The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Drenkier_1
Date: 2007-05-06 19:29
Hi guys.. Was curious if any of you know of or have an ideal tempo for the 3rd movement to the Mozart. The range gap seems to be huge. Any ideas would help.
Thanks,
Kevin
Kevin Collins
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Author: Kevin
Date: 2007-05-06 19:49
I think listening to a variety of recordings will get you a better feel for the tempo than any number a person can post on the board.
But with that, a dotted quarter at around mid 70's to 80 would be fine with most people.
Post Edited (2007-05-06 19:53)
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2007-05-06 21:51
For me, most people take this movement too fast. I think of it not as rushing rapids but as a babbling brook -- energetic yet smiling and relaxed. After the seriousness of the first movement and the deep sadness of the second, you need to hop into a kayak, not a speedboat.
When I'm practicing it, I often start at 72, so that I can play the ornaments (such as beat 2 of the first bar) as if I'm rocking back and forth in a porch swing. As an exercise, sometimes I set my metronome at 72 and keep it there through the whole movement. I wouldn't perform it that slow, but it helps me find the smile in each phrase.
Of course, the tempo varies according to the music. The energy of the running scales in bar 9 naturally pushes the tempo to around 76, and to 84 for the brilliant arpeggios at bar 12.
The next, lyrical section, in eighth notes, has to be relaxed. If you go faster than 80 or 84, the pickup gets lost and the rising runs that follow get a machine gun quality rather than a sense of fun.
There are parts that need to be exciting, of course. The rising arpeggios at the very end need to go at 88 or even 92, but, again, it's about bubbling joy, not a cavalry charge.
My goal is to leave everyone smiling.
Ken Shaw
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Author: DAVE
Date: 2007-05-07 02:57
"but it helps me find the smile in each phrase."
Well put! What a beautiful concept!
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Author: Max S-D
Date: 2007-05-07 03:32
I would say around upper 70s or 80s is where I like it. I think that a lot of people play it faster than that because it's so much fun to play fast. When you really listen to the music you're making, though, you end up missing a lot when you rush through it (once you break 90, you're going too fast!), like that great little minor excursion at 205. Those are probably my favorite 12 bars of music ever written.
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