Klarinet Archive - Posting 000054.txt from 2009/02

From: "Dan Leeson" <dnleeson@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] Brahms quintet
Date: Tue, 03 Feb 2009 10:20:54 -0500

Cundy Bettony, the publishers of that Brahms quintet for a B-flat clarinet,
made a number of works available that required an A clarinet in just such a
transposition. It was not done to ease the burden of the strings, but to
make repertoire available for clarinet players who did not have an A
clarinet. They also did the Mozart quintet, too.

There is no purpose in playing that edition, providing you have an A
clarinet. I'm surprised that this particular edition is beginning to have a
patina of authenticity, despite the fact that it has none.

Whatever sonic character the key of the Brahms quintet brings to a
performance is going to be trampled on by such a transposition.

When I was a kid, some local players invited me to play the Mozart quintet.
I didn't have an A at that time, and I couldn't transpose, so all the string
players tuned their instruments a half step lower.

It changed the character of the work dramatically. Don't do it.

Dan Leeson

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