Klarinet Archive - Posting 000645.txt from 2003/05

From: DGross1226@-----.com
Subj: Re: [kl] something a little different for marching band...
Date: Mon, 26 May 2003 19:35:56 -0400

In a message dated 5/26/2003 1:19:13 PM Pacific Daylight Time, "Matthew
Lloyd" <Matthew@-----.uk> writes:

<<The Eb is unique - I assume you don't play one - and has a character all of
its own. I'll not pronounce any further on Marching Bands - but please don't
suggest the Eb is "just" a higher clarinet. It isn't.>>

Matthew,

That is perhaps the most helpful reply you could have made to Stephanie's
original post! I also once thought that the Eb soprano clarinet would be "fun"
to play, so I bought a professional caliber Selmer Paris Eb clarinet from a
colleague. It worked out pretty well in a local community band but, because I
played it so rarely and hated the looks of the piccolo player concerning its
intonation, I finally decided to sell the beastie. Three "professional" players
declined to buy the horn because of intonation problems. The fourth
prospective buyer was a university woodwind repair tech who took it on as a challenge.
The $$ I received helped with the purchase of a low C LeBlanc paperclip
contrabass clarinet which was the best investment I've made in a long time. I have
yet to find a wind ensemble conductor who doesn't "love" the
contrabass/contra alto (pedal clarinets for you Brits) clarinets.

In live performance I've only heard one or two players who truly understand
the uniqueness of the soprano Eb clarinet including Monica Kaenzig...

http://www.laphil.org/music_and_musicians/performer_detail.cfm?id=347&
back=%2Fmusic%5Fand%5Fmusicians%2Forchestra%5Flisting%2Ecfm%3B

...who plays Eb with the LA Philharmonic and my current teacher, Helen
Goode-Castro. My own unsolicited advice to Stephanie would be to listen to re
cordings of "Til Eulenspiegel" until my ears dropped off. And then go to her local
professional symphony orchestra's Eb clarinet player's next master class.

Played "correctly," the Eb soprano clarinet is a truly beautiful instrument.
Played like 99.9% of the folks who "buy the instrument so I can play it in
the band," it's truly criminal.

Don Gross
La Canada, California

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