Klarinet Archive - Posting 000128.txt from 2007/09

From: "K S" <krsmav@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Spohr Concertos
Date: Sat, 22 Sep 2007 22:55:12 -0400

Re: [kl] Spohr Concertos

The Spohr concertos are very much to my taste. I've been lucky enough
to hear all four live over the years, though I agree that performances
are rare. Stanley Drucker likes #3 and has performed it often. I
think the rarity has several causes.

First, they are *really* difficult -- much more so than, say, the
Weber concertos, which are within the reach of good high school
players. There are certainly high schoolers who can conquer the
Spohrs, but not many.

Second, they're are long. It's hard to convince an orchestra to put
things that big on a program, particularly because Spohr is unfamiliar
to orchestras and so requires more rehearsal, and is also unfamiliar
to audiences.

Third, the orchestral parts are hard to get and are probably available
only on rental.

Finally, while Spohr was a considerable composer, he stands a step
below Weber. I think Dan takes an indefensible position when he
claims that there can be no judgment of merit, independent of taste.
While it's reasonable to say that a preference for Schumann songs over
Schubert is a matter of taste, a preference for Mozart over, say, Abb=E9
Vogler is not a matter of taste alone. No rational person would
prefer Florence Foster Jenkins to Renata Tebaldi, and anyone who
claims that it's *entirely* a matter of taste just is being silly.

And that's my taste.

Ken Shaw

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