Klarinet Archive - Posting 000825.txt from 2001/06

From: "Lacy, Edwin" <el2@-----.edu>
Subj: RE: [kl] Fw: [kl] Thumb and Wrist, Breathing, Print, Composing Pr
Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 10:59:00 -0400

-----Original Message-----
From: AnneLenoir@-----.net

<<<when composers are writing parts, aren't they supposed to be
"thinking" like the person who will be playing the part? If they don't
know anything about the instrument they are writing for, wouldn't you
think they would seek a second opinion, sort of like a patient with a
fatal illness might contact another specialist?>>>

Well, for one prominent example, Beethoven never did that. He was notorious
for writing parts which musicians considered unplayable. There are
instances in his sketchbooks where it is obvious that he was struggling to
find a way to write something that he wanted to hear, but in a way that
would be manageable. However, in general, he refused to back down.
Eventually, players learned to meet the requirements of playing his music,
and that is one of the ways that musical technique develops and progresses.

Still, I acknowledge that there is a difference between merely "difficult"
and literally technically "unplayable." We all have encountered the latter,
and it usually indicates a shortcoming on the part of the composer/arranger.

Ed Lacy
University of Evansville
EL2@-----.edu

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