Klarinet Archive - Posting 000503.txt from 2010/09

From: Robert Howe <arehow@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] Improvising in Mozart
Date: Sun, 19 Sep 2010 09:09:29 -0400

The current thread on improvising in Mozart has reached an absurd level of
discussion.

There are obvious opportunities for improvisation in all movements of K622.
The clarinetist who fails to provide a little extra panache in the C-A-F# in
the first movement (I don=B9t have the part in front of me now), or an
original cadenza to the second, or some riotous, fun additions to the
variations in the last movement, is missing the spirit of the piece,
depriving herself of the chance to make more of it and of herself than she
could otherwise do, and cheating the audience of the pleasure of her own
musicianship, spontaneity and good humor.

Why is this even subject to argument? Mozart wrote the concerto for a solo
clarinetist at a time when soloists were expected to do all sorts of ex
tempore things. Not to do so is to miss the point of being a soloist.

One of my favorite musical memories is of driving to play clarinet at the
Goshen (CT) fair on Labor Day in the mid 90s and listening on the radio to
Charles Neidich=B9s wonderful performance of the Concerto. The little grac=
es
and ad libs and improvs that he played gave it a sense of personality, of
spontaneous song. It was wonderful, wonderful enough that I went out and
bought the disc that week.

Cheers

Robert Howe
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