Klarinet Archive - Posting 000379.txt from 2001/04

From: "Gregory Smith" <Gregory@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] Re: Questions for former Marcellus Students
Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2001 05:01:06 -0400

Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2001 18:47:56 -0700
From: Daniel Leeson <leeson0@-----.net>
Subject: Re: [kl] Questions for former Marcellus students
Message-ID: <3ADBA0CC.EF9695CF@-----.net>

>>>recording it was that I found the tempi to be without energy. I did =
use
>the words "annoyingly slow" but since you asked, I went and put the
>recording on and listened to segments of it. My opinion, and that is
>all it is, just an opinion, is that it was a performance without any
>internal energy, and this aggrevated whatever tempi Szell decided to
>take. I always loved Szell's Mozart. It thought him to be one of the
>finest Mozart conductors of the 20th century. But in that recording =
and
>on that day and with that player, the performance did not work for me.

>I do not want to get into a dispute about the recording. My objective
>was simply to state that the Marcellus recording does not hold the
>universally positive opinion from all clarinetists that I thought you
>were suggesting.

No? What makes D. Leeson a scholar in this catagory? His communication =
with many the top wind performers of the day? I would suggest that this =
kind of statement is opinion only and not based on fact - a rather =
unscholarly approach from a scholar. (No group by the way can hold a =
"universally positive opinion" on anything so I find this a statement of =
no useful value.)

>I do not put myself up as an authority on Marcellus' playing. On the
>contrary, I found him a marvellous performer. It was simply that =
single
>recording for which I waited for years that was so disappointing to me.

>And while no other person has voiced a view on that performance on this
>list as part of this discussion, from the last time round on this, I
>believe that others may still hold similar opinions.

Do you mean on this list? Or are you referring to the active performing =
professionals in the trenches (nationally & worldwide) that I personally =
have found hold an opinion diametrically opposed?

Or is the innuendo that there is a "silent majority" out there - again, =
on this list - that hold similar opinions to yours only simply because =
they would not dispute you in the last go around in this debate as I =
did?

You demonstrated in the last debate revolving around authentic =
performance practice that you've had an out for Marcellus and his =
(timely interpretation) simpy because he did not improvise to your =
liking. That was the real crux of the issue wasnt it Mr. Leeson?

Or will you finally admit it once and for all instead of all the window =
dressing that now goes along with it?

For someone rightly in favor of improv. in Mozart , how could anyone =
interpret your dislike for the Marcellus recording any other way based =
on your comments last time around (the recording by the way done in 1961 =
- long before it became commonplace to improvise regularly once again)?

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