circus "Just to earn some money", and later he
rewrote it because the 'program music attitude' offended his musical
soul. Hence the performers wore clown hats last night, and this really
did (IMO) put the audience, including myself, into a more appropriate
mind set to understand the piece.
Fred asked the audience to clap 5 times while he counted out ten
beats of 2/4 time. Then Fred clapped out 10 beats in various
combinations of 3+3+2+2 and 3+2+2+3 and so forth. Of course the
audience couldn't come close to keeping pace.
As I said in my last post, I don't like 'weird' music, and so I was
gritting my teeth during all of this big buildup. And I was ASTONISHED
and RELIEVED when the actual performance turned out to be 'good music'
that was lyrical (IMO) and it had a beat -- not as pervasive as an
'oompah' beat, but still flowing and understandable and emotional.....
and it didn't sound like a garbaged-up mess.
Of course, part of the reason for Fred Ormand's lecture was to
prepare the audience and to reduce the trauma, and I suppose his
strategy worked. Perhaps if I had heard the piece (it was the first
time for me) without the lecture, I would've been turned off as I
usually am with 'weird' music.
But in this case, I had to go online after I arrived home last
night and buy a CD of it.

I may as well make another comment: after the Prokofiev, the
violinist stood up and explained all the miseries of Smetana's life and
then they _really_ 'laid into' (is that a recognizable idiom on your
side of the ocean?) his piano trio in G minor. All told, the evening
was intense and emotional, and I'm still feeling it this morning.

Enough jabbering, Cheers,
Bill

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