Klarinet Archive - Posting 000842.txt from 2000/11

From: "David B. Niethamer" <dnietham@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: [kl] Interpreting versus playing
Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 10:45:50 -0500

I originally wrote:

> > As a concert attendee, I often find myself distracted from the music
> > by the "performance" or "interpretation" of various performers.

On Sat, 25 Nov 2000 16:58:31 -0800, Audrey Travis said:
>
>> What you have written confuses me. To me, David's words mean that
>> perhaps he is distracted when musicians move around too much. I don't
>> know. The message I'd internalize is that they are showing or showing
>> off how deeply moved they are by the music. Nevertheless, I am
>> distracted by this, too.
>
on 11/25/00 8:24 PM, Tony Pay wrote:

>David has to speak for himself, probably. I didn't think he was talking
>about movement.
>
>What I understood by what he said was that sometimes, players play in a
>way that isn't related to the music as it's going on just before, and
>then during, what they have to play. It's as though they've already
>*decided* what 'their' contribution will be -- and that makes what they
>do stick out.

Tony has my meaning exactly right. When I was a student in New York,
there was an oft quoted statement about a now departed member of the NY
Phil - "When Gomberg plays Brahms, it's more Gomberg than Brahms." I mean
no disrespect to Harold Gomberg - I always admired his playing. But the
statement sums up what I don't like to hear from a performer - putting
their own contribution to the music at the forefront of their performance.

Physical movement is another issue - sometimes disturbing, sometimes not
so much, and not necessarily proportionally related to the quality of the
playing.

HTH

David

David Niethamer
Principal Clarinet, Richmond Symphony
dnietham@-----.edu
http://members.aol.com/dbnclar1/

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