Klarinet Archive - Posting 000250.txt from 2009/01

From: "Dan Leeson" <dnleeson@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] A bit of history
Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2009 12:31:52 -0500

My book, entitled "gran Partitta" is just about done. It will be finished
by the end of February, assuming no problems.

In the section of the book that deals with playing a string quintet
arrangement of K. 361, I spoke of having done so with a group that consisted
of a pair of clarinet and basset horns plus a bass clarinet. And what I
learned was that by doing so, I had become part of a long tradition of such
activities.

Christopher Weait, Emeritus Professor of bassoon at Ohio State, brought to
my attention an anecdote about a social event at Mendelssohn's home in which
clarinetist virtuoso Carl Baermann (1811-1885) entertained the guests with
an arrangement of a Beethoven quartet played by two clarinets, two basset
horns, and a bassoon. Baermann made many such arrangements of works by
Mozart, Haydn, Weber, and others. So it appears that the group that I played
with was part of a long tradition of playing string quartets and quintets
with clarinets. See Pamela Weston's, Clarinet Virtuosi of the Past, Robert
Hale & Co., p. 143.

In speaking about how my clarinet quartet (and quintet when we had a second
basset horn) did things, I included a special footnote that you may enjoy.
You will recognize the baby spoken of in the story. He was, at the time, the
age in which one wears diapers and little else. The anecdote -- which I
include in the book -- reads, "The group [of clarinet players] rotated
homes at which we would play. When we met to play at Irving Neidich's home
in Manhattan, we sat in a sort of circular way so that we could all see each
other. And not infrequently, the infant, Charles, would crawl into the
center of the group and sit there while we played. He never cried or became
frightened when we were playing loudly. He just sat there turning his head
or body to look at the player executing a line that interested him. The
infant could have been nothing but a musician."

Dan Leeson

------------------------------------------------------------------
The 2009 Woodwind.Org Donation Drive is going on right now - see
https://secure.donax-us.com/donation/ for more information.
------------------------------------------------------------------