Klarinet Archive - Posting 000004.txt from 2007/07

From: Martin Baxter <martinbaxter@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Reginald Kell: Part 10, Brahms Quintet, Op. 115
Date: Mon, 02 Jul 2007 16:58:04 -0400

Lelia,
Please accept my compliments on the thoroughness of this commentary.
I hope you will submit it to CASS magazine.
Martin
On 2 Jul 2007, at 20:20, Lelia Loban wrote:

>
> Johannes Brahms, Quintet in B minor, Op. 115.
> I Allegro
> II Adagio
> III Andante--Presto non assai, ma con sentimento
> IV Con moto--Un poco meno mosso
>
> Reginald Kell recorded with the Fine Arts Quartet (Leonard Sorkin,
> violin
> I; Joseph Stepansky, violin II; Sheppard Lehnhoff, viola; George
> Sopkin,
> cello) in 1951, just six months after their collaboration in the
> Mozart
> Quintet. Decca released the LP as DL 9732. Kell plays clarinet in
> A (as
> specified on the score). His tone color change at the break is
> easiest to
> hear in bar I-171, where he has quarter note b-flat followed by b-
> natural;
> the register change is clearly audible again in II-49, when he goes
> from
> b-natural to a; and in II-116, where he goes from c to b-flat. I
> like this
> interpretation, which closely follows the score most of the time.
> I think
> this is one of the better recordings in the 6-CD set. My only big
> quarrel
> with this performance is the omission of the first repeat, at I-70.
> Quibbles: I'd prefer to hear attacks played with less scrubbing of
> the bows
> by all of the string and I'd prefer a tad less portamento from cellist
> George Sopkin in the last movement. Kell's tonguing is delicate
> throughout
> (unlike some of his other performances) and I'm not always certain
> whether
> Kell slurs and tongues exactly as per the score in heavily-textured
> places
> where he's playing along with other people.
>
> To the extent possible, I compared the recording with editions
> available to
> these musicians in 1951. In the Library of Congress, I looked at the
> full-sized (folio) first edition of playing parts published in
> Germany by
> Simrock in 1892 (call no. M3.3 .B8 Op. 115 1892, donated to the LoC
> in 1987
> by Paul Nellen; I did not make copies, because the pages are too
> fragile to
> Xerox) and compared those with International 1071 and also with
> Bretikopf &
> Hartel's 1989 edition no. 6048, re-edited from the 1927 edition in
> 1989
> (call no. M562 .B8 Op. 115 1989). I own a copy of International
> 1071. I
> photocopied the Library of Congress's copy of the reduced full
> score of the
> first edition (all parts on each page, similar to a conductor's score)
> published by Simrock in Germany in 1892 (call no. M562 .B8 Op 115
> 1892). I
> didn't have a ruler with me in the LoC, but on my copy of the LoC
> photocopy
> of the Simrock reduced score the pages measure approximately 6-1/2
> inches
> wide x 10-1/4 inches tall (a good bit bigger than Eulenburg no.
> 239, a 1982
> miniature score that's nearly microscopic--since its Library of
> Congress
> call number is the same as Simrock's except for the date, be sure
> to ask
> for 1892 in the library).
>
> I also compared the 1989 Breitkopf parts with Simrock and
> International in
> the Library of Congress, but the library didn't have the first
> Breitkopf
> edition, edited by Hans Gal and published in 1927. For 1989
> Breitkopf,
> Wolfgang Meyer re-edited the clarinet part and Christoph Popper re-
> edited
> the string parts. TGal had direct access to Brahms's personal copy
> of the
> 1892 Simrock score and also to the autograph score. Meyer and
> Popper used
> microfilms of Brahms's personal copy of the 1892 Simrock score and
> also the
> autograph score, provided by Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in
> Vienna. The
> fact that Breitkopf bothered with a new edition indicates that,
> despite
> using the same source materials as Gal, the 1989 editors made
> changes. he
> introduction to the 1989 edition says it's re-edited "principally
> from" the
> 1927 edition, but it's unclear which emendations and comments are
> Gal's
> (therefore available to Kell et al) and which are Meyer's and Popper's
> (unavailable for the recording).
>
> International 1071 is undated, but I found International's copyright
> filing, from 1949. In the Library of Congress, I compared that 1949
> International first (call no. M562 .B8 Op. 115 1949) with my
> personal copy
> of International 1071 that I bought new about 10 years ago. The
> current
> edition is not re-edited: the two Internationals are identical
> except for
> the color of the front cover. International fails to credit an
> editor, but
> clearly did use one, though the great majority of of his or her
> emendations
> represent inaudible differences in notation preferences, not audible
> differences in musical content. International's notation choices
> follow
> Simrock's closely in the clarinet and cello parts, including
> replication of
> some odd typography from the first edition, as at clarinet II-24,
> where a
> decrescendo mark slants down at an unusually acute (space-saving)
> angle in
> both scores. Most of International's editing is in the violin and
> viola
> parts.
>
> Most of the phrase and expression markings are the same (exceptions
> noted
> below) in all these editions. Conveniently, both Breitkopf and
> International reproduce the rehearsal marks in the same places as
> in the
> Simrock 1892 first edition. It's feasible for different musicians
> to play
> from different editions for a successful rehearsal. Differences
> that would
> be *audible* between the Decca performance and the Simrock, Breitkopf
> (1989) and International eds. are so few (and IMHO so likely to
> result from
> rehearsal discussions among musicians who may not all be reading
> from the
> same edition, or even from "artistic license" rather than anything a
> musician sees on paper) that I'm unwilling to take a position on which
> edition Kell and the Fine Arts Quartet might have used except for a
> tentative speculation about Kell, based on II- 56-57, 62-63.
>
> In comparing the performance by Kell and the Fine Arts Quartet with
> the
> Simrock, Breitkopf (1989) and International scores, I give the
> clarinet
> notes in the clarinet's key, not at concert pitch. For notational
> preferences that don't affect the way the music sounds, I've given
> one or
> two examples below and then haven't bothered listing other examples
> of the
> same thing separately, except where I think there's an error or a real
> potential for confusion. When footnotes in the Breitkopf edition show
> where the autograph score differs from the Simrock first edition, but
> Breitkopf prefers to preserve the Simrock version as the playing score
> (apparently on evidence that Brahms made these changes himself
> during the
> publishing process), I don't note those variants here, with the
> exception
> of bars II-56-57 and 62-63. Most editions include an optional
> solo viola
> part as a substitute for the clarinet. I ignore those optional viola
> parts. Also, I don't include the Henle edition because it wasn't
> published
> until 2000, and was unavailable for the 1951 Decca recording.
>
> In general: International and 1989 Breitkopf add bar numbers (not
> present
> in Simrock) on the left margin of each line, but both also keep the
> original rehearsal letters from Simrock. There are no ossias on the
> original Simrock parts. International and 1989 Breitkopf both
> provide all
> instruments with ossias for entrances. International occasionally
> provides
> the string players with bowing marks (as at I-58, I-93) and
> position marks
> (as at I-4 and frequently thereafter). Nither Simrock nor 1989
> Breitkopf
> provides bowing marks or position marks. The two important
> instructions
> for mutes and then no mutes--"con sordino" for all the strings at
> the start
> of the Adagio and "senza sordino" for all the strings at the start
> of the
> Andantino--are the same in all of the editions including Simrock in
> full
> score and parts. All of the editions have the same pizzicato and arco
> markings for strings.
>
> For all instruments, an expression marking that appears above the
> staff in
> one editon often appears below the staff in the other. I've noted the
> first instance below in the specifics, but ignored many other
> examples.
> International and Breitkopf add many courtesy accidentals not found in
> Simrock. It's rare for Simrock to give a courtesy accidental where
> International and/or Breitkopf do not, although Simrock is
> conspicuously
> more generous with cautionary accidentals in the 2nd violin than in
> the
> other parts! In Simrock, nearly all of the cautionary accidentals
> are for
> the strings.
>
> In the second movement, in the long clarinet runs across the beat,
> International usually puts the 9, 11, etc. below the notes, inside
> the slur
> where one is present (see bars II-44, 52-53, 58-59, 63, etc.), while
> Simrock puts the numbers above the notes. Where sets of triplets
> continue
> for more than one bar, International is more likely to write in the
> 3 in a
> brace each time, or 3 in a brace above each set in the first bar,
> then "3"
> without the brace thereafter as a reminder, where Simrock often
> leaves off
> the braces on the first bar, writes in the "3" in that bar only, then
> counts on the musician to notice and continue the triplets.
>
> Simrock uses some notational shorthand inconsistently. Simrock's full
> score uses symbols to break up notes into dit-dit- dits, but in the
> Simrock
> set of parts, all the notes are written out for the strings except in
> slashed tremolos. For instance, in the viola in the Andantino at
> III-162,
> the Simrock full score shows a quarter note with two slashes
> through the
> stem and four dots above the note-head to stand in for four sixteenth
> notes, where International, Breitkopf and the Simrock viola part
> all show
> the four staccato 16th notes. However, in the same phrase, where the
> clarinet echoes the viola at III- 163, the Simrock full score and
> clarinet
> part both use the abbreviated notation, with dots over a quarter
> note. In
> bars immediately following one marked with the shorthand, Simrock's
> full
> score will use the slashed note again but sometimes omit the dots
> above (as
> in viola at III-163)--and almost always omits the dots for values
> longer
> than a quarter note (clarinet at III-163). 1989 Breitkopf follows the
> inconsistencies in the Simrock parts set, with the notes written
> out in
> full for the viola but not for the clarinet. Obviously the
> notation is
> more consistently accessible in International.
>
> Simrock, Breitkopf and International all are inconsistent in
> deciding where
> to use 64th notes and where to switch to slashed tremolos to be
> played the
> same as 64th notes. All three editors will mix both in the same
> bar, but
> often they choose different bars or different places in the bars. For
> instance, at bar I-65-66 in violin 1, Simrock has 16th notes
> alternating f
> and g, then ending bar 66 on two c's. International gets the same
> result
> by asking for 2 groups of 9, with each group shown as a dotted
> quarter note
> f and a dotted quarter g with a slashed tremolo sign and a 9 above
> each set
> in I-65, then one such group followed by 6 more 16th notes in I-66,
> then
> the two c's. See also bars I-186-187, bars II-54- 55 and
> elsewhere, not
> listed separately below. It looks to me as though all three
> editors made
> those notational choices for individual bars based on which method
> would
> best wrapping to the next line in the middle of a bar, something
> that all
> three editions handle reasonably well, given the difficulty of
> avoiding
> mid-bar wraps in the Adagio. The Simrock *full* score even has a
> mid-bar
> line-wrap in the Adagio, at II-56. (I don't count something as a
> mid-bar
> line wrap if the only part of the bar appearing at the end of a
> line is a
> key change and/or a time change. Preparing for key changes and time
> changes on the previous line makes the score more readable, not less.)
> Simrock's parts have two mid-bar line wraps in the viola, one in the
> clarinet and one in the cello. International has one mid-bar line-
> wrap in
> the clarinet, two in the viola and one in the cello. Breitkopf has
> only two
> mid-bar line wraps in the viola part and none in the other parts.
>
> Simrock's first edition parts would make a good, usable performance
> score
> except for the now-obsolete typography for the slashed tremolo sign
> (both
> in the parts and in the full score). That's a serious problem,
> because of
> the many passages for the strings in the Adagio in which 64th notes
> alternate *in the same bar* with fingered slashed tremolos.
> Simrock writes
> these slashed tremolos as if they were *pairs* of 64ths, with regular
> braces connecting what appear to be note stems, though they're
> not! The
> dangling *real* note stems (here, usually quarter-note stems) to
> tell the
> musician how long to hold the tremolo are easily overlooked, and in
> practice, the innocent string player is liable to find himself or
> herself
> seriously out of sync, jumping ahead of the others to the next bar,
> before
> realizing that an apparent pair of 64th notes, played as such, is
> really a
> slashed tremolo of quarter-note total duration. (See Simrock's second
> violin in the Adagio, II-61-69, for annoying examples.)
> International and
> 1989 Breitkopf update that visually confusing typography in favor of
> slashes that don't attach to any stems of their own and don't come
> anywhere
> near touching the note stems, so that there's no chance of
> confusion. I've
> never seen an autograph of this score and am curious how Brahms
> wrote these
> tremolos.
>
> I Allegro
>
> Bar I-13: in the Simrock full score, the crescendo is below the
> clarinet
> staff. In International, 1989 Breitkopf and the Simrock parts,
> it's above.
> (Notation only; not an audible difference. Below, I ignore the many
> additional examples of expression markings located differently, as
> long as
> the editor's intent is clear.)
>
> Bar I-30: In the clarinet, International and 1989 Bretikopf, the
> last note
> in the measure is a d with an accidental natural (after d# an
> octave lower
> earlier in the bar), but Simrock has no cautionary accidental on
> the last
> note, either in the full score or in the clarinet part. (Notation
> only;
> not an audible difference. Below, I ignore the many additional
> examples of
> the Breitkopf and International editors placing cautionary
> accidentals in a
> different octave than the octave where the previous accidental
> occurred.)
>
> Bar I-67-68 in the viola, here is a case where Simrock's scoring is
> clearer: all 64th notes in Simrock, but half the bar 64ths and the
> other
> half written as 64th tremolos in International. (I have not
> mentioned many
> similar differences below, except in special cases.)
>
> Bar I-70: All the editions I looked at have a repeat. Kell and the
> quartet
> omit this repeat. (Phooey!)
>
> Bar I-79: the clarinet and both violins (all editions) have
> crescendo and
> decrescendo in this bar. The viola also has the crescendo and
> decrescendo
> there in International, Breitkopf and the Simrock parts, but not in
> the
> Simrock full score.
>
> Bar I-135: The International and 1989 Breitkoph editions give a
> cautionary
> natural on the clarinet's throat g, following g-sharp in the previous
> measure. The Simrock ed. has no cautionary accidental. (Notation
> only;
> not an audible difference. Below, I ignore further instances of
> cautionary
> accidentals in bars following the bar where the previous accidental
> occurred. In general, Simrock does not print these cautionary
> accidentals
> but the other editions do.)
>
> Bar I-145: In the cello, Simrock has a slur between the first two
> notes,
> f-sharp to g, where International and 1989 Bretikopf have no slur.
> The
> Simrock parts and International have a crescendo arrow beginning in
> bar 144
> and throughout bar 145. The Simrock full score does not have that
> crescendo arrow for cello or viola but does have it for all other
> instruments. Breitkopf gives the arrow to everyone but puts it in
> parentheses for cello and viola.
>
> Bar I-167: Simrock, Breitkopf and International have a diminuendo
> marked
> for all the strings on that bar (the clarinet comes in on the final
> 8th
> note and also has "dim."). Simrock (both in the parts and in the full
> score) has not only the diminuendo but also an arrow for crescendo
> on the
> first three notes and an arrow for decrescendo on the next two
> notes for
> second violin and viola, with the crescendo arrow directly below
> "dim.".
> Putting a crescendo and a dimenuendo on the same notes seems to be an
> obvious misprint in Simrock, but the other editors fail to fix it.
> International prints the error in second violin and viola, then
> adds the
> error to the first violin as well (but not to the cello). 1989
> Breitkopf
> prints the error in the second violin, while omitting the crescendo
> arrows
> for the viola (and not adding them to the other instruments).
>
> Bar I-194: In the viola part on the full score, Simrock saves
> space by
> giving the viola one bar in treble clef, but there is no switch to
> treble
> clef in International, 1989 Breitkopf or the Simrock individual
> viola part.
>
> Bar I-203: There is an error in the 1st violin part in the
> International
> edition, where the dot is left off the first note (c should be a
> dotted
> quarter). The spacing indicates the dot was intended; maybe it's
> just a
> misprint on my copy (the kind that results when a bit of crud on
> the paper
> blocks the ink as the sheet feeds through the press). The note is
> correct
> in Simrock (full score and part) and 1989 Breitkopf.
>
> II Adagio
>
> Bar II-21-22: For 1st and 2nd violin, Simrock and 1989 Breitkopf
> show one
> slur covering all the notes in both bars (they are in 3/4 with 3
> quarter
> notes per bar there), but the parallel constuction in the cello has a
> separate slur over each bar. International gives each bar a
> separate slur,
> for all three instruments. This is an error in International, and
> probably
> results from the fact that in the Simrock parts for both violins,
> that slur
> wraps from bar 21 at the end of a line to bar 22 at the beginning
> of the
> next line. It's easy to miss the fact that the slur does wrap for the
> violins, since the two slurs for cello are unambiguously separated
> (these
> bars are on the same line in the cello part) in the first edition.
> (The
> questioon doesn't come up in viola and clarinet because they don't
> have the
> same phrase.)
>
> Bar II-26-27: I think Kell slurs from the g-sharp ending II-26 into
> the a
> above the staff that begins II-27.
>
> Bar II-31: Sounds as if Kell tongues subtly from middle g-sharp up
> to high
> g-sharp (slurred in the scores).
>
> Bar II-34-36: Kell tongues his g-sharp in II-35 and then his g-
> natural in
> II-36. The marking on the score there (all editions I saw) has the
> slur
> covering all of bars II-34-35, including the d that ends bar II-35,
> but
> then a separate slur marking from the d up to the g-natural
> beginning bar
> II-36, as if this d that should have been slurred should also be
> tongued.
> I suspect that my failure to understand this marking is a
> deficiency in my
> education, but I'm guessing it means to tongue the note but do it
> gently,
> and that Kell's choice is the correct one. (The same marking
> occurs again
> elsewhere, as at II-120-122 and at III-68-69).
>
> Bar II-55: Kell does extra tonguing for emphasis here, too, breaking
> between the second and third notes. He tongues again between the
> sixth and
> seventh and the seventh and eighth notes, but not as marcato as he
> takes
> the last three notes where the slur has ended in the score.
>
> Bar II-56-57 and 62-63, a 1989 Breitkopf footnote shows additional
> notes
> for the clarinet that appear in the autograph but that Brahms
> evidently
> decided to cut while preparing for publication. Kell doesn't play
> those
> notes. In other pieces, Kell tends to play as many notes as he can
> get,
> sometimes to the point of usurping them from another instrument
> (see my
> comments on Corelli). Since I don't know for certain that these
> footnoted
> additional notes appeared in the 1927 Breitkopf edition (although I
> do know
> they appeared in no other printed edition available to Kell at the
> time), I
> can't use the footnote as evidence that Kell did not use the Breitkopf
> edition. However, I do think that either (a) Kell hadn't seen the
> autograph--otherwise, he would have claimed those notes and played
> them--or
> (b) the quartet threatened to beat Kell up if he played them.
>
> Bar II-61: Kell tongues the entire second half of the bar,
> marcato. All
> versions of the score I've seen indicate half and half: slur 16th
> notes
> b-natural, f, e, d then tongue 16th notes c, d and 8th note b.
> This is one
> of the few places in this performance where Kell markedly
> exaggerates a
> phrase this way, although he does far more of this sort of thing in
> many of
> the other performances in the Decca set.
>
> Bar II-61-69 in second violin and viola: Here is a striking example
> of how
> difficult this movement would be for sight- readers, because of the
> mixture
> of slashed tremolos and 64th notes, varying from one edition to
> another.
>
> Bar II-70, second violin, last two (identical) double-stops in the
> measure,
> the upper note is a. For the lower note, Simrock's full score
> alone has
> accidental g-natural, following an accidental g-sharp in the same
> octave
> earlier in the bar. On the same beat, the clarinet in A (in
> clarinet key
> of D minor) has b-flat (orchestral g-natural) an octave higher.
> The other
> instruments add c-natural and e-flat to the ensemble chord.
> International,
> 1989 Breitkopf and the Simrock second violin part have the accidental
> g-sharp early in the bar but no accidental on the last two double-
> stops,
> and therefore the second violin's g's stay sharped, resulting in an
> edgy
> passing-tone of c, e-flat, g-natural (clarinet), g-sharp and a. The
> alternative in the full score, c, e-flat, g-natural and a, would sound
> considerably less-edgy, but this beat is in a modulation between
> keys where
> either g-sharp or g-natural will work in the progression. In this
> performance (as in all other performances I've checked), the second
> violin
> plays g-sharp.
>
> Bar II-70-71: Kell's altissimo is painfully shrill here.
>
> Bar II-81-94: The Simrock clarinet part, International and
> Breitkopf all
> show the option (as an ossia) of switching to B- flat clarinet for
> these
> bars. (The Simrock full score doesn't show this option.) The
> fingerings
> are considerably easier for clarinet in B-flat, but I can't imagine
> many
> clarinet players would make this switch, since it's asking for
> trouble to
> pick up a cold clarinet for a few bars. It sounds to me as if Kell
> sticks
> with clarinet in A. Kell's tones on the two forte, accented notes
> below
> the staff at II-83-84 (g-sharp in 83, then e-sharp in 84, assuming
> he stays
> on clarinet in A) are ugly honks.
>
> Bar II-87: In Simrock and Breitkopf, the key change from (orchestra)
> B-flat minor to G-sharp minor occurs before bar 87 (at F). In
> International, the key change occurs a bar later, before bar 88.
> Thus, in
> bar 87, Simrock's notes for first violin are quarter notes f-sharp
> four
> spaces above the staff, d-sharp three spaces above the staff and
> half-note
> c-sharp two lines above the staff. International's notes for 1st
> violin
> are quarter notes g-flat 4 lines above the staff, e-flat three
> lines above
> the staff and half-note d-flat three spaces above the staff. A
> clarinet
> player might play an f-sharp the same as a g-flat and so forth, but
> string
> players are taught to make a pitch distinction between sharps and
> flats.
> Since the cello, the viola and the clarinet echo each other in the
> 16th
> notes in bar 87, relocating the key change could make a difference
> in the
> way the music sounds. I think International's editor has no business
> altering Brahms's score. It's up to the musicians to accomodate each
> other's pitch, as Kell and the quartet do here.
>
> Bar II-119 in the viola, there is a misprint in the International
> edition,
> where the first note, b, should be an 8th note (as in Simrock parts
> and
> full score and in Breitkopf), not a dotted 8th.
>
> III Andantino--Presto non assai, ma con sentimento
> Bar III-2: Kell tongues the first and third notes of bar III-2,
> as many
> other performers do. All editions show a slur over the entire
> first bar
> through the third beat of the second bar, which is quarter note c.
> I can't
> find an editorial justification for tonguing the quarter note, a, that
> begins the bar; but for the third note, c, the 1989 Breitkopf
> footnote says
> that, in the autograph manuscript, the slur ends (and a new slur
> begins) a
> beat earlier, with a new slur beginning from the c, though Breitkopf
> follows the editions in putting the slur ending on the c with a new
> one
> beginning a beat later on the 8th notes.
>
> Bar III-5: Similarly, Kell tongues the first and third beats of
> this bar.
> He continues with this phrasing; further instances not noted
> separately.
>
> Bar III-10, Kell may omit the mordant here. Since the first violin
> has a
> parallel passage without the mordant, it's possible that Kell
> plays his
> mordant but the first violin drowns it out. It should be audible.
> Otherwise, why would Brahms have written it for clarinet alone?
>
> Bar III-27-29 in second violin, from the g-e double stop that's
> tied from
> 27 into 28, Simrock slurs to the f-sharp-a double-stop in III-29,
> indicating the bow should not be stopped (either lifted or, less
> dramatically, reversed) between those notes. However, the Simrock
> parts,
> 1989 Breitkopf and International all omit the slur, indicating the bow
> should be stopped.
>
> Bar III-44 is rehearsal letter B in International, Breitkopf and the
> Simrock parts. The B is missing in Simrock's full score but the
> remaining
> rehearsal letters are the same in all these editions.
>
> Bar III-110: In the cello, Simrock's full score shows the first
> brace of
> 16th notes staccato, with the second brace of 16th notes not
> staccato. The
> Simrock parts, International and 1989 Breitkopf editions put
> staccato marks
> on both braces of 16th notes in that bar. (The following three
> bars of
> 16th notes have no staccato in any of these editions.) However, I
> don't
> think these notation differences amount to anything audible. In this
> performance, the cellist plays the whole bar staccato and continues
> staccato for the subsequent three bars, matching the performance of
> the
> other strings, who generally play their 16th notes staccato in this
> movement unless they're marked slurred. The strings follow normal
> performance practice in this regard. A slur for legato would tell the
> string player not to change the bow direction on each note, but
> here, with
> no slur, the duration of a 16th note is already so short in this
> "Presto,
> non assai mai con sentimento" in 2/4 that, as a practical matter,
> there's
> not much of a difference between playing staccato and simply
> changing the
> bow direction as the score indicates.
>
> Bar III-108-111: the two violins make some horrible noises here.
> They're
> not together and they're out of tune.
>
> Bar III-174-177: International and Breitkopf correct a series of
> misprints
> in Simrock's first violin part and full score. There's no question
> these
> are misprints in Simrock, because each of these bars comes up an
> 8th note
> too short. We are in 2/4 time. The quarter note b two spaces
> above the
> staff that ends bar III-174 should tie over to an 8th note b in bar
> III-175. Simrock has the open space for the 8th note b that begins
> bar
> 175, but the note and its tie to the previous bar are not there.
> The same
> error occurs with the next bars: in III-176, Simrock leaves out the
> 8th
> note a and its tie to the a in bar III-175; and in bar III-177,
> Simrock
> leaves out the 8th note g-natural at the top of the staff with its
> tie to
> the g- natural that ends bar III-176. In the full score, spaces
> sit empty
> for the missing notes. In the first violin playing part, the ties are
> missing and there are printed dots where the missing notes should be.
>
> IV Con moto--Un poco meno mosso
>
> Bar IV-64: In 2/4 time, the cello plays dotted quarter B slurred
> up to 8th
> note C-sharp on the first repeat. For the second repeat, the cello
> holds
> the B for the full two beats of the bar. Simrock's full score
> shows the
> two different endings overlaid on the same bar before the double-dot
> repeat. Simrock's cello part, 1989 Breitkopf and International
> write out
> this difference as separate first and second endings for the cello,
> although the other instruments (playing that bar the same way the
> second
> time as the first) have a simple double-dot repeat there. (Not an
> audible
> difference.)
>
> Bar IV-92: In the cello, Simrock's full score and 1989 Breitkopf
> have no
> expression text. Simrock's cello part and International's cello
> part mark
> the first note of that bar sforzando.
>
> Bar IV-93-94: In both repeats, the fiddles are out of tune with
> Kell and
> with each other.
>
> Bar IV-102: In the first violin, International is easier to read,
> altering
> Simrock's awkward brace and slur placement in the second brace of 16th
> notes. (Notation only; not an audible difference. I forgot to
> check this
> bar in Breitkopf.)
>
> IV-117, 118, 119: International has staccatos on all the notes in the
> first violin, where Simrock's full score, Simrock's parts and
> Breitkopf
> have no staccatos on any of those notes. Here again, the
> difference looks
> bigger on paper than it sounds to the ear. Leonard Sorkin,
> appropriately
> not calling attention to himself (Kell has the lead on the clarinet),
> doesn't play out with a forcible staccato, but the necessary
> brevity of
> these 16th notes with no slurs makes them sound staccato without any
> special effort.
>
> Bar IV-157-158 in the clarinet, all editions have a crescendo and
> decrescendo on the first note (dotted quarter in an Andantino con
> moto in
> 2/4 time) in each of these bars. It's interesting that Kell, who
> often
> uses "wwaaAAOOoow" phrasing in other compositions, doesn't take that
> marking here as license to do the same elsewhere in this Quintet,
> where his
> playing generally sounds more traditional than elsewhere in the
> Decca set.
> I think the other four musicians influence his phrasing quite a lot
> in this
> Quintet--hold him back from his more melodramatic impulses.
>
> Bar IV-160, the International edition puts a fermata over the
> double bar
> after the second ending. I don't think I've ever heard a
> performance where
> the musicians failed to pause there, before the key change and
> switch to
> 3/8 time. 1989 Breitkopf has no fermata. Simrock's full score has no
> fermata and all but one of the Simrock parts haven't got it, either--
> though, oddly enough, the fermata is typeset on the viola part alone.
> Somebody has pencilled that fermata into both of the violin parts
> in the
> Library of Congress's copy of the parts, but this is not a pristine
> copy
> originally filed with the Copyright Office and the handwriting on
> it could
> date from any time between 1892 and Paul Nellen's donation of this
> set in
> 1987.
>
> Bar IV-162-165: Bad intonation in the violins again--here and
> III-108-111
> are the only two really bad moments I hear in the performance.
>
> Lelia Loban
> In a letter to Edward Hanslick regarding a December 12, 1891
> performance,
> Brahms wrote, "...Joachim has sacrificed the virginity of his
> Quartet to my
> newest things. Hitherto he has carefully protected the chaste
> sanctuary
> but now, in spite of all my protestations, he insists that I invade
> it with
> clarinet and piano, with trio and quintet....Tell Mandeczewski (or
> let him
> read) that the quintet 'adagio con sordini' was played as long and
> as often
> as the clarinettist could hold out."
> --Johannes Brahms, published in "Neue Freie Presse," July 1, 1897;
> quoted
> in Florence May, "The Life of Brahms," Vol. II, p. 625-626.
> Neptune, NJ:
> Paganiniana, 1981 (1st London: E. Arnold, 1905).
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
>

------------------------------------------------------------------