Klarinet Archive - Posting 000158.txt from 2001/01

From: "Rien Stein" <rstein@-----.nl>
Subj: RE: [kl] Technique and Musicality
Date: Thu, 4 Jan 2001 20:19:49 -0500

Tony Pay wrote:

<<
You obviously haven't worked with a really great conductor.

Tony
>>

I understand I fall into an ongoing thread right now, dealing with what is
the important factor in playing clarinet: virtuosity, or "musicality". For
what it is worth I will giv you my experiences and opinion on the topic.

When still having lessons it sometimes occurred I got pieces that were
either too difficult for the level I was playing at that time, or on the
very limits: my teacher always tried to let me study pieces on the edge of
what I was able to master. The results often were disappointing: when you
know such a lovely piece as, say, the Weber quintet, but can not excite the
same feelings in playing it yourself as in listening to a recording, it can
bcome very frustrating. You studied it a long time, and in the end you were
finaly able to play the right notes in the right tempo (does that exist?),
and yet something was missing, and your wife said it sounded difficult. Then
you can be quite sure you lack the technique to make it sound as an
interesting piece: technique is the all important factor.

On the other side, if you have enough technique to master the music you want
to play (the Weber quintet from my example is not that difficult), but play
it flat, or with a monotonous sound, or whatever you want, it will be a very
dull piece indeed, any piece would be, if played that way. In Dutch we have
an expression for it: "Killing Chopin", implying it is not the technique,
that kills this sensitive music, but the player's way of playing.

What this has to do with conductors? Well, it depends:

When conducting a professional orchestra, the conductor will not need time
to rehearse some particularly difficult passage to get the technique right.
The conductor can concentrate completely on the musical content of what is
to go. When conducting an amateur orchestra, it often is important, to spend
time on the different groups of the orchestra, both to master the piece
under hands both technically and musically. It once occurred to me, when
playing in a symphony orchestra, that after an hour's rehearsal I still had
not blown a single note, because the conductor was so very occupied with the
strings. I left, and some of the string players left with me. The strain was
growing too tense on them.

On the other side I played with conductors like Cor Pronk, a name you will
never find on any concert given by professional orchestras, who was capable
of making every note a happening, however small or unimportant in the sound
of the moment and the chord. In front of a professional orchestra he would
be an absolute failure, he is aware of that himself, but he knew to inspire
"his" amateurs to play at levels they did not know themselves they were able
to play. He was a really good conductor, and, actually, the best one I think
I ever worked with.

So IMHO technique is the first and most important factor to be able to
express what you feel in the music, but, once you have enough of it, its
inportance suddenly vanishes, just like with money: as long as you have
enough of it, money isn't in the least important, but when you lack it ...

With the best wishes for the year 2001. May it be full of music and of the
joy to make music.

Rien

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