Klarinet Archive - Posting 000290.txt from 2002/01

From: "Karl Krelove" <kkrelove@-----.com>
Subj: RE: [kl] Performance from memory
Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2002 18:01:36 -0500

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Allan Thompson [mailto:athompson@-----.za]
> Sent: Friday, January 11, 2002 3:56 PM
>
> ...I would also be interested
> to hear people's opinions on the pro's and con's of playing
> from memory.
>
>From my experience attending concerts over the years, I'd say that it's
mostly pianists (who can't turn pages while they play) and touring mostly
string virtuosi (who play as soloists for a living and play a relatively few
pieces over and over) who even now play from memory. I have seen members of
the Philadelphia Orchestra (including Gigliotti) play concerti with music on
the stand (though I'm certain they knew the pieces well enough to have
played them from memory). I saw Isaac Stern once play a less well known
concerto from written music - I also saw him one night stop a performance he
was doing from memory and walk over to look at Ormandy's score because he'd
had a memory lapse.

I have not been a soloist regularly since my days with the Field Band 30
years ago. Maybe list members who do more solo work than I have a different
view, and I, too, am interested in their thoughts because performance from
memory has always for me been a specific hot button.

Karl Krelove

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