Klarinet Archive - Posting 000290.txt from 2006/04

From: Adam Michlin <amichlin@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] New pieces for basset-horn
Date: Sun, 23 Apr 2006 09:30:10 -0400

Second rate, less well known, less commonly heard, they all have
their semantic drawbacks. A rose by any other name, I suppose. It is
unfortunate that people are quick to draw judgements based on
semantics rather than research and experience. I made that mistake
many years ago with Spohr, assuming he was a entirely a poor composer
based on what I was told and read, a mistake that was corrected upon
hearing his 6 German Songs for Voice, Clarinet and Piano. Good stuff...

Having later heard some of Spohr's symphonies, on the other hand, I
could describe much of Spohr's music by selectively quoting and
paraphrasing a recent and separate thread:

"Audience-friendly art music based in tonality, which contains a
recognizable melodic idea, uses dissonance with
discretion, exhibits craftmanship in keeping with the art music
tradition, is acoustic rather than electronic..."

... and is absolutely boring and torturous to the listener.

I'm not overly concerned with people who will mistake my use of
"second-rate" as being pejorative without bothering to listen to the
music. It really is their loss. I'm in a big Kraus phase right now, a
second rate composer everyone should check out. I have to admit that
I'm convinced that he's only second rate because he left out the most
important instrument in the orchestra and, as such, deserves
obscurity. <tongue almost firmly in cheek>

-Adam

At 08:42 AM 4/23/2006, Joseph Wakeling wrote:
>Adam Michlin wrote:
> > And, just in case anyone thinks that my use of the term second rate is
> > pejorative
>
>Whether or not in this context you mean it pejoratively, in general
>parlance it is used in this manner. It's better to find another term.
>
>I think it's also worth avoiding terms that suggest an abstract quality
>judgement, because attitudes change so much. Spohr was considered an
>all-time great, the successor to Beethoven, in his day. Now he's ...
>well, I would say "less-well-known".

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