Klarinet Archive - Posting 000116.txt from 2008/11

From: "Dan Leeson" <dnleeson@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Re: Doctor Atomic
Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2008 10:22:17 -0500

Wayne, my problem was understanding how a single contrabass clarinet could
play so loud.

Dan

----- Original Message -----
From: "Wayne Thompson" <wthompson7274@-----.net>
To: <klarinet@-----.org>
Sent: Sunday, November 09, 2008 2:28 PM
Subject: Re: [kl] Re: Doctor Atomic

I saw the Met production also. Perhaps I have less experience with opera and
with modern music than Steve Heinemann or Dan Leeson; maybe my viewpoint is
more representative of less experienced opera goers. I was very moved by the
drama, and wanted to be moved by the music. Now, 24 hours later, I can't
remember the music, and I wish I did, but there was not tunes for me to grab
onto. I suppose this is my unfamiliarity Adams music or the genre in
general. I loved the poetry, the individual words were so lovingly enounced
and presented, and the close ups of the video production made the language
even better. In the last aria of the 1st act, Oppenheimer sings words from
the poetry of John Donne, and it was incredibly moving for me, yet I didn't
understand the poetry or the music to say why it was moving. Interesting;
this must be how in beginners in any art enjoy a good work.

And I heard the Contrabass Clarinet, too, Dan, and thought it wonderful and
effective.

Wayne T

PS These live Met HD broadcasts are great! We discovered them last season
with Hansel und Gretel on New Years Day. I recommend them without
reservation. They have the precision and content of good DVDs, but they also
have a least some of the ambience of a live Met matinee. Great fun. The next
is November 22, The Damnation of Faust. Research your local movie theaters;
here in Bakersfield, California, there seems to be no advertising at all.

----- Original Message ----
From: Dan Leeson <dnleeson@-----.net>
To: klarinet@-----.org
Sent: Sunday, November 9, 2008 12:42:23 PM
Subject: Re: [kl] Re: Doctor Atomic

Thanks for you input on the matter of Dr. Atomic, Stephen. I was not as
impressed with the music as you were, but I thought that its dramatic
purpose was sensational. There was nothing wrong with the music, I just
found it too angular. But it was the instrumental usage that fascinated me,
particularly the use of what I think was at least one contrabass clarinet.

Dan Leeson
dnleeson@-----.net

----- Original Message -----
From: "Heinemann, Stephen" <sjh@-----.edu>
To: <klarinet@-----.org>
Sent: Sunday, November 09, 2008 11:17 AM
Subject: [kl] Re: Doctor Atomic

> On 11/9/08 4:01 AM, Dan Leeson <dnleeson@-----.net> wrote:
>
>> Saw the production of Dr. Atomic from the Met in NY and in several
>> sections I heard what has to be the loudest contrabass clarinet I ever
>> heard or else two contrabass clarinetists blasting away. There was also
>> what I think may have been an A-flat piccolo clarinet (or else an I-flat
>> clarinet player who could play up to high A). Anyone know about the
>> clarinet needs of John Adams Dr. Atomic.
>>
>> The opera is very effective dramatically, but musically, that's another
>> matter.
>
> Sorry, I can't help out with any clarinet specifics.
>
> I saw Doctor Atomic early this year in Chicago and thought it was one of
> the
> most profound works of art I've seen. I was especially impressed with the
> music, which I found to be powerful and moving -- harmonically and
> melodically convincing, rhythmically fascinating, and brilliantly
> orchestrated. To each his own.
>
> Just to be sure, I went to the local dodecaplex yesterday and saw the same
> performance that Dan did. My initial impressions of the music were
> reinforced, and I'm looking forward to the release of the recording. The
> staging and sets (by a different director and designer) seemed very static
> and were not nearly as compelling as those in Chicago, although that may
> have been in part an illusion forced by all the close-up camera angles.
>
> Steve Heinemann
> Bradley University
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
>

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