Author: theclarinetist
Date: 2003-12-31 04:56
I just got a recording of the Marcellus Mozart. I had heard this piece was "the definitive American" rendition, so I was intrigued.
I listened to the whole piece once all the way through, then listened to a couple more spots again. I think the playing is great, and I love his sound, but I'm not sure why this performance would be considered definitive, or even what characteristics are "definitive" of Mozart. I guess I'm asking, what is the abstract ideal which Marcellus's playing so closely resembles?
I have 5 recordings of this piece; Stoltzman, de Peyer, Pay (on basset horn), Marcellus, and some unnamed person on a "Mad About Mozart" type Cd. Of all these pieces, I think I like Marcellus's sound best, but I think his interpretation is somewhat bland (whether this is good or not, I suppose, depends on the abstract ideal). I personally probably prefer the Pay version most, but that's fine.
I'm not trying to discredit Marcellus's playing, as it is incredible. I'm just curious why everyone (or most clarinetists I've talked to anyway) would hold this particular performance up as the standard. I often subscribe to the "if everyone agrees, everyone is probably wrong" philosophy, so I think it's very important to question these things and not just accept it as the best because that;s what your teacher told you and his/her teacher told him/her, etc...
When approaching this issue, what are the standards applied when judging "definitive-ness" of the performance? What kind of phrasing is best, how much dynamics should one use, etc? I realize many say that "music is subjective and it's impossible to say which is the "best" (which I would agree with - assuming all the performances are well done, of course), but when so many agree that his playing on this piece is best or definitive, there surely must be some objective standards that everyone holds. What are they for this piece?
Thanks,
Donald Hite
theclarinetist@yahoo.com
Just to avoid being branded a clarinet heretic, I'm not saying that I think Marcellus's performance isn't definitive because someone else's is MORE definitive. I'm simply curious as to what it means for a piece to be definitive or whether this is even possible (beyond the composer, who can actually say what is definitive of a piece anyway??)
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