 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Ralph G
Date: 2003-04-13 04:10
Is the long solo near the middle of the second movement in Beethoven's 6th Symphony a solo for first clarinet? It's the one that repeats the oboe solo.
I'm wondering because I have Cleveland's recording of it as part of their set of all nine Beethoven symphonies, and that solo doesn't sound like Marcellus; it's very nice, but it just doesn't have the full sound and "ring" to the notes the way Marcellus plays.
Did Beethoven let the second clarinet have a moment of glory?
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Artistic talent is a gift from God and whoever discovers it in himself has a certain obligation: to know that he cannot waste this talent, but must develop it.
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Author: HAT
Date: 2003-04-13 17:08
Who is conducting on the recording you have?
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Author: Ralph G
Date: 2003-04-13 17:14
Szell.
________________
Artistic talent is a gift from God and whoever discovers it in himself has a certain obligation: to know that he cannot waste this talent, but must develop it.
- Pope John Paul II
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Author: HAT
Date: 2003-04-14 13:06
It's Marcellus.
Not much I can say otherwise. The solos in this symphony are incredibly difficult and I can't even imagine having to record them with George Szell up there demanding perfection (and not tolerating anything less).
The stress of the demands of the George Szell, a very great conductor and musician, helped made Marcellus what he was. Didn't do his health much good either.
Regarding this recording in particular, the more I hear it, the more it impresses me. The more I study this symphony and also play it, the more I realize how damn difficult it is to play well.
Just remember that Marcellus didn't pick the day and time he recorded that solo. He did the best he could at the time of someone else's choosing. For such fearsome solos, and only getting one chance to record them, I would say he did very well.
As an alternative, Reiner/Chicago (available on an import right now only) with Clark Brody is also a wonderful recording with ideal clarinet playing. Few here talk about Mr. Brody that much, but he was about as great under enourmous pressure (Reiner was as demanding in most ways as Szell and even more sarcastic and caustic) as it is possible to be.
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Author: Ralph G
Date: 2003-04-14 17:29
I'll take your word for it. It just sounds like a different clarinetist to me than the one who plays the short "bird peck" solo at the end of the movement, which sounds like classic Marcellus, or even the solos in the other movements. Perhaps he adopted a slightly different timbre for that solo -- or maybe it's just my ears.o
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- Pope John Paul II
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