Klarinet Archive - Posting 000120.txt from 2003/04

From: Tony@-----.uk (Tony Pay)
Subj: [kl] The wrong Rossini -- revisited!
Date: Sat, 26 Apr 2003 00:30:57 -0400

The day before yesterday afternoon, around half past three, I got a
phone call. It was from Julian Bliss, the young English clarinet
player, who is by way of being a pal of mine.

"Tony," he said, "I'm in a bit of a difficulty. I'm at the rehearsal of
a concert, and I have to play the Rossini 'Introduction Theme and
Variations'. Only -- the orchestra has the *other* piece! And we can't
find out where to get the parts of *my* piece. And, they're rehearsing
other things at the moment, but we have to stop at five."

(Some of you may remember that I found myself in the same situation some
thirty-two years ago, in the Festival Hall with the RPO, because I
posted about it a couple of weeks ago.)

So, I said, "It's Sikorski, and I think that's Boosey and Hawkes." But
apparently Boosey and Hawkes hadn't know anything about it when the
orchestra management phoned them.

Anyhow, to cut a long story short, we found it in Norwich, via two
independent routes: the orchestra via Sikorski in Hamburg, and me via
the BBC music library and then a wonderfully helpful chap at Boosey and
Hawkes hire library; and they faxed the parts, though not the score, to
the orchestra at the London Guildhall. Jurij Bashmet had to conduct
from the piano score, and they managed somehow.

I don't know who was the luckier. I didn't get to play the piece, it
being in the pre-fax era; but on the other hand they rescheduled it for
a couple of months later, and I did it properly then.

Julian got to play it, thanks to modern technology, but not under ideal
circumstances by any means. "It was a bit of a nightmare!" he said.
But he's a professional, in the best sense, so he didn't let anyone
down, and did the job, and helped the orchestra stay with him too.

The moral of the story?

Beware the Rossini 'INTRODUCTION, Theme and Variations'!

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

... Old age is better than the alternative.

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