Klarinet Archive - Posting 000143.txt from 2008/01

From: Martin Baxter <martinbaxter@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Re: Bartok Contrasts' B-flat clarinet part
Date: Tue, 08 Jan 2008 05:03:03 -0500

Alex
Surely anyone with the technique to play Contrasts would call
themselves a "serious clarinettist". They surely must therefore
have an A. Has anyone ever heard a performance of the Brahms quintet
played on a Bb and transposed?
Martin
On 7 Jan 2008, at 18:10, Alexander Brash wrote:

> butbutbut! You can't do the low Es! Unless you had some kind of
> extension
> I guess?
>
> On this one, I kind of agree with Dan, caveating it with the statement
> that you should consider carefully the composer you're dealing
> with, and
> why the instrument was chosen. I don't think anyone is going to
> argue that
> Bartok chose the two clarinets in this piece for anything *but*
> color and
> character considerations, and as such it should be respected in
> performance. The name of the piece is "contrasts" after all, not
> "medium
> well please" :) It's the same issue with violinists fingering the
> opening
> of the third movement.
>
> Of course if your options are not to share this great piece with an
> audience, or to play it entirely on Bb (if you didn't have access
> to an
> A), then of course I'd say perform it all on Bb :)
>
> That said - I cheat on some of the changes in the third movement
> because
> I'd otherwise never make it at the tempo we like to go. On an
> unrelated
> note, it makes one of the passages phenomenally easier ;)
>
> There is an excellent recording of this put out recently by a rather
> famous clarinetist that does the first page of the first movement
> on the
> Bb, and at some point that would not be possible if not in a studio,
> switches to an A clarinet (gasp!).
>
>
>
> On Mon, January 7, 2008 9:34 am, Margaret Thornhill wrote:
>> Both of my copies of the Bartok Contrasts (Boosey and Hawkes) were
>> printed with two clarinet parts. One of them is entirely for
>> clarinet in
>> B-flat
>>
>> There is nothing arrogant about a clarinetist playing the piece on
>> one
>> clarinet. Some people actually consider the first movement easier in
>> B-flat.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Margaret Thornhill
>> Artist/Teacher of Clarinet
>> Los Angeles
>> http://www.margaretthornhill.com
>>
>>
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>
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