Klarinet Archive - Posting 000348.txt from 2005/03

From: "colin.touchin@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] national sounds
Date: Wed, 9 Mar 2005 17:05:28 -0500

The subject of confuse national origins and growing international
homogeneity has developed from the impact of world-wide CDs. In
some lectures to students some years ago I played recordings of
several orchestras from different countries playing the same piece,
and also playing different nationality pieces - without being rigorously
run as a test, the off-the-cuff responses suggested national orchestral
styles/sounds were discernible and agreed by more than half the
class. But I confused everyone with two specific and I believe
unique conductors - the most French-sounding Debussy was by the
Berlin Phil conducted by Boulez; and Simon Rattle with his City of
Birmingham SO was the one orchestra able to change its apparent
nationality by playing French as French, German as German, English
as English, etc. But the one nationality which retained its identity -
noone plays Russian repertoire like a Russian orchestra! And I
guess the CD has yet to spread so deeply throughout that country's
musicians to affect their inherited style as in other countries, and
their heritage is so strictly and proudly continued through the
generations that we can hope it'll never disappear.
Of course, capturing a specific manner of playing - in articulation,
accentuation, tempo variation, expressive nuance - is not the same
as copying an individual tone-colour, however adopted, but maybe
"nationality of sound" has different aspects worth consideration and
discussion. Good wishes, Colin.

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