Klarinet Archive - Posting 000352.txt from 2004/02

From: ormondtoby@-----.net (Ormondtoby Montoya)
Subj: Re: [kl] Concertgebouw Orchestra
Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2004 03:17:00 -0500

Karl, perhaps illness accounted for all of this. For example, one of
the cellos stood up and walked off the stage in the middle of Beethoven
--- if it had been only a broken string, he would've remained in his
chair without playing. The performance was sufficiently flawed that I
don't think meaningful statements about instruments are possible, based
on what was heard tonight.

I don't talk during performances, of course; but three or four times
during exposed woodwind passages, I sent "thought wave messages" to the
person who was playing the passage: "Hey, buddy, you're in the wrong
room. The punk rock heavy metal rehearsal is down the hall and to the
left." Some moments were truly that bad. There were moments when I
asked myself, "Is that a clarinet (or oboe), or are my ears clogged?"

As I say, it could have been illness. Bad pitch, and awful choice (if
it was choice?) of timbre. The piccolo reached for critical high notes
during the Tchaikovsky and couldn't find them. The timpanist delivered
two uneven drum rolls, and he hurried one of them which left an
arhythmic (is that a word?) dead moment just before the brass opened up.

Beginning with the pizzicato movement in Tchaikovsky and continuing
through the opening of the 4th movement, the 'primal' nature of
Tchaikovsky's music drew the orchestra together and I sat back with a
(mental) sigh of relief. At least they were going to finish the
evening in style and give me some pleasure! Having more instruments in
Tchaikovsky than in Beethoven helped also.

But just as I relaxed and lowered my defenses, the piccolo started
hunting for high notes again and all I could do was grit my teeth. And
then the timpanist hurried his climactic roll.

As for the Beethoven, I normally enjoy No. 4, but the way they played it
tonight, it was meaningless. The balance between strings and winds
wobbled without purpose.

==========

I suppose that if I re-read what I've just typed, I'd be embarrassed to
be so negative, and perhaps I'd delete it. Perhaps the orchestra
caught one of those new bugs while travelling, and perhaps they were
truly ill. But to repeat myself one more time, I don't see how anyone
could draw valid conclusions about instruments based on tonight's
performance. I was unable to motivate myself to attempt going
backstage to ask questions. My voice and body language would've
betrayed me, I'm sure.

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