Klarinet Archive - Posting 000539.txt from 2001/08

From: Daniel Leeson <leeson0@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Mozart K.622
Date: Thu, 30 Aug 2001 10:40:55 -0400

If the purpose of an edition is to state what the composer wrote, then,
by definition, there are no good editions of K. 622. The manuscript has
been lost since 1801 and, in the final analysis, we don't know what
Mozart wrote except for a few measures of the opening tune. And the
only reason we know that is because it is duplicated in his catalog of
his own music into which he would invariably write an incipit of 3 or 4
measures. We also have a pretty good idea of what the clarinet part
looks like for a piece of the first movement because of the manuscript
in his hand that rests in Wintherthur, Switzerland, but one can just as
well argue that that manuscript is not for clarinet but for basset horn,
so it doesn't count.

The bottom line is that ALL editions (including Barenreiter's) represent
an editor's view of how the piece should go. All phrasings,
articulations, lead ins, dynamics, and even range of the instrument are
someone's guess.

That does not mean you can't do any of them, but only that none of them
have any real authority. Some people will hold up the 1875 Breitkopf
edition as if it were given on Mt. Sinai, but it is no better (and in
some ways worse) than any other edition. "Old" does not necessarily
mean "Good."

So I repeat: there is no good edition of K. 622. Look for something
that has good page turns and readable print. Nothing else is
authoritative.

Georg Kuehner wrote:
>
> Bärenreiter Urtext Edition
> is the most trustable Edition and have a look in the "Kritischer Bericht" in the
> "Neue Mozart Gesamtausgabe"
>
> Best wishes Georg Kühner
> Mark Charette schrieb:
> > A good place to start would be at
> > http://www.clarinet.org/Research/koons98.htm - A Guide to Published Editions
> > of Mozart's Clarinet Concerto, KV 622, for Clarinet and Piano
> >
> > --
> > The phrase "computer literate user" really means the person has been hurt so
> > many times that the scar tissue is thick enough so he no longer feels the
> > pain. -- Alan Cooper, "The Inmates are Running the Asylum "
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Nathan Daniels" <the_thinker2@-----.com>
> > >
> > > Hey all... I hate to bring this up because of all the discussion over
> > > Clarinet Concerto, but the time has come for me to learn it, so I might as
> > > well ask a few questions. Actually, I just need a good piece of advice.
> > I
> > > currently have a copy of it arranged for Bb clarinet and piano. I'm
> > having
> > > trouble figuring out who arranged it, but I think that it was published by
> > > Barenreiter, and the piano reduction was done by Thomas Bruttger. It also
> > > says that it is "Based on the Urtext of the New Mozart Edition." It seems
> > > like a decent version so far, but I am also aware that there are tons and
> > > tons of different editions of it out there. One thing is for certain
> > > though, and that is that I would like to play it on my A clarinet. So,
> > can
> > > anyone offer suggestions on editions/publishers for good versions of K.
> > 622
> > > for A clarinet and piano? All help is appreciated.
> >
> >
> >
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--
***************************
** Dan Leeson **
** leeson0@-----.net **
***************************

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