Klarinet Archive - Posting 000992.txt from 2004/07

From: "Lelia Loban" <lelialoban@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] ClarinetFest 2004, day 3
Date: Wed, 28 Jul 2004 15:10:48 -0400

ClarinetFest 2004, Day 3
On Friday, July 23, I mistakenly rode the University shuttle bus to the
Conference Center first. Waiting for the next shuttle would get me to the
Performing Arts building just in time for me to miss nearly all of the
Potpourri recital. (This was ClarinetFest's term for a recital in which a
number of different clarinet players took turns in short programs.) Damn!
-- because that program looked interesting. Then I'd have to turn right
back around and hope I got back to the Conference Center in time for
"Extreme Clarinet." I just stayed in the Conference Center instead, and
found myself back in the dealer rooms, like an addict looking for a fix.
Then, continuing with the plan to attend as many different types of events
as possible, I headed for the "Extreme Clarinet" recital and clinic with
clarinet players Robert Spring and Scott Wright, joined by Linda Halloin on
piano and J. B. Smith on percussion. This turned out to be more of a
recital than a clinic, and one of the high points of ClarinetFest for me.
Anybody who still felt sleepy at 10:30 a.m. got a wake-up call with this
program. Both clarinet players used a wide variety of contemporary
techniques: extreme altissimo, multiphonics and so forth. Mr. Wright
provided a handout with exercises, "A Few Words About Clarinet Altissimo."
I especially enjoyed Scott McAllister's "Black Dog Rhapsody for Clarinet."
Robert Spring described this piece as one that a clarinet player could use
to feel like a rock star. He obviously had fun with it, leaning back and
wailing out riffs reminiscent of lead electric guitar solos. I also
enjoyed Vladamir Bokes's "Inquito," Op. 49, and Whitney Prince's "Dry
Heat." I thought that the clarinet transcription of Henri Wieniawski's
"Scherzo Tarantelle," originally for violin, was less sucessful, despite
the impressive playing. The original version is a staple in the virtuoso
violinist's repertory. The clarinet transcription, missing the bowing
effects and powerful double stops, sounded like an incomplete substitute to
me. (On violin, the upper and lower note of a double stop -- a multiphonic
-- can have equal volume.) However, the last two pieces, both by Eric
Mandat, "SubtrainS 'O' StrataS fears" and "Pruned Danish for clarinet and
percussion (with apologies to Carl Nielsen)," left me wishing for encores.
(Encores were rare at ClarinetFest. With so many programs scheduled one
right after the other, the organizers must have issued stern warnings not
to run overtime. For the most part, the talent complied.)
Charles West's class, "Taking the VooDoo Out of Reed-Making," turned out
to be one of my best learning experiences at the Fest. I went into the
seminar with very little knowledge of how to make a reed from a piece of
cane. I haven't even done much tinkering with commercial reeds, though my
increasing use of vintage mouthpieces means the time has come for me to
learn more. He set up a table in front of the stage, and invited the
audience to crowd down into the front rows where we could see what he was
doing. He used a Reed-U-All for most of the session, and explained what he
was doing as he made a reed for an advanced clarinet student. She sat
behind him on the edge of the stage and tested his work in progress. Among
other things, he suggested testing reed cane by writing on the bark side
with a ballpoint pen, using normal pressure. If the point of the pen sinks
into the cane, then the cane is mushy and will make bad reeds. If the nib
of the pen stays on the surface of the cane, then that's a sign the cane
might make good reeds. He also gave brief demonstrations of other
reed-making tools and said he didn't feel strongly that one tool was
"best". He said that he thought he worked best with the Reed-U-All because
he was used to it. The Reed-U-All uses a finished reed as a template and
copies its dimensions.
Some moments of unintentional "Who's on first / What's on second" comedy
ensued when some members of the audience started asking questions about
modifying the left and the right sides of the reed (from whose point of
view?).
"You mean, if the reed is more resonant when you turn the mouthpiece to
the left, you should take off some cane on the left side?"
"Right. Er, the right *side*!"
"My right or your right?"
Mr. West provided a handout that cleared up this type of confusion nicely
and, combined with his demonstration, persuaded me that maybe I can learn
to make reeds (after the piggybank recovers from its dealer room orgy
enough for me to buy the equipment). However, once I start fumbling
around, I strongly suspect that reed-making won't seem as straightforward
as Mr. West's expertise made it look.
Ricardo Morales chose two advanced students for his master class. Each
student, playing orchestra excerpts, showed good technical proficiency, but
they both seemed, not obviously nervous, but a little bit stiff. I
couldn't hear everything he said, but Mr. Morales spent most of his time
discussing musicianship and interpretation. He suggested, with just the
right balance of diplomacy and humor, that, having provem they could play
all the notes cleanly, both students needed to take some chances, loosen
up, and play with broader dynamics and more expression.
Notes on Saturday's events tomorrow....

Lelia Loban
http://members.sibeliusmusic.com/LeliaLoban
Kerry and Edwards in 2004, because regime change begins at home!

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