Klarinet Archive - Posting 000958.txt from 2000/11

From: Daniel Leeson <leeson0@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] Festspiel: An opportunity for a brave man or woman
Date: Wed, 29 Nov 2000 17:21:36 -0500

For those university affiliated clarinet players among you who are
looking for an exciting challenge, to say nothing of an opportunity that
could have a positive effect on your career, I have an idea that I want
to explore in the hopes that one of you will have the energy and the
backing of your university administration to bring this off.

In just about 5 years, we will have an event that is currently being
tentatively named "the quarter millennium celebration," and it refers to
the 250th anniversary of the birth of Mozart in 1756. I have already
been involved in some of the planning activities for both the Mozart
society of America and it is at my suggestion that the Mozarteum in
Salzburg may chose to call the event by the formal name of "quarter
millennium." I hope so but can't say at this juncture how it will be
advertised. I suggested this name because it is so much more grand than
the commonplace "xxx anniversary" that was recently used for the 250th
anniversary of Bach's death and is so typical for any anniversary
celebration.

It seems to me that the wind ensemble sides of universities are very
hesitant to participate in such an event because they don't have the
breadth of repertoire that the university orchestra or chorus has, and
the net result is that they often do nothing. At least that was the
case in 1991 during the bicentennial of Mozart's death, though the
University of Ohio band director did a spanking job of being the center
of a week-long Mozart festival held on that campus.

It would seem that a really wonderful way for any band/wind ensemble
department to commemorate the event would be to be the national
organizer for a "Gran Partitta Festspiel!" and it could have at least a
dozen facets to it.

For example, technical papers could be solicited on any of a dozen
aspects associated with the work, several different performances of the
work by several different wind ensembles could be mounted, perhaps even
a joint performance by the key players of several different
universities. It could also be combined with further studies and
performances of the two smaller wind serenades, K. 375 (for 6 and for
8), and K. 388, and also the piano wind quintet, K. 452, and the basset
horn trios (all five of them). Even the speculative wind octets could
play a role here.

With all these performances and presentation opportunities, this could
last for about 3 days. In effect, I am proposing a national seminar to
be held at some university on the subject of Mozart's wind music with
particular emphasis on the Gran Partitta, and to be attended by the
students and faculty of many universities. All this as part of the
quarter millennium celebration of Mozart's birth.

I am not suggesting several such seminars, just one, but a big, single,
central one.

Now who wants to become famous and be the one who organizes, manages,
and controls it? I'll be happy to share ideas with anyone who wants to
purse this, but by 2006, I'll be 74 and no longer capable of dealing
with a project of that size.

In the words of Cyrano de Bergerac, "I shall build a monument to the
first man [or woman] who raises his [her] hand!
--
***************************
** Dan Leeson **
** leeson0@-----.net **
***************************

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