Klarinet Archive - Posting 000897.txt from 2001/09

From: "Karl Krelove" <kkrelove@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] Prokofieff 4th
Date: Sat, 29 Sep 2001 21:35:03 -0400

OK, friends in the "play on what the composer wrote it for" camp. What do
you make of this?

I'm playing in a reading of the Prokofieff 4th Symphony. I've never played
this piece before, nor am I familiar with it. The entire 1st clarinet part
is written for Bb Clarinet - except for 4 bars of music for clarinet in A in
the 1st movement. These 4 bars are in no way exceptional. They are exactly
the same music the Bb clarinet has been playing for measures on end, a
little ostinato arpeggio figure that's almost certainly accompaniment,
except that the key in these four measures is a fourth HIGHER. No low E's,
wouldn't have been a technical problem on either instrument.

I've heard any number of times, with no primary source to back it up, that
Prokofieff left it to copyists to write out the transpositions. The
Prokofieff scores I've looked at are written in concert pitch, so it may
even be that he had no idea in this instance which clarinet would be written
for. It may not need be said that I intend to leave my A clarinet in the
case on Friday when we read this. I am interested to know if a) anyone has
any thoughts on why this passage is written the way it is and b) I can get
special dispensation from those who cringe at any transposition from the
original part to do these 4 measures on a Bb clarinet with a clear
conscience. :-)

Karl Krelove

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