Klarinet Archive - Posting 000170.txt from 2001/12

From: MVinquist@-----.com
Subj: [kl] Material...was: Clarinet Bores
Date: Sat, 8 Dec 2001 10:36:18 -0500

Tim Roberts wrote:
> . . . The act of playing adds yet another variable. Most people probably
think they sound different when playing a concert in a tuxedo than when
playing in sweats and a tank top. <

I dunno about that. Presumably you want to be at your very best in a
recording session, yet every photo I've ever seen of one shows what I can
only call a deliberate informality of dress. I'm sure Tony Pay can tell us
more.

Many years ago, I was in a concert at the Cloisters (where there's no air
conditioning) on one of those blazing "3-H" (hazy, hot and humid) New York
summer days. It was at least 110 in the Fuentaduena Chapel, where we were
scheduled to perform, and nobody could stand to be there, so we went out into
the garden, stripped down to undershirts (as did the audience) and gave a
performance that was as good as anything I can remember.

I have several records made live at Marlboro that are simply magnificent, and
the pictures show the performers in slacks and open-neck cotton shirts.

Turn off the sound and watch a bit of a 3 Tenors rebroadcast. Pavarotti
wears an outfit that only looks like formal dress. The shirt collar is twice
the size of his neck -- it hangs halfway down his chest.

For some, formal dress is like a suit of armor, making them feel
invulnerable. For me, it's like an outgrown lobster shell. I think I play
best in jeans and a t-shirt.

Best regards.

Ken Shaw

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