Klarinet Archive - Posting 000105.txt from 2007/09

From: "Daniel Leeson" <dnleeson@-----.net>
Subj: RE: [kl] Neilsen Concerto Puzzelment
Date: Sat, 22 Sep 2007 13:54:56 -0400

Fred, it is purely a matter of taste. And if I like Spohr but you don't,
that does not mean that one of us is wrong. I find substance in the Spohr
concerti. You don't. But it is chutzpah for you to lecture me as if I were
a Jr. High School student simply because you find the works unworthy.
Everybody to their own taste.

Just keep in mind that all I said was that, "Whenever the subject of the
"best" clarinet concerto arises (and I am staying out of that final
selection, thank you), I'm always surprised that hardly anyone ever mentions
the Spohr concerti. That they are rarely
played is no reason to presume that they represent inferior music."

That was a nice, calm, unprepossessing, conservative view. You don't like
them. Don't play them. I find them harmonically imaginative, expertly
constructed, melodically delightful, and fitting the instrument like a
glove.

You can question my intelligence, but not my taste. That is much too
personal to question.

Dan Leeson
dnleeson@-----.net
SKYPE: dnleeson

-----Original Message-----
From: Fred Jacobowitz [mailto:fbjacobo@-----.net]
Sent: Saturday, September 22, 2007 10:17 AM
To: klarinet@-----.org
Subject: Re: [kl] Neilsen Concerto Puzzelment

Dan,
Really, now, just because they are clarinet solos and have fun
technical passages doesn't make the Spohr concerti ( or anything else
by Spohr I've heard or played) first-rate music. To say that they are
of equal quality with, for example, Haydn or Mozart is just plain
silly. Such relativism is antithetical to fine art. While all art may
be laudable as a human expression, the quality of that art is surely
just as observably geat or as comparing, for example, Pat Riley (when
he was a player) to Michael Jordan. Both good enough players to be in
the NBA but NOT equal, nor was Riley an example of a GREAT player such
as Jordan, Larry Bird, Kareem Jabar, etc...
To sum up, yes, they are inferior to what we as artists consider
'great music' and to what we clarinet players almost universally judge
to be great concerti.

Fred Jacobowitz

Kol Haruach Klezmer Band
Ebony and Ivory Duo
On Sep 22, 2007, at 12:21 PM, Daniel Leeson wrote:

> Whenever the subject of the "best" clarinet concerto arises (and I am
> staying out of that final selection, thank you), I'm always surprised
> that
> hardly anyone ever mentions the Spohr concerti. That they are rarely
> played
> is no reason to presume that they represent inferior music.
>
> Dazzling pieces.
>
> Dan Leeson
> dnleeson@-----.net
> SKYPE: dnleeson
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Fred Jacobowitz [mailto:fbjacobo@-----.net]
> Sent: Saturday, September 22, 2007 8:43 AM
> To: klarinet@-----.org
> Subject: Re: [kl] Neilsen Concerto Puzzelment
>
>
> Sean,
> I respectfully beg to differ. While this work has wonderful technical
> challenges and a great story line behind it, I find it frankly, ugly. I
> guess I'm just not that much a fan of dark, dissonant northern European
> music.
> I think that most people would agree that the best concerto we have is
> obviously the Mozart K622. After that, there is plenty of room for
> discussion. My personal favorite 20th c. concerto is the Copland,
> followed by the Francaix (talk about technical challenges!). I also
> recommend listening to the Uhl concerto, which almost nobody knows,
> unfortunately and the Manevich (which is unfortunately, not available).
> And, if you want dissonant, there's the absolutely wonderful work of
> genius: the Corigliano concerto!
> LET THE FLAME WAR BEGIN!!!!!! ;-)
>
> Fred Jacobowitz
>
> Kol Haruach Klezmer Band
> Ebony and Ivory Duo
> On Sep 22, 2007, at 11:28 AM, Sean Osborn wrote:
>
>>> I was the only one within 3 years of graduating that played this
>> piece on a
>>> recital. I do not think it's as prevalent as a lot of people think.
>> Cardillo
>>> didn't want me playing it - I insisted.
>>>
>>> kim
>>
>> That's a shame, because I believe it is our greatest concerto. If
>> you're serious about becoming a clarinetist, you need to learn this
>> piece before your freshman year of University is over. If you're
>> lagging behind the people who decided at 13 they want to be a
>> clarinetist, you can still catch up. I insist that all of my music
>> majors learn it before they graduate from UW.
>>
>> Sean
>> www.osbornmusic.com
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
>

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