Klarinet Archive - Posting 000133.txt from 2001/12

From: Tony@-----.uk (Tony Pay)
Subj: Re: [kl] Beethoven 2, embellish Larghetto?
Date: Fri, 7 Dec 2001 13:32:53 -0500

On Thu, 06 Dec 2001 09:55:25 -0800, leeson0@-----.net said:

> If, as David wrote, the material presented was designed by Zinman, that
> is indeed unfortunate. The entire purpose underlying improvisation is
> defeated if it is (1) not impetuous, (2) not instantaneously created,
> and (3) not different from performance to performance.

I think you should scrub (3). It's not demanded by (1) and (2); indeed
what you do this performance *might* be the same as what you did the
last one.

Because, if not, you're constrained.

Compare throwing dice twice independently. You might get the same
result.

For me, the important part of improvisation is that if you're both

(A) willing to do it, under (1) and (2), *and*,

(B) have an understanding of the style, and what's appropriate to
what's going on at the time...

...then you have a good attitude to the music.

But, I think that it is perfectly possible to play this music with life,
but without much improvisation in the sense of adding notes -- in other
words, following (B), you find that your willingness doesn't translate
into action, necessarily.

So, you can have a good attitude to the music, but choose to stick
pretty close to what's written.

And the opposite is the case; though Patti Smith wrote:

> So much of our music from this period is played without life because,
> IMO, people do not imbue it with life. Part of that life, IMHO, is
> improvisation.

...it's pretty clear that you can spoil when you improvise, in any
music.

The jazzer who's out of his/her depth, and whose improvisations don't
cut it in a particular group, mirrors the classical performer whose
efforts demean what (s)he's changing.

In other words, improvisation per se is no guarantee of excellence.

(But I suppose that's not surprising, because *nothing* is a guarantee
of excellence:-)

Anyhow, we know that Mozart winced at some players, and celebrated
others; by his descriptions, it seems to me that this distinction cut
across whether or not they improvised. If they were good at
improvising, it counted for them; if they weren't, he might well have
wished that they didn't do it.

Evidence?

Just common sense.

Tony
--
_________ Tony Pay
|ony:-) 79 Southmoor Rd Tony@-----.uk
| |ay Oxford OX2 6RE GMN artist: http://www.gmn.com
tel/fax 01865 553339

... And your crybaby whiny-assed opinion would be...?

---------------------------------------------------------------------