Klarinet Archive - Posting 000024.txt from 2006/03

From: "dnleeson" <dnleeson@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] The Gran Partitta Festival
Date: Thu, 02 Mar 2006 21:15:30 -0500

Just back Boston where there was festival celebrating the Gran
Partitta, an event sponsored by the New England Conservatory.
First there was a panel of four each speaking about a different
aspect of the work. Dexter Edge spoke of the matter of dating
the composition, I spoke about the history of the manucript and
its peripetatic journey from Mozart's hand to the Library of
Congress, Bob Marshall spoke about the one work/two work theory,
and Bob Levin spoke about how the musical content of the work is
inconsistent with a date of 1781, as espoused by Dexter. It took
us an hour to do our thing, and the evening began with a 3 minute
showing of the scene from Amadeus where Salieri disects the slow
movement in absolute wonder. It is one of my most favorite
moments in the movies.

The principal players were members of the Boston Symphony. Mark
McEwen, assistant prinicpal oboe with the BSO, Thomas Martin,
assistant principal clarinet, also with the BSO, John Yeh of the
Chicago SO was on first basset horn, Richard Mackey, retired
hornist with the BSO and the party responsible for the
organization of the event.

Second players were Kristina Goettler, oboe, William Amsel,
clarinet, Amy Advocat, basset horn, Stevi Caulfeld and Natalya
Rose Vrbsky bassoons, both students but outstanding, Charles
Clement, student on double bass, and Ricahrd Sebring, Lee
Adam-Walck, and Michael Winter on horns.

It was a thoughtful performance with m. 111 of the 5th movement
excised. Not very much decoration was present, but Yeh did most
of what was. Splendid player. We had dinner together before the
performance and I met his lovely 16 year old daughter, a
percussionist who had come to see the NE Conservatory facilities.

The only other work on the program was the oboe quartet, K. 370,
beautifully played by Laura Ahlbeck, oboeist.

I flew home yesterday and am still recovering. Got a cold, a
runny nose, and had a marvelous time. One eats quite will in
Boston. The day before the event there was a panel discussing
Schoenberg and Beethoven with Julie Levine of the Met and BSO as
part of the panel. It was searing analysis of the use of
contemporary music in enlgihtening the old.

Dan Leeson
DNLeeson@-----.net

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