Klarinet Archive - Posting 000211.txt from 2006/02

From: Oliver Seely <oseely@-----.edu>
Subj: RE: [kl] The clarinet - Everywhere!
Date: Wed, 15 Feb 2006 00:59:08 -0500

I would hope that all professional players feel the way Dave's friend
did ("that was fun"):

Several years ago my daughter did a singing gig with a group which
had a clarinetist she said she thought I'd like to meet. At an
appropriate time we did and he said (gratuitously, as it turns out),
"we ought to play something together sometime," to which, delivering
the best Jimmy Stewart line I could muster, I responded, "Yes,
when?" As luck would have it he lived very close to us in southern
California, and I mentioned that I was sequencing the surviving
Krommer Partitas. "Well, FAX me a part and we'll get together," he
said. So I FAXed him the 1st clarinet part of one of the unpublished
works. By and by I received a call from him in which he said that he
was so busy he couldn't take the time to have fun with music any
longer so he'd have to cancel out on me.

Not long thereafter I rehearsed the Mozart and Brahms quintets with
some string-playing acquaintances one of whom was the wife of the
former first oboist of a well-known symphony orchestra. I was told
by my violist friend that when he retired from the orchestra he vowed
never again to pick up his oboe.

A classmate of mine at Caltech was the son of a studio bassoonist who
refused to allow any of his children to take up an instrument,
because, according to my classmate, "he hates what he does."

These anecdotes are bizarre and I'm almost embarrassed to relate them
because playing my instrument has always been such a joy to me. I
can't imagine it being any other way.

I figure that most pros love what they do, but I run into the other
kind more frequently than for which I feel comfortable.

Oliver

At 08:38 PM 2/14/2006, Dave wrote:

>A couple years ago, I visited a good friend in another state who is a
>professional player. We sight read some duets in Klose. His level of
>playing is WELL above mine. Despite that, when we finished, he looked at
>me and quite sincerely said "that was fun!"
>
>And at least for me, in that moment, and now, that's what it's all
>about.
>
>Dave Kumpf
>dkumpf@-----.com

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