 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Melissa
Date: 2004-02-20 14:51
I have been playing the first study Allegretto cantabile from the Carl Fischer edition of 40 studies for clarinet. I actually played this yesterday at a festival and was told my edition is very old and the study should actually be going 60 to the quarter and not 76 to the quarter. The adjudicator (a clarinetist) also told me many other studies in this edition have wrong tempos and that I should find a newer edition. Anyways, I was just wondering what everyone's take is on this. Should I play this at 60 to the quarter? Also, if I play it at 60 to the quarter, does this piece contrast to the violin piece air on the g-string? I think it will, but a few of my friends say it doesn't. Tomorrow I have an audition and I need two contrasting pieces so I'm not sure if I should slow the study down or not. What do you all think?
Melissa
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Author: Henry
Date: 2004-02-20 16:53
What was the justification given for going to 60 instead of 76? I have the same edition that you have and, to me, it just sounds better at 76. What do you feel yourself?
Henry
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Author: D Dow
Date: 2004-02-20 18:01
Some of the adjudicators are full of hooey...it would be better if you are judged on your performance and accuracy rather then tempi....play what sounds and feels the best!!
I doubt Rose really worried too much about how precisely some of this stuff is done....
let's get real...
There are some pretty dorky folks out there...don't let people's ideas on tempi be a big thing...play your best!
as to Whether this music is close to Bach alot of it has to do with how
well your interpretation is played and hangs together so to speak..
sometimes auditors don't know when to quit..
it's like hanging around Beethoven's grave in old Vienna to have Ludwig tell you how fast the opening of the 5th should go....a bit retentive I say..
.if you play it well at 60 or so, then you pretty much should be able to handle it at a mere 70 to 76!
Good luck!!
Play with passion...
David Dow
Post Edited (2004-02-20 18:04)
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2004-02-20 18:44
Melissa -
Teachers often assign just the first four bars of the Rose 40 #1 as a technical exercise for wide slurs. In fact, it's often begun at 60 with one 16th note to the beat.
Forcing yourself to keep long phrases going at a slow tempo can be a useful exercise, but for me, at least, 60 to the quarter would be too slow to play it as a musical performance. It has a nice flow at 76. Frankly, I think the adjudicator was full of it. As David says, he should have evaluated your performance on how effectively you played, and not on his, or any editor's, metronome marking.
A violinist might play this piece on the G string to practice playing high on the G string. To perform it in public that way would be simply a stunt. Paganini did this sort of thing (e.g., his Moses Variations), but even there, it's an encore piece, designed simply to dazzle the audience.
Trust your instincts. I think you were absolutely right.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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