Klarinet Archive - Posting 000000.txt from 2010/06

From: Tim Roberts <timr@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Mozart and staccato
Date: Tue, 01 Jun 2010 13:04:11 -0400

On Mon, 31 May 2010 13:24:58 +1000, "Williams, Kathy"
<Kathy.Williams@-----.com>
> This morning I was treated to a fine recording of the Mozart Clarinet concerto by Jack Brymer with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. While the piece was played most sensitively and beautifully, I felt some of the sparkle missing because of an absence of staccato in favour of legato runs. Now, I understand there are as many ways to play Mozart as there are clarinet players, but it left me mulling over the question, when it comes to Mozart, what is too little or too much? I myself am in favour of more staccato, but then, staccato is a strength of mine. Then again, I realise it is not the Neilsen concerto.
>

This is a question for which there is no single answer. We can't ask
the man to tell us what he intended. In fact, we can't even go back and
look at a manuscript for guidance. Finding your own approach is a
matter of studying the piece, studying other works that Mozart did,
studying period performance practices, and blending all of this in with
your own interpretations.

Personally, my favorite recording of K.622 is Antony Pay with the
Academy of Ancient Music, played on a reproduction of a period basset
clarinet. Tony plays with a relatively staccato style in this
recording, but he has also stated on this very mailing list that he uses
a more legato style when he plays it today, in part because of increased
technical proficiency with the instrument.

--
Tim Roberts, timr@-----.com
Providenza & Boekelheide, Inc.

_______________________________________________
Klarinet mailing list
Klarinet@-----.com
http://klarinet-list.serve-music.com