Klarinet Archive - Posting 000302.txt from 2005/07

From: Wayne Thompson <wthompson222@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] Balance in Chamber Music
Date: Wed, 27 Jul 2005 00:09:06 -0400

I asked if it was common for clarinets to not play out
enough, or to carry well enough, when playing chamber
music.
Thanks, Fred. You said, "It sounds to me like you
want to hear the clarinet more than the music.", and,
"If David Peck managed to stay under the strings,
BRAVO FOR HIM!" This is a very clear answer and the
next time I hear something like this, I will be
thinking of what you have said. I'm also thinking
about the Brahms Quintet, which you mentioned. I've
heard it done by two well known players, one who was
more 'out there' and one more blended in with the
strings. I might assume that if you were by my side
on those occasions, you might have said 'bravo' for
the latter player. Or maybe not. I guess I just need
to go to more concerts and to play more chamber music.

David Glenn asked, "What were you doing in SLO? That's
my home town!"
A friend and I were staying in a trailer park in
Grover Beach; we may buy a trailer there ourselves.
Then we can travel back and forth between mountains
(Tehachapi) and beach (Grover Beach and San Luis
Obispo). Very nice.
You ask a good question about venue. The concert was
in the Mission San Luis Obispo. This is one of the
few places in California that is older that this
music. I think the acoustics were good. For those
not from California, the Missions were built by the
first Spanish missionaries more than two hundred years
ago. The halls are adobe with high wooden ceilings.
I had no trouble hearing the group as a whole, and the
concert was very enjoyable. But perhaps the acoustic
did not favor the clarinet.

Wayne Thompson

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