Klarinet Archive - Posting 000109.txt from 2007/09
From: "Daniel Leeson" <dnleeson@-----.net>
Subj: RE: [kl] Neilsen Concerto Puzzelment
Date: Sat, 22 Sep 2007 14:17:33 -0400
I only admit that he is not frequently played. Whether or not he is a first
rate composer is not for me to say.
Dan Leeson
dnleeson@-----.net
SKYPE: dnleeson
-----Original Message-----
From: Fred Jacobowitz [mailto:fbjacobo@-----.net]
Sent: Saturday, September 22, 2007 11:09 AM
To: klarinet@-----.org
Subject: Re: [kl] Neilsen Concerto Puzzelment
Dan,
Question your intelligence? NEVER!!! And I don't mind you liking the
Spohr concerti. A chacun son gout. After all, Spohr's craftsmanship is
not in doubt. However, I do disagree with your statement: "That they
are rarely played is no reason to presume that they represent inferior
music."
Many is the time I am with another musician and a work by an obscure
composer is played (either on the radio or live) and we both agree that
"there is a reason this composer's music is not played much". I stand
by my statement that Spohr's music is inferior to what we have come to
agree is first-rate music. I myself have a predeliction for nonpareils
(chocolates). While I know they are really mediocre examples of
chocolate, I still love them. Admit it: Spohr, while a capable composer
(and very useful for learning pieces) and attractively simple to listen
to, is not a first-rate composer.
Fred Jacobowitz
Kol Haruach Klezmer Band
Ebony and Ivory Duo
On Sep 22, 2007, at 1:54 PM, Daniel Leeson wrote:
> 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
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
>
------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------
