The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: Sandee
Date: 2001-08-06 18:24
I just listened to this for the first time yesterday. WOW! When was this piece written? It's really something of beauty. What else have I been missing?
Sandee
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: London
Date: 2001-08-06 20:53
The Hindemith sonata was written in 1939. It is really a delightful and educational piece. If you like the style, check out Arnold Cooke's Sonata in Bb or Benard Heided's Sonata.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Douglas
Date: 2001-08-06 22:14
Hindemith's Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra was written in 1947. There is a very interesting recording with Hindemith conducting and clarinetist Louis Cahuzac, Angel Records, 35490.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2001-08-07 17:12
The Hindemith Concerto was written for Benny Goodman, but he never played it. The 2nd movement is quite difficult and may have been beyond him, and his free-flowing, jazz-influenced style of playing was about as far from what Hindemith wrote as it possibly could be.
Aside from the 2nd movement, the concerto is only moderately difficult. If you can play the Weber concertos, you can get around the notes of the Hindemith.
It calls for a very "big" playing style. Except for the 2nd movement, there's no flash or brilliance. In a mediocre performance, it can come off gray and humorless. You have to stride forth as the hero, with great, effortless strength. There's beauty there, but it's of the large, Germanic type. Put another way, you need to be noble without being constipated.
There have been a number of recordings, but I think the Cahuzac is still the best. Hindemith conducting was a big help. He wasn't a virtuoso conductor, but he could get what he wanted. No one brought of the wit and fizz of the 2nd movement the way Cahuzac did, and he really got the big gestures right.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ed
Date: 2001-08-07 18:25
I doubt that the technique required was beyond Goodman. I have heard things where I was stunned by his ability. (A few months ago I heard an old Weber Quintet with Goodman, and although I didn't care for the tone or some of the interpretation, the technique was right on the money) I have often wondered why Goodman did not play the Hindemith. I have always loved the piece and feel it is underplayed.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
|