Klarinet Archive - Posting 000025.txt from 2010/06

From: "Karl Krelove" <karlkrelove@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] clarinets in original key
Date: Thu, 03 Jun 2010 08:15:57 -0400

I often wonder as we kick this issue around periodically why it is that
trumpet and horn players in the free-lance orchestras at least in the
Philadelphia area don't seem to care about what instrument their parts are
written for (except to get the transposition right). Most of the local
trumpet players here play everything orchestral on a C trumpet (they like
the brilliance and flexibility) unless a piccolo trumpet is needed (band
players of course play Bb trumpets because band arrangers don't know about
anything else). I've never seen a French horn player show up for a job with
anything but one horn - usually a double (Bb-F) to make higher notes easier
to play. These brass players transpose everything (maybe brass players are
just more macho by nature?). And their instruments are among the least
expensive in the ensemble.

This says nothing about whether we're too anal or they're much too casual,
but I always find the contrast in attitude toward using "correct"
instruments interesting. The last trumpet player I asked if anyone he knew
played A or F trumpets when called for in the music, he looked at me as
though I had two heads.

Karl

-----Original Message-----
From: Lelia Loban [mailto:lelialoban@-----.net]
Sent: Thursday, June 03, 2010 7:53 AM
To: klarinet@-----.com
Subject: [kl] clarinets in original key

Nancy Buckman wrote,
>>I hate transposing, so I bought "transposing" instruments. I have been
>>asked to leave many times because I refused to transpose. And it wasn't a
>>pitch issue...the conductor simply wanted the music on a different
>>clarinet, even when it wasn't what the composer called for. No probs...I
>>left, happily!
>>Sounds macho to me.
>>

Holy cow. Nancy, bravo for saying bye-bye. I'm trying to imagine why a
conductor would object to a clarinet player using the instrument the
composer specified. I can understand the opposite situation (for instance,
when the score calls for clarinet in C and, in the interest of accuracy, the

conductor objects to transposing it onto Bb or Eb clarinet), but complaining

about too much accuracy is goofy.

Lelia Loban
http://members.sibeliusmusic.com/Lelia_Loban

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

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