 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: DaphnisetChloe
Date: 2018-11-11 02:12
Hi there,
I recently performed Brahms' 2nd Clarinet Sonata in my first undergraduate recital. Here's the recording of me performing the 1st movement. I'd love any feedback/comments on this so I can improve!
https://youtu.be/ZNfGoVYtTDs
Wishing you all the best from Sydney, Australia
James Julian
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2018-11-11 07:06
Bravo! That is a wonderful performance. Great pitch, solid sound, and a lot of musicality. You can be very proud.
Brahms' sonatas feature equal importance between the piano and clarinet (if not even more heavily weighted toward the piano at times). So I might only suggested being more sensitive to moments where the piano is more important, but stunning nonetheless.
................Paul Aviles
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Author: Ken Lagace
Date: 2018-11-11 07:20
Very nice Julian. A slight comment - Chalumeau pianissimos, the sound loses focus.
And an honest comment - I am not a fan of so much moving around. I look away to hear if the music is communicating, which is pretty good through your playing.
The Earspasm guy has a sarcastic video about it here;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5twANQ7S050&list=RD5twANQ7S050&start_radio=1&t=353
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Author: DaphnisetChloe
Date: 2018-11-11 22:08
Thanks for the helpful comments! Yes I agree Ken, I did move too much here. The excitement of performing Brahms got the better of me!
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Author: Joseph Brenner, Jr.
Date: 2018-11-12 18:55
I agree with what has been said; congratulations. On the matter of focus, you'd do well to listen to the late Harold Wright's treatment of the Brahms sonatas, either with Harris Goldsmith on Crossroads records or Peter Serkin, on Boston records. Wright was a master of focus; he could dimiish volume from p to pp to ppp and never lose focus. His core sound kept focus. Best wishes
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Author: Ken Lagace
Date: 2018-11-12 19:07
And to add to Joseph Brenner, Jr's comment, the way to do that is to blow the air hard and fast and close down the volume with the embouchure (not the jaw).
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Author: Tony Pay ★2017
Date: 2018-11-16 02:20
You seem a good player, so I want to say something about how you deal with Brahms's motivic usage.
Just a preliminary indication: in bar 3 you think that the written F on the beat is the central note. But actually, the phrase begins on the D, and the central motif is the ascending third. It repeats in the next bar, E to G, and then is stretched to a tenth in the following bar.
This rising third is a constant feature throughout the movement.
Brahms's music moves between preferring barlines and preferring the first notes of phrases that begin against, often just before, barlines. So the D, as part of the rising interval, is more important than you think.
You don't need to worry about representing the barline, because the piano does that.
Have a look.
Tony
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