Klarinet Archive - Posting 000558.txt from 2003/06

From: "LARISA DUFFY & DAVID DOW" <DUFFYL@-----.CA>
Subj: Re: [kl] Vibrato on the Clarinet
Date: Thu, 19 Jun 2003 13:52:25 -0400

Dear Karl
>From David Dow

I think as time goes on we are seeing an awful pile of rotten and poorly
done performances of the standard repetoire. To add to this appalling state
there are few great Coductors in the historical sense. Alot of conductors I
have worked under basically have learned a recording and them emulate it in
terms of tempi. This is a rather discorncerting way of learning how to
conduct. As a clarinetist who works regularly in an orchestra I can
100Percent say the conductor is the essence of great orchestral playing and
the key to inspiring players to hang it out there so to speak.

The other thing is what most people don't like to hear is the general
dumbing down of world through mass cultural brainwashing through TV and
general media crap. Few 16 year olds I know of like classical music,
instead we are breeding a real problem by making classical music into an
elitist bit of nonsense. In Europe this is not the case so much. An
incredible amount of orchestras of all levels are doing pretty decently in
Europe in spite of the monopoly of big bands like the Berlin Phil and what
have you.

As to recording schedules I think one just can't concoct inspiration in a
studio with a copy of the version Herbert von Karajan did in 67 of a
Bruckner interpretation. some of this stuff is happening and sadly I think
musicians today sometime aren't discriminating enough to hear or want to
hear the difference.

A number of recent records I bought on CD are close to the junk pile or
resale list for me because I find they have no musical value whatever. A
recent recording of Brahms with boulez is among the worst interpretations
ever done in music. In contemporary music as of late I have had some
trouble with his thinking as well...but then I am off topic.

I generally stick to piano players like Dinu Lipatti and Emil Giliels and
avoid some of the more recent stuff. Of course, I woould like to add there
are some fanstatic conductors out there, but they are spread awfully thin.
Maazel and Kleiber and people of this nature are really the last of the
generation. I am very impressed with Tilson Thomas however, and glad to
see the San Fransico has him on the roster.

Another fine conductor who one does not hear enough of is Ricard Chailly. I
saw him conduct Varese with the Philadephia orchestra and found him
particularly good.

Happy listening

David Dow ---- Original Message -----
From: "Karl Krelove" <karlkrelove@-----.org>
Subject: RE: [kl] Vibrato on the Clarinet

> > ... I will
> > say too that records are really done in a hurry and with far less time
for
> > rehearsal. This transates into more of the older records being more
> > musical......when you can go and do extra rehearsal and extra
> > takes you have
> > something! .
> >
> For American orchestras in the 1950's through maybe the '80's contractual
> recording guarantees led to sessions in which standard repertory was
> sometimes put out on the music stands and recorded with no rehearsal at
all
> just to fill commitments. But my impression is that, at least here in the
> US, recording is for a number of economic reasons a much more limited,
even
> endangered activity and orchestras, when they can record at all, are
> generally recording material they've rehearsed, honed and refined through
a
> regular concert series or even a tour.
>
> Do I have a distorted or flat-out incorrect view of the current state of
> symphonic recording?
>
> Karl Krelove
>
>
>
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>
>

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