 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Rachel
Date: 2003-09-07 11:54
Do any of you ever get annoyed by hearing radio stations broadcast clarinet players who should never have been allowed to become professional musicians? I do.
To give an example of this, I quite recently heard Rossini's "Introduction, Theme and Variations" (I can't remember who played it). I could have played it better! The tempi sounded clumsy, his/her tongue wasn't in time with his/her fingers in the 3rd variation, he/she played a whole host of wrong notes, and his/her tone kept deteriorating.
I expect that there will be people thinking that I shouldn't criticise because I sometimes make the same mistakes. This is true, but I don't make recordings of my mistakes then go and ask radio stations to broadcast them. I think that professional musicians should be able to PLAY their instruments so that they DON'T sound like a student clarinettist struggling to play something that is beyond their ability.
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Author: Synonymous Botch
Date: 2003-09-07 13:18
My radio comes with a handy set of knobs.
If you steam about what's broadcast, and yet don't use them, you have one more knob in your house than I.
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Author: Rachel
Date: 2003-09-07 13:58
Synonymous Botch wrote:
>If you steam about what's broadcast, and yet don't use them,
> you have one more knob in your house than I.
That comment was uncalled for... there is no need to be nasty. I am well aware of how to operate the controls on my radio.
What I was saying is that the recordings should not have been broadcast in the first place.
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Author: William
Date: 2003-09-07 15:22
On the other hand, it is sometimes kind of refreshing to hear a "bummer" of a performance because it makes us appreciate the truely great ones even more. At the very least, hearing a "pro" muff a few notes always makes me feel better about my clarinetting efforts. But, as you suggested, less than perfect--sometimes, "bad"--performances are usually live and not marketed on permanent recordings. Perhaps it was a recording of a "live" public concert where retakes were not possible.............(??).
However, why we listen in the first place is to experiance and learn not only what is the "right way", but also to learn what "not" to do. Even among the many excellant recordings of clarinetists performing the same work, there will be a differences in stylings, phrasings and basic techincal prowness that will be left to our ears to decide, "which one is the best?". I think that SB is suggesting--in his (usually) amusing New Yorker style--that if you don't like it, don't listen. I would rather suggest listen, experiance and learn--and then practice to achieve in your own clarinetting what you decide upon as being "good".
"Listen, and try to understand (learn)"--my wife of 29 yrs.
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Author: Alphie
Date: 2003-09-07 17:47
What kind of program was this broadcast anyway? Was it a recorded live concert with a professional player who just had a bad day it can be excused, you only get one chance and the piece is already schedualed for broadcast no matter what.
Or was it a broadcast from a local music school with students who are happy to perform in front of a mike? In that case it's acceptable to broadcast anyway.
It could not have been a CD recording and not a studio recording for radio unless they had an extremely lousy producer. So, what was it?
Alphie
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2003-09-07 19:38
I second William's thoughts. And also, it sorta gives me "hope" that maybe one day in the future I will be able to perform somewhere. If this person is performing on the radio, and I think I sound better than them, then doesn't that mean that one day I should be allowed to perform on the radio too? If it's good, you've been in for a treat. If it's bad, then think about how you could sound better, and hopefully it'll motivate you to practice harder to make sure that when you perform someday it definitely WON'T sound like that!.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2003-09-07 23:01
Hi,
Just like hearing a musical clinker or two, I love to see Tiger Woods blow a shot. It just goes to show you that even the greatest golfer of the past decade can have an off-day. I can then go out to the links, secure in the knowledge that I too can play like Tiger.
HRL
PS If you are a golfer (or fan) and you have not seen the Tiger Trap on www.buick.com you are missing a real hoot!
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Author: Rachel
Date: 2003-09-08 00:29
It does make me feel a lot better to know that even professional musicians are not perfect- it gets rid of that "I'm never going to be that good!" feeling.
I don't think it was a live concert, I am pretty sure that my radio station's live recordings are mostly from close by, and this was an international orchestra.
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2003-09-08 19:57
Although I have full control of the radio knobs in my car and at home, the problem here in the culturally-bereft Nation's Capital of the US of A is that we only have ONE full-time (commercial) classical station, and when they choose to play clarinet music they seem to have a prediliction for a couple of European players (whose names I shall not mention), both of whose tone qualities I really don't care for; whilst the vast majority of other players, many of whom I'd really like to hear on the air, never get a chance. Whereas these two esteemed players certainly deserve some air time, as they are excellent musicians in every respect, some variety would be nice for the audience. (Don't ge me started on my diatribe about this radio station and how they play nothing but Mozart and Telemann anymore and never get close to 20th Century music, not even at 3:00 in the morning......)
On the subject of klinkers by good clarinettists, I've already told the story of the 'squeak heard round the world' by one of the Baltimore Symphony clarinetists during an outdoor performance of Rimsky's "Scheherezade" some years ago.......yeah!
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2003-09-08 21:03
David Spiegelthal wrote:
> Although I have full control of the radio knobs in my car and
> at home, the problem here in the culturally-bereft Nation's
> Capital of the US of A is that we only have ONE full-time
> (commercial) classical station,
You have one more than we have here in Detroit ...
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2003-09-08 21:09
Mark, I find that truly distressing! NO classical stations in Detroit?
Another thing that sickens me is that our station here in DC brags about being the "#1 Arbitron-rated classical station in the country", which means that their homogenized, dumbed-down mainstream fare is what most of the people want to hear --- analogous to Kenny G in the world of ersatz-jazz. I suppose most people would rather eat McDonald's hamburgers than sirloin steak...........
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Author: Don Poulsen
Date: 2003-09-08 21:52
Speaking of mistakes being broadcast, I caught a few parts of "A Capital Fourth" on PBS, which, for those of you who aren't aware, is a live performance of music on the mall in Washington, D.C. on Independence Day. Eric Kunzel conducts.
Back to the mistake... One number included the Herald Trumpets from, I believe, the U.S. Marine Band. (These are long, straight trumpets who stand out front of the orchestra.) At one point, I'm sure I heard one of them start to come in a measure or two early. Of course, standing facing away from the orchestra, they couldn't be cued by Maestro Kunzel. Unfortunately, the audience for this performance, including the TV audience, was probably one of the largest audiences for an orchestral performance all year.
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Author: Rachel
Date: 2003-09-09 00:30
I can sympathise with David's situation- I have 2 classical music stations where I live with exactly the same problem. My friends and I have a term for the "homogenized, dumbed-down mainstream fare" that he speaks of: "Safe classics"- music that has too much shallow sentimentality and no real emotional content- BORING music. I came up with this term after my radio station broadcast another "afternoon of light classics" and thought that it would have been more accurate to refer to it as "a program of safe classics". The term can also be applied to art and literature.
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Author: Mark Pinner
Date: 2003-09-09 11:33
Makes Sydney sound like a dream. We have 2 full time classical stations transmitting at full power, one of which is available nationwide. Most capital cities have one government owned and one subscription station as well as low power community based stations including a few specialising in serious music on the FM band. There are some AM options also.
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Author: Synonymous Botch
Date: 2003-09-09 11:58
We had two classical stations in my neighborhood, but the Aurora overflights so frequently interfered with transmission of the Public Radio station that they closed.
Clear Channel Uberalles!
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2003-09-09 15:13
SB,
Now that you've mentioned Aurora in public we will have to terminate you with extreme prejudice. Ah, the loss of yet another talented but indiscreet musician.......
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Author: D Dow
Date: 2003-09-09 16:11
One of the great things here in canada is the FM CBC station which is classical all day and an excellent AM CBC Radio which features alot of classical programming. Being publicly funded it is National and recently heard a wonderful Chicago Symphony Concert which was excellent.
David Dow
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Author: D Dow
Date: 2003-09-09 16:24
You don't have to turn on the radio to hear bad clarinetists.
David Dow
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Author: Brenda
Date: 2003-09-09 17:24
Yes, I was going to mention the Canadian CBC FM as well. Many from across the 49th parallel listen to the CBC because of its programming. These stations, of course, can be found on the internet or on short-wave radio for those far away. The CBC plays such a wide variety of music, from really old to really new compositions, certainly not only the reliable stuff.
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Author: Bob A
Date: 2003-09-09 21:29
What I can't figure is what Dave S... was doing up at 3:00am?
"not even at 3:00 in the morning..." Had to either be baby with colic or the Donkey with a problem...too young for the 'prostate walks.
At least you can GET a station at 3:00am.
Bob A
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2003-09-09 21:47
Bob,
At the risk of venturing off-topic and raising the ire of GBK......I'm often up at 2 or 3 am working on instruments, because the demands of 'day gig' and family take up all my time from 6 am until about 10 pm --- after which my "personal time" begins and I can retreat to the basement workshop (or the garage to practice, heaven forbid....). Nothing to do with colicky babies or troublesome Donkeys. And although our semi-worthless classical music station in DC plays a lousy selection of music most of the time, at least their signal is strong round-the-clock. So I can hear Mozart, Telemann and Vivaldi (and not much else) at 3 am just as easily as at 3 in the afternoon --woohoo!
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Author: Rachel
Date: 2003-09-09 23:45
Wow... you really mean that you DON'T have to turn your radio on to hear bad clarinettists? I've been wasting electricity all this time!
:)
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Author: diz
Date: 2003-09-10 05:28
Mark Pinner - I agree, we are lucky - I just HATE the commentators on 2MBS-FM, they either sound like Toorak M'ams or Kath and Kim. ABC FM is wonderful - and yes, I am going to buy that tenor saxophone once I sort myself out.
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Author: Carol Dutcher
Date: 2003-09-10 16:51
I like to hear the clunkers and clams. It makes me feel good and gives me a giggle.
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Author: Bob A
Date: 2003-09-10 19:04
Carol, maybe that should be our next project. We send out tapes filled with "clunkers and clams" to a list of ten people (Sneezer's all). They add five and send it on, adding a tape of their own. The one who breaks the chain is stuck with 67 tapes of dubious mention and a mailbox full of bird-dooie.
Bob A
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Author: CPW
Date: 2003-09-10 19:18
When it comes to NPR radio, could someone clue me in as to why they love Thea King recordings?
Am I missing something?
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2003-09-10 19:56
Hi Everyone,
It looks like the thread is going a little toward classical stations. With internet streaming, I am just a few clicks away from WQRX and other terrific stations. I just run the audio output to the auxillary input on my receiver and with a nice set of old Small Advents plus a subwoofer, the world is at my feet (sorry, in my ears).
For you jazz fans, KPLU in Tacoma, WA is the very best. I will never need an antenna again (except to pick up CBC from Windsor). Mark, that's the one for you to listen to; there are only about 45 minutes of news all day.
HRL
Post Edited (2003-09-10 21:48)
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Author: Clar inet
Date: 2003-09-11 07:13
i get annoyed when i hear bad clarinetists express their bad opinions.
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