Klarinet Archive - Posting 000202.txt from 2007/02

From: "dnleeson" <dnleeson@-----.net>
Subj: RE: [kl] Kell
Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2007 13:48:48 -0500

Jim, I was right in the middle of things when Kell came and, from
my perspective, the ONLY thing focused on was his vibrato (which
I never found particularly distinctive in any case, but it gave a
number of important American players the opportunity to jump down
his throat). I don't think I ever heard a single criticism of his
rubato. It was all vibrato.

An about a year or so before he died, Rosie Mazzeo was still
citing Kell's vibrato as the main reason for his downfall in the
U.S. Whenever he got on that subject, I changed the discussion to
some other subject. It was something that I did not want to
discuss with him.

Dan Leeson
DNLeeson@-----.net

-----Original Message-----
From: James Sclater [mailto:Sclater@-----.edu]
Sent: Thursday, February 22, 2007 9:54 AM
To: klarinet@-----.org
Subject: Re: [kl] Kell

It has been very interesting to read the various comments, both
negative
and positive, about Mr. Kell. About ten years ago I had the
pleasure to
research his life and work in preparation for what turned into a
series
of articles for the ICA journal. From what I have learned, the
rubato
aspect of his playing was as much an issue as the vibrato. His
playing
seemed to inspire intense reaction, both positive and negative.
Those
who judge his playing by the Decca recording he made in the USA
get only
a small part of the picture. In 1997, Steve Trier gave me a copy
of a
memorial tribute to Kell which he put together for the BBC after
Kell
died. There are several excerpts on it which contain some of the
most
wonderful playing I ever hope to hear.

In 1961, I had the pleasure of hearing Kell play the
Vaughan-Williams
Folk Song Studies in a mini-recital in Mobile, Alabama. By this
time he
had not played professionally for about nine years, but he made
such
glorious music that day. His individual approach to the
instrument
taught me a great deal. It makes me wonder whether his many
critics
really took the time to listen closely to what he was trying to
do.

Jim Sclater

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